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Your Product · Poultry

Poultry is slippery business.
Our grip isn't.

Chicken and turkey, whole-bird and portioned, ground poultry, and chicken sausage — JLS's VOB 2.0 tooling handles the wet, slippery, irregular raw poultry that are genuinely difficult to automate. Made to get wet. Built to fit USDA-inspected poultry plants.
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70+
Years of automation engineering
Multiple
U.S. patents (food)
IP69K-capable
Washdown construction
U.S. Built
Engineered in-house

JLS builds robotic packaging automation purpose-built for poultry — vision-guided systems that load whole-bird and portioned chicken and turkey, ground poultry, and chicken sausage into trays, thermoform and vacuum-skin packs, chubs, and cases. JLS-engineered VOB 2.0 tooling handles the wet, slippery raw poultry that demands specialized tooling, and IP69K-capable construction stands up to daily caustic washdown in USDA-inspected poultry plants. Every line is engineered, programmed, and supported entirely in-house by JLS.

In action

Watch JLS handle poultry — at full production speed

Fresh poultry tray loading Tray Loading

Fresh poultry tray loading

A closer look at JLS robotic tray loading of fresh poultry at full production speed.

Pain points we solve

Poultry's toughest packaging headaches. Solved.

We've spent decades on protein lines. These are the problems poultry processors bring us most — and how JLS robotics solve them.

Sanitation & washdown The challenge

Sanitation & food safety under constant washdown

How JLS solves it
JLS poultry systems can be built with IP69K-rated robots and components, NEMA 4X controls, and open-frame stainless, and designed to fit USDA-inspected poultry plants — built for the daily high-pressure washdown these environments require.
Gripping wet, slippery raw poultry The challenge

Wet, slippery raw poultry that's hard to grip

How JLS solves it
VOB 2.0 — JLS's vacuum-on-board tooling — carries its own vacuum at the end of the arm to grip wet, slippery raw poultry. With custom EOAT it picks raw chicken breasts, drumsticks, and portions straight off the belt — no mechanical sorting, gentle handling.
Cold, wet cut-room labor The challenge

Labor that's hard to staff in cold, wet cut rooms

How JLS solves it
Vision-guided robots take over the cold, repetitive packing positions, fill chronic labor gaps, and free your people for higher-value work.
Throughput & line speed The challenge

Throughput & consistency capped by hand-packing

How JLS solves it
Talon®, Osprey®, and Hawk run at line speed with repeatable placement every cycle — from the cut-up line and portioner through the tray line and into the case.
Applications

Poultry packaging automation, loading to case packing.

From primary loading through case packing — matched to your chicken and turkey pack format and line speed.

1

Thermoformer & vacuum-skin packs

Talon places chicken breasts, portions, and whole birds into thermoformer pockets and vacuum-skin packs with proper orientation — vision-guided, no mechanical sorting. Finished packs are then case-packed at line speed.
Talon TFOsprey TL
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2

Foam, MAP & corrugated trays

Talon TL loads chicken breasts, drumsticks, and portions into foam, corrugated, or MAP trays; Osprey TL then loads finished trays into cases or master bags — fragile seal zones handled gently, up to 180 trays/min (three-head Osprey TL).
Talon TLOsprey TL
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3

Ground poultry & chicken sausage chubs

Osprey CL case-packs ground chicken and turkey chubs and chicken sausage at high speed — the V-TRACK pick conveyor ends the rolling problem, with quick-change tooling for chubs from 8 oz to 10 lb. Kestrel collates links and patties upstream.
Osprey CLKestrel
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4

Retail-ready cases & cartons

Load MAP, foam, and thermoformed packs into RSC or retail-ready cases with Hawk's compact top-loading, or load cartons with Peregrine, or form, load, and close them with the Peregrine IS monoblock.
HawkPeregrine
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Have a custom poultry product?

If your product, pack format, or line doesn't fit the cases above, our application engineers will design, test, and prove the right solution — before you commit.

Talk to an application engineer

Test before you commit

Send us your poultry products.
We'll put them to the test.

Before any capital commitment, send us your product — chicken breasts, drumsticks, whole birds, or ground poultry. We'll run it on real JLS robotics in our York, PA Flight Lab with tooling configured for it, and prove out the line on your actual product.

Live
Robotic test with your product
U.S. Built
York, PA Flight Lab
No
Commitment required
Schedule a Flight Lab test

Designed to get wet. Built to be cleaned.

In a USDA-inspected poultry plant, sanitation isn't a feature — it's the whole game. Every JLS poultry system is engineered for the daily, high-pressure, high-temperature washdown so your line stays compliant and your downtime stays low.

IP69K*
High-pressure washdown
NEMA 4X
Sealed controls
USDA
Designed to fit inspected plants
Open-frame
Sloped, minimal harborage

* Specific JLS components are IP69K full-washdown rated; system-level ingress protection varies by configuration. Contact JLS for your application.

FAQ

Poultry packaging automation FAQs

Sanitation, tooling, throughput, ROI, and integration — answered by JLS application engineers.

Payback is commonly evaluated in the 24–36 month range, depending on labor cost, shift schedule, production volume, uptime improvement, and the specific poultry application. For poultry processors, the business case is often driven by labor savings, reduced manual handling, improved pack presentation, more consistent loading, less rework, better ergonomics, and more predictable packaging performance. Labor savings scale with line speed, labor model, and platform, with additional value from improved throughput and reduced product handling. JLS reviews the product mix and pack style, package format, line speed, staffing model, sanitation requirements, and current production challenges to help determine where automation can create the strongest return.

Whole birds and portioned chicken and turkey (breasts, drumsticks, wings, thighs), ground poultry chubs, and chicken sausage and patties — loaded into thermoformer pockets, foam, MAP and VSP trays, cartons, and cases.

JLS VOB 2.0 vacuum-on-board tooling, with custom end-of-arm tooling picks raw chicken and turkey directly off the line — no mechanical sorting and gentle handling, engineered and lab-tested per product.

Yes. JLS poultry systems can be designed for washdown environments and USDA-inspected poultry plants, with construction matched to the product contact area, sanitation requirements, and packaging environment. For primary product handling, JLS can build full sanitary washdown construction intended to comply with NSF/ANSI/3-A SSI 14159-1 and EHEDG hygienic design principles. Depending on the application, systems may include stainless-steel construction, open-frame design, sloped surfaces, washdown-capable components, IP69K-rated robots and components where required, and NEMA 4X controls.

Yes. JLS partners with Reiser and integrates VEMAG grinders and extruders, tray sealers and thermoformers, and your existing upstream and downstream equipment into one coordinated poultry line.

Yes. Talon picks sliced deli turkey and chicken shingles into thermoformer pockets or MAP trays with vision handling random orientation, and custom EOAT preserves the shingle stack through the pick-and-place sequence.

Throughput depends on product and format. Osprey CL case packs ground poultry chubs at up to 240 per minute, and tray and case rates are sized to your line and SKU mix.

SKUs change via an HMI recipe, and end-of-arm tooling swaps by hand in minutes — no programming or maintenance call. Recipes are pre-loaded during commissioning so every product you run is mapped before the system ships.

Yes. Product testing is often an important part of poultry automation projects. Raw poultry can vary by temperature, moisture, fat content, shape, weight, surface condition, and how it arrives at the automation. Testing with real product in the JLS Flight Lab helps validate the right tooling, pick method, conveyor control, placement approach, and system configuration before final design — reducing project risk and confirming the automation concept is based on your actual poultry product.

Yes. JLS poultry automation can often be integrated into existing production and packaging lines. The final design depends on available floor space, product presentation, line speed, controls, sanitation access, upstream equipment, and downstream packaging equipment. JLS reviews the full line so the automation fits the way the plant actually runs, instead of forcing the plant to work around a standard machine.

To evaluate a poultry automation project, JLS typically reviews the product type, product dimensions, product weight, photos or videos of the current line, package format, target speeds, current labor model, sanitation requirements, available floor space, upstream equipment, downstream equipment, SKU mix, and the main production problem the system needs to solve. For raw poultry, product behavior matters — wet, sticky, slippery, flexible, or inconsistent product may require testing to validate the right handling method, tooling, conveyor control, and robot configuration.

JLS poultry automation systems are designed, built, programmed, and tested at JLS Automation in York, Pennsylvania. Support comes from JLS's in-house support team, working directly with the engineers who built your system, including remote diagnostics, on-site service, training, parts support, and preventive maintenance.

Yes. JLS robotics load and case pack chicken breasts, drumsticks, ground poultry, and chicken sausage on USDA-inspected lines across North America. For each project, JLS reviews the product, packaging format, line speed, sanitation requirements, and production goals to design a system that fits the processor's actual plant environment.

What do you want to know?

Ask us anything — an automation expert will follow up.

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By submitting, you agree that JLS Automation and Robert Reiser & Co. may contact you about your inquiry.

Ready for the realities of your poultry line?

Bring us your product. We'll test it in our York, PA lab, engineer the automation, and prove it on your real product — before we say yes.

Schedule a facility tour Call (717) 505-3800
JLS + Reiser: Expertise across the line

Planning a complete poultry line?

JLS builds complete poultry lines — from the portioner and grinder through tray loading, case packing, and cartoning — integrated as a single solution from one team in York, PA.

Full food production line — JLS + Reiser: expertise across the line Ten production-line stages across four zones. JLS-built robotic automation stages are shown in purple; stages available through Reiser's OEM portfolio in blue; customer-selected or partner equipment in gray. Dashed lines mark coordinated integration points. Prepare. Portion. Form. Load. Seal. Case. Carton. Collate. Stack. Secure. 01Mixing &blendingGrindingEmulsifyingMarinatingTumblingAvailable throughReiser portfolio 02Forming &portioningStuffingExtrudingPatty formingDepositingAvailable throughReiser portfolio 03FurtherprocessingSlicingDicingShreddingTenderizingAvailable throughReiser portfolio 04PrimaryloadingPick & placeVision-guidedLane loadingProduct collationJLS TALON®JLS KESTREL™JLS Automation 05PrimarypackagingThermoformingTray sealingVacuum / MAPSkin packAvailable throughReiser portfolio 06CasepackingRobotic case loadingRobotic loadingWashdown configurationsHygienic optionsJLS OSPREY®HAWK™ · PATTY HAWK™Case erecting & sealing via partner equip.JLS Automation 07CartoningForm, load,close cartonsCompact footprintWashdown-capable designJLS PEREGRINE® ISPEREGRINE ISJLS Automation 08Collation /bundlingCount & stackBundle packMultipackPartner equipmentscope-dependent 09PalletizingLayer buildingRobotic palletizingSlip-sheet placeLayer padPartner equipmentscope-dependent 10LoadsecurementStretch wrapBandingCorner boardTop sheetPartner equipmentscope-dependent Tier 1 Primary Packaging The package that touches the product Tier 2 Secondary Packaging Cases, cartons, and multipacks for retail or distribution Tier 3 Tertiary Packaging Stretch wrap, ship-ready unit

Together, JLS and Reiser help food manufacturers develop coordinated processing and packaging lines—from product preparation and primary package loading and sealing through cartoning, case packing and load securement.

Illustrative line architecture. Stages, equipment suppliers and sequence vary by product and project scope. Not every food line uses every stage, and slicing, cooking, freezing, inspection and other processes may occur in different positions.

Scroll left and right to scan the full line. Open the printable line map →

JLS-built robotic automation Available through Reiser’s OEM portfolio Customer-selected / third-party equipment Coordinated integration point

Reiser role across the line

Food-processing expertise, application development, equipment selection, product testing, and sales & lifecycle support.

JLS role at robotic packaging stages

Robotic engineering, product & package handling, controls interfaces, and integration & FAT when included in project scope.

Let’s talk more about planning your full line.

Tell us who you are and a bit about your line. An automation expert will reach out — and we’ll bring the right people from JLS and Reiser to the conversation.

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Your line today
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What solution(s) are you interested in?* Select all that apply.
Project timeline

By submitting, you agree that JLS Automation and Robert Reiser & Co. may contact you about your inquiry.

Over 1,000 custom installs. Predictable performance. Premier, dedicated service.

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  • Same in-house team, day one to decades later
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