Patties, nuggets, and portions —
packed at the pace they're formed.

Throughput depends on product and format. Patty Hawk case-packs frozen patty stacks at more than 1,000 patties per minute, product and tooling dependent, and tray and case rates are sized to your line and SKU mix.

Changeover between formed-product SKUs — different patty diameters, nugget counts or stack heights — is recipe-driven through the HMI, with end-of-arm tooling designed to swap by hand where a format change requires it. The SKUs in the project scope are set up and verified at commissioning, and additional formats can be added later as recipes or tooling.

Yes. Product testing is often an important part of formed and portion-controlled automation projects. Product behavior can vary by temperature (including frozen and IQF), moisture, texture, shape, weight, coating, surface condition, and how it arrives at the automation. Testing product samples — or a close proxy, subject to project scope and availability — in JLS Flight Lab helps establish feasibility for the right tooling, pick method, conveyor control, stacking method, and placement approach before final design — reducing project risk; rate and performance are validated during the project FAT before shipment, with final commissioning completed at your facility.

Yes. JLS formed and portion-controlled 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 formed or portion-controlled automation project, JLS typically reviews the product type, product dimensions, product weight, temperature, 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 frozen patties, nuggets, tenders, and formed product, behavior matters — temperature, brittleness, coating, orientation, and stack pattern may require testing to validate the right handling method, tooling, conveyor control, and robot configuration.

Formed-product systems are designed, built and programmed at JLS in York, Pennsylvania — Talon loading at the former, Patty Hawk frozen patty case packing, Osprey and Peregrine downstream — and supported by an in-house team backed by direct access to JLS engineering and controls expertise. Remote diagnostics, on-site service, training and parts come from the same floor, including tooling for the specific patty, nugget or portion formats in your scope.

Yes. Systems for formed and portion-controlled products can be built with IP69K-rated robots and components, NEMA 4X-rated control enclosures, and open-frame, sloped stainless steel construction for USDA-inspected plants — with the sanitation level matched to your washdown regime.

Yes — JLS robotics stack and case-pack frozen IQF patties on USDA-inspected lines, and load and case-pack protein in trays, bags, and cartons. Nuggets, tenders, and breaded items are evaluated per application, often starting with product testing in the JLS Flight Lab.