People-built, people served: 70 years of JLS

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People-built, people served: 70 years of JLS

8 Aug 2025

Lily Cota

Lily Cota is a writer, editor and photographer from Kansas City, Missouri. She graduated from Missouri State University with a Bachelor of Science in English and a minor in Photography. When she’s not writing, you can find her reading fantasy novels, thrifting, trying out local coffee shops and spending time with her nieces.

YORK, PA — “Never say Never.”

Those are the words Craig Souser, president and CEO of JLS Automation, often heard from his father and the company’s founder, Joseph L Souser.

Founded in 1955, JLS is celebrating seven decades of leading the charge of hygienic robotic packaging, a feat reflective of its integrity, resilience, and dedication to the future of food production and packaging technology.

Lasting prosperity

In honor of its formidable history, JLS hosted a Founder’s Day event on Aug. 7, bringing industry members together to highlight the company’s achievements and the people who kept it running long after it hit its stride.

The event included a tour of the facility and a welcome speech from and Tim Hadding, VP of business relationships at National Beef Packing Co., with a group dinner to close the occasion.

Attendees also witnessed live demonstrations of the company’s robotic packaging solutions, including its Talon Hygienic Flow-Wrapper Loader and Thermoformer Loader, Osprey Sanitary Case Packer, Peregrine Cartoning System, Hawk Case Packer, and Kestrel Collate & Load System.

Craig kicked off his opening speech with an intimidating statistic: 70% of companies fail in their first decade.

Clearly, this is a statistic JLS does not see itself in.

“Longevity takes a lot more than just letting the clock tick away,” Craig said. “We truly are blessed to have made it to this milestone. We have fantastic partners; a strong team that has believed in our vision, which, of course, has changed quite a few times; and our long and growing list of customers who have trust in our abilities.”

While Craig never heard a true vision for the company, his father was unwavering in his core values.

“The customer is king,” Craig said. “You have to be honest in all things and with all people … We only exist because of that. Hard work still pays off. Honesty and integrity are not optional, and our reputation is critical.”

“We have been through many valleys, and we’re fortunate to have enjoyed a few mountaintop moments, but only because we worked together and, as a group, we were resilient.” — Craig Souser | president, CEO | JLS Automation

The center of it all

At JLS, customer satisfaction is vital, but so is the wellbeing of its workforce. By maintaining its reputation for treating employees like family and providing them with a work-life balance supporting both their personal and professional development, JLS ensures its future will always be in devoted hands.

“Adding smart and hardworking people who share our vision has been an instrumental part of our growth, our culture and our success,” Craig said.

This vision is built on people, and the business JLS conducts is always done with those people in mind. When it came to working with the National Beef Packing Co. in 2017, it was a clear alignment of people-centric values that drove the business relationship to new heights.

“If you’re passionate about people … that comes through [in your plant],” Hadding said. “It sounds funny, but when you walk through [our facility], there are fist bumps, high fives, hugs. Culture drives everything. If you can attract, you can impact.”

Hadding shared his experience working with JLS to implement automated equipment in the meat-packing facility. The fear of automation pulling jobs had resonated across the industry over the years, but Hadding found the execution to be easier than he’d assumed.

“I was nervous to implement the equipment because I thought it would take away all of the hand packing,” Hadding said. “It’ll all be done through automation now. What are people going to say? Well, you know what they said? ‘It’s about time.’”

Confidence in relationships such as these pushes companies to break barriers and find new ways to optimize processes, benefitting not just the business itself, but the people it’s built upon.

With seven decades under its belt, a commitment to producing efficient and reliable solutions, and a “Never say never” mindset, JLS is on course to enjoy 70 more years of success, and then some.

“As we look to the future, we must stay innovative, listen to our customers, trust our valued supplier partners and help our team members realize their dreams beyond our own walls,” Craig said. “We have been through many valleys, and we’re fortunate to have enjoyed a few mountaintop moments, but only because we worked together and, as a group, we were resilient.”

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