With growing sales of on-the-go, small pies, US snack pie maker JTM Foods set out to double its production capacity
to over 350 million units per year. This goal meant
building an entire new factory.
The US-based baked goods manufacturer JTM Foods is a rapidly growing company with a wide variety of products across its brands, JJ’s Bakery, Big Texas, Cloverhill and Cookies-n-Milk, as well as retailer private labels. An important part of the range is the handheld snack pies, offered as single-serve packaged items. The 113 g net weight pies are made daily with freshly prepared fillings and dough onsite. These small, filled cakes are designed for consumption on the go and as a snack between meals. The diverse flavor options include blackberry, apple, vanilla and chocolate, cherry, lemon, peach, strawberry and cream, as well as limited editions such as pumpkin spice and caramel apple pies. JTM Foods manufactures them under its own brand, JJ’s Bakery, and as a contract manufacturer under third-party brands. The pies are distributed throughout the US, sold in convenience stores, food retailers and wholesalers.
Since 2017, JTM Foods has tripled its output of snack pies; that’s when the pie maker felt the need to expand its production facilities. “Our plant was running around the clock,” says Joe Amboyer, Senior Vice President of Operations. “That meant capacity bottlenecks and high labor costs.” In September 2023, the company opened a new production facility in Wichita, Kansas, with an investment of USD 40 million. The 195,000-square-meter plant doubles the previous production and logistics space and, according to the company, will help support new product innovations in addition to increased performance and higher volumes. To accomplish all this, a degree of automation in the factory was a must. The need for human intervention has been reduced to a minimum to avoid errors. In addition, the aim was to avoid arduous manual tasks in view of continued labor shortages.
The packaging area at JTM Foods, with the bagmakers visible at the front left and right and the central secondary packaging in the background
170,000 cakes per line and shift
Although the new plant offers a great deal of space, those responsible wanted to keep the installation area for the production equipment to a minimum – after all, up to 10 lines will be accommodated here in the future. Two lines were initially installed, which are intended for the production of mini cakes weighing 30 and 60 g and cakes weighing 90 and 120 g, respectively. Each line achieves an output of more than 170,000 pieces per shift.
Such production volumes also require high-performance packaging machines. JTM Foods opted for fully automatic packaging systems from SACMI Packaging & Chocolate. The bakery had a history of working with SACMI secondary packaging systems at its main plant, which it had been using for many years. This positive experience was the deciding factor in commissioning the supplier to provide both primary and secondary packaging.
The IER 030 top-loader places 400 bags per minute into the secondary packs
High-performance bagmakers
In autumn 2024, JTM Foods integrated a JT Advance horizontal form-fill-seal machine with contactless feeding into both lines. This new development from SACMI is a fully electronic and servo-controlled machine that can be configured for flat bags, side gusseted bags, bags with offset sealing, bags with tear strips and on-edge packaging with longitudinal and transverse sealing. The two machines package the small cakes in the new bakery at a speed of 200 cycles per minute. Even higher cycle rates would be possible if the systems were not limited by upstream processes. Automatic film splicers ensure high availability, allowing roll changes during production without reducing the machine speed.
The JT Advance bagmakers package 200 snack pies per minute each
Hygiene and sustainability
In addition, the hygienic design of the JT Advance bagmakers is especially beneficial for processing baked goods. Thanks to special trays and protective devices, the considerable product abrasion of sugar-glazed cakes can be easily removed. Moreover, it lowers the consumption of packaging materials and uses only heat-sealable paper films, as a more sustainable alternative. With the systems installed at the new JTM facility, SACMI made it possible to process paper-based materials and environmentally friendly films, aiming to reduce weight by introducing new functions. For example, the machine manufacturer uses 3D printing to produce an individual mold shoulder for each application. The components, which are perfectly adapted to the respective paper, prevent sensitive materials from breaking. In addition, the pull-off speed can be precisely controlled and adjusted by means of servo motors. In this way, the added benefit in terms of sustainability comes at no expense to the quality and appearance of the packaging.
Secondary packaging in cartons is carried out centrally by an IER 030 multi-packer
Pies and more
JTM Foods, LLC was founded in 1986 in the Great Lake city of Erie, Pennsylvania. In 1999, its JJ’s Snacks and Treats brand introduced the Pie in a Box innovation, for higher-quality product offerings and better merchandising. In 2023, the company marked its first step outside of Pennsylvania, with the factory in Wichita, Kansas. The USD 40 million expansion also included hiring around
200 people.
“After exploring several options across multiple states and locales,” shared Monty Pooley, JTM Foods President and CEO, “the strong public/private partnerships here, linking government, business, academic and community interests together, convinced us that Wichita was the best choice for JTM’s expansion.” The Wichita facility improves the logistics for Southern, Southwest and West Coast markets of the hand-held snack pies.
Central secondary packaging
After the mini cakes have been packaged in bags, the products must be filled into cartons. To do this, the two production lines are combined at a case packer. The IER 030 top-loader has a two-axis robot that picks up the bags from above, groups them and places them in the secondary packs according to the required quantities. JTM Foods produces cartons with six and 12 pieces in single- or double-row configurations. The system handles 400 bags per minute.
The cartons fed to the case packer are also produced using packaging technology from SACMI. The F-EL electronic case erector with double mold head can produce cartons in many sizes, with bases sealed using hot glue. The machine comes in a compact design, occupying only a footprint, which was one of JTM Foods’ requirements.
At the end of the line, the BC3-90 carton sealer ensures the collection containers are reliably closed. With its 90° angle outlet and compact design, the servo-driven machine can seal up to 90 cartons per minute with hot glue.
JTM Foods requires only one employee to operate the entire line, down from three, which is what the company would usually need at its main plant, using other systems. Format changes on SACMI systems take less than 20 minutes on average, which is significantly faster than the comparatively more complex changeovers in the production process.
OEE of 99 %
JTM Foods now operates the new packaging machines smoothly in two shifts, and those responsible are satisfied with the technology. The performance data speaks for itself, and the flexibility gained gives the bakery producer valuable room for changes for the future. For now, “350 million cakes need to be packaged first. We can now fulfil our orders faster and more efficiently. The new SACMI machines have an Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) of 99%,” says Joe Amboyer.
The investment is expected to pay for itself in less than two years. Based on its positive experience, JTM Foods has already ordered two more JT Advance bagmakers and an additional secondary packaging cell to replace less efficient equipment.
“350 million cakes need to be packaged first. We can now fulfil our orders faster and more efficiently.”
Joe Amboyer, Senior Vice President of Operations
SACMI Packaging & Chocolate S.p.A. is exhibiting at interpack 2026, in Hall 4, Stand E05-F05.
SACMI Packaging & Chocolate S.p.A. is a business unit of the SACMI Group headquartered in Imola, northern Italy. Under the Carle & Montanari (chocolate production) and OPM (packaging) brands, SACMI Packaging & Chocolate offers machines and complete lines for the entire process from raw cocoa to final packaging. The range includes machines for mixing, rolling, conching, tempering, molding, wrapping and packaging all types of chocolate-based products. The portfolio also includes packaging systems for many other confectionery and bakery products.
Today, SACMI Packaging & Chocolate has a factory for chocolate processing and molding equipment from Carle & Montanari in Milan, a factory for primary and secondary packaging lines in Alba, and a production facility for all types of wrapping and wrapping machines and carton erectors near Bologna.
The SACMI Group was founded over 100 years ago by engineers in Imola. Today, with 80 subsidiaries worldwide, the cooperative is the clear market leader in machinery and presses for ceramic production. The group employs around 4,500 people and has an annual turnover of more than EUR 1.4 billion.