Briefs on tortilla and chip production lines, automation, energy upgrades and packaging for tortilla and flatbread plants. Most are based on equipment makers' announcements and trade press. 9 stories, newest first.
Reser’s Fine Foods completed refrigeration and compressed-air energy projects at its ~300,000-sq-ft Don Pancho West tortilla plant in Salem, Ore., with Energy Trust of Oregon. Company figures: >20% electricity cut (~1.9 million kWh/yr), 8% lower facility emissions; CO₂ central refrigeration ~41% less power vs. modeled baseline and 114% more capacity; VSD compressor/dryer ~44% less power.
Spanish corn-tortilla maker Tortillas Nagual (Barberà del Vallès) installed a second Universal Robots UR3e collaborative robot on its packaging line for pick-and-place cartoncillos (carton inserts). Integrator ATX Robotics (Grupo Aritex) supplied a dual vacuum gripper and stack columns adaptable across eight corn-tortilla SKUs. Company cites 21.07 million tortillas in 2025 and 36 employees; Generalitat subsidy supported the project.
Coveris launched PolyFlex Thermoform, a recycle-ready, nylon-free high-barrier thermoform pack developed with Signature Flatbreads and Al'Fez. It is live on three Al'Fez flatbread SKUs in UK and EU retail, including Turkish-style flame-baked mini flatbreads. The structure pairs a monomaterial PE base web with a PE/PP lidding film. Coveris says it validated a 12-week shelf life and consistent performance on existing packing lines. It's recyclable today through UK front-of-store soft-plastics collection and is positioned for UK pEPR, Simpler Recycling and EU PPWR.
PACK EXPO International returns to McCormick Place in Chicago Oct. 18–21, 2026. This preview flags film, coding, case pack, and processing booths relevant to tortilla and flatbread plants — including Heat and Control at booth N-4706.
Casa Herrera introduced a Premium Rolled Tortilla Chip line as a modular add-on for new tortilla-chip systems rated 1,000 lb and above. The Pomona, Calif. OEM pitches specialty rolled-chip formats without a full fryer/sheeter replacement.
Lawrence Equipment used SNACKEX 2026 in Lisbon (June 17–18) for the European launch of MEGA COOK, a corn-cooking / nixtamal system. Company sales posts claimed sub-two-hour raw corn to nixtamal, about 30% less cook-line water, and a smaller footprint versus traditional cook systems — claims not yet backed by a standalone HTML datasheet.
Baking Business excerpts from Baking & Snack’s May 2026 Flatbread & Tortilla Processing package survey how OEMs handle SKU flexibility and better-for-you doughs. Moline, AMF, Fritsch/Multivac, Rademaker, and Rheon discuss sheeting control, changeovers, and high-protein/fiber rheology.
Lawrence Equipment broke ground Feb. 18, 2026, on a corn-mill production facility for wholly owned Molinos USA at 4811 Tortilla Way in Sherman’s Progress Park. SEDCO approved up to $1.3 million in incentives for the project and estimates total capital investment at about $35 million.
The Middleby Corporation acquired JC Ford of Columbia, Tenn., on Nov. 1, 2024. The tortilla and chip equipment maker reported about $70 million in annual revenue and operates a 132,000-square-foot Nashville-area plant opened in 2021.
