After 10 years of steadily upgrading its packaging, Calhoun Bend Mill operates two automatic vertical form/fill/seal machines that pack an extensive variety of products into both retail and foodservice sizes, from 3 oz up to 5 lb. The Jonesville, LA-based company now sells nationwide, and has parlayed the “Southern goodness” of its recipes into a fast-growing business.
Its packaging materials and methods of packaging have changed a lot over the last decade, since it bought its first moderate-volume f/f/s machine. “Our first machines were relatively inexpensive and simple to operate,” says Jesse Calhoun, the company vice president who oversees the plant’s production. “Those machines didn’t have a lot of ‘bells and whistles,’” he says, “but they were easy to operate and maintain.” Output of these machines eventually reached 30 bags/min, he says, for the popular sizes of bags, mostly 8 oz.
