When challenged by its parent company to quadruple its output, El Matador Enterprises decided to invest in more efficient processing equipment to achieve this goal. Among its purchases was a new conveyor system that has enabled the Michigan-based tortilla chip manufacturer to significantly reduce its downtime and increase its production yields.
When El Matador Enterprises was founded in Grand Rapids, Mich., in 1976 by Miguel and Isabel Navarro, its premium-quality, corn tortilla chips were made using an authentic Mexican recipe that had been passed down through generations: Fresh-cooked corn was ground into masa using Mexican lava stones before further processing and seasoning.