JLS Automation, York, PA, has added Mike Newcome to its team as manager of the central U.S. and Canada region. Newcome’s 15 years of packaging sales and management experience includes market experience in food, beverage and personal care with a strong focus on case packing and robotic automation systems. He comes to JLS from Hartness International, where he was director of sales for the central U.S. and Canada and led a regional team that covered 17 states.

“Mike’s experience with secondary packaging, especially case packing, and key accounts will be a great asset to our growing team,” says Craig A. Souser, president/CEO of the provider of custom vision-guided robotic solutions for the food packaging industry. “The Midwest is a critical region for us and is loaded with opportunity. Combine that with the recent launch of our Osprey Chub Loader and other new products on the horizon, we are confident that Mike will hit the ground running.”

Newcome will be based out of Chicago.