Executives from JBT Marel (NYSE:JBTM) outlined the company’s strategy around full-line processing solutions, automation, service and aftermarket expansion, and software-enabled performance optimization during a customer-focused presentation that included case studies across poultry, prepared foods, and beverage packaging.
Poultry case studies highlight full-line “building blocks” and automation
Roger Claessens, who leads the company’s poultry division, framed current customer pressures as rising demand for protein volumes, expanding SKU counts, increasing expectations for food safety and traceability, and persistent skilled labor scarcity. He presented three poultry-focused examples.
The second case study focused on changing consumer behavior toward pre-sliced, diced, and ready-to-cook products, alongside labor constraints. Claessens said JBT Marel and Plukon developed a fully automated breast cap deboner running 6,000 breast caps per hour, using sensors to automate cuts and optimize yield. He contrasted this with his estimate that globally about 50% of deboning remains manual (about 40% in the U.S.). He emphasized that the automation also supports downstream inspection by positioning fillets consistently on conveyors, which can reduce subjective human judgment through camera-based inspection steps.
The third case study addressed U.S. regulatory line-speed constraints. Claessens said typical poultry processing line speeds globally run 200–250 birds per minute, but U.S. operations have been restricted to 140 birds per minute to support inspection requirements. He said JBT Marel partnered with customers and the USDA on a solution that allows processing at 250 birds per minute by splitting and slowing lanes to 125 birds per minute for inspection, then merging lines afterward.
Prepared foods and beverage examples emphasize integrated outcomes
EVP of Meat and Prepared Foods Bob Petrie said customers in prepared foods and beverage are increasingly seeking full-line solutions that provide flexibility, ease of use, and lower energy consumption and total cost of ownership. He said the company is integrating AI and vision technology to inspect and remove non-conforming product—tasks historically dependent on manual labor—and is using standardized modules to reduce cost and complexity across its supply chain and installed base.
Petrie described a flagship end-to-end hamburger line for Danish Crown supplying a “well-known U.S.-based” quick-service restaurant. He said Danish Crown required output of 100 tons per day with strict specifications including weight, shape, thickness, fat-to-lean ratio, and no bones. Petrie said JBT Marel provided a fully integrated line from meat inspection through preparation, forming, freezing, and weighing, and stated it was the only company able to deliver the full line as specified. He also emphasized the customer benefit of having a single accountable partner for delivery, installation, startup, and ongoing service.
In beverage packaging, Petrie highlighted the company’s EV Filler volumetric platform. He said it is designed for multiple beverage types at ambient or warm filling temperatures, eliminating energy-intensive pre-fill chilling and post-seam warming steps. Petrie said the EV Filler improves fill-level accuracy and can reduce total cost of ownership by about $700,000 per year per filler, while also reducing changeover time and footprint by collapsing processing steps from three to one.
Service and aftermarket strategy targets higher share of wallet
Augusto Rizzolo, EVP and President of Regions and Integration, presented service and aftermarket as a major value creation lever. He said JBT Marel has approximately 200,000 “key machines” in its global installed base and currently captures roughly 40% of customers’ aftermarket spend, compared with 50%–60% at best-in-class industrial peers. He described a shift toward a more consistent, localized, and responsive service model built around customer-facing metrics, supported by organizational changes and dedicated service processes and tools.
Rizzolo said the service lifecycle can generate “close to 2x–4x the value” of the initial equipment sale. He also described the company’s digital platform as a differentiator when combined with JBT Marel’s product and process knowledge, enabling condition monitoring, algorithm-based parameter tracking, preventive maintenance, and better “first-time fix” rates by dispatching the right technician with the right parts.
He outlined investments in a dedicated parts network centered on two global distribution centers—one in Georgia and one in the Netherlands—supported by regional distribution centers in emerging markets. Rizzolo said the Netherlands facility is highly automated and can ship most orders the same day. He reported early results including 20%–25% improvement in on-time delivery, along with inventory and operating cost benefits.
Rizzolo also highlighted the company’s ProCare service agreement as a mechanism to bundle expertise, digital capabilities, parts availability, and uptime-focused support into a recurring revenue model.
Software, AI, and an integrated platform positioned as competitive advantage
President Arni described software and digital as increasingly important due to margin pressure, complex operations, evolving consumer preferences, and the need for higher uptime. He said JBT Marel’s software offering spans machine-level tools (remote support and prescriptive maintenance), line-level coordination (traceability and upstream/downstream optimization), and factory-level visibility across sites and IT integration. He said the company is integrating the legacy JBT and Marel platforms and expects to complete that work by the end of the year with limited customer impact.
In a video example of a poultry plant, the company described tracking individual birds and using real-time data from farms, scales, vision systems, graders, and equipment sensors to guide supervisors, route higher-quality raw material to higher-value end products, and improve traceability to enable targeted recalls.
Arni said JBT Marel’s ability to train AI models depends on structured data and deep process understanding, and he positioned the combination of equipment integration, application expertise, and software as a key differentiator relative to enterprise software providers, shop-floor automation vendors, and traditional equipment peers.
Financial targets: growth, margin expansion, and cash generation through 2028
CFO Matthew Meister said the company has “recently resegmented” into two operating segments: Protein Processing Solutions and Prepared Food and Beverage Solutions. He said the company expects above-market growth over the next three years, supported by resilient end markets and revenue synergies from integrated solutions.
Meister detailed synergy progress and longer-term margin goals, stating that JBT Marel realized $43 million of synergies in 2025 and exited 2025 with an $85 million run-rate. He said the company remains on track for a $150 million synergy run-rate by the end of 2027, contributing to an expectation of more than 400 basis points of margin improvement by 2028. He also described value engineering efforts, citing control panel standardization that he said delivered 40%–50% cost reductions while also improving lead and installation times.
Meister outlined financial targets including:
- 2025 revenue base: $3.8 billion
- Organic CAGR (2026–2028): 5%–7%
- Adjusted EBITDA margin target (2028): 20%
- Free cash flow conversion: 55%–60% of EBITDA (10%+ of revenue)
- Cumulative free cash flow (three-year period): well over $1 billion
He said leverage was reduced from nearly 4x at the transaction close to less than 2.9x within 12 months, with a path toward about 2x by the end of 2026 and a long-term target range of 2x–2.5x. He added that near-term capital allocation priorities include continued deleveraging, funding growth and innovation, and maintaining the current dividend, with longer-term priorities including strategic M&A and opportunistic share repurchases.
In a Q&A portion, management emphasized the customer rationale for full-line solutions, describing system-level optimization and accountability as advantages over multi-vendor “best-of-breed” approaches. The company also said reaching 50% aftermarket share-of-wallet is expected to take time beyond 2028, while recurring revenue is modeled to grow faster than equipment sales.
About JBT Marel (NYSE:JBTM)
JBT Marel Corporation provides technology solutions to food and beverage industry in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. It offers value-added processing that includes chilling, mixing/grinding, injecting, blending, marinating, tumbling, flattening, forming, portioning, coating, cooking, frying, freezing, extracting, pasteurizing, sterilizing, concentrating, high pressure processing, weighing, inspecting, filling, closing, sealing, end of line material handling, and packaging solutions to the food, beverage, and health market.
