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About Us

Specialized solutions for Food & Beverage.

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Founded in 1996, InLine provides high-volume production engineering expertise which encompasses virtually every sector of the industry, from baking to frozen foods, meat production, cheese, dairy, savory snacks, and beverages, including distilled spirits. We are a team of experts in bulk handling, processing, packaging systems, and sanitary design, including FDA food safety compliance.

 

Whether a project is multifaceted or a small modification, we shape our services to meet our customers’ needs. Working as an extension of your team, we develop and execute solutions that deliver greater efficiencies and a high return on investment.

 

With a roster of high-profile customers, including a number of Fortune 200 companies, our team of engineering, CAD designers, construction managers and project management professionals is committed to helping our food and beverage manufacturing customers meet their production and food technology objectives. Food & Beverage process and packaging engineering and food plant project management is our singular focus – day in and day out.

 

In 2018, InLine became part of the Gray family of brands when fully integrated services provider Gray announced its acquisition of InLine Engineers. Each company’s commitment to their customer base as well as the similar values of the companies brought them together to complement each other’s business interests.

Meet the Team

  • Mike Jacobs
    President - Mike Jacobs served as Senior Program Manager and Director of Business Development for InLine since 2021. He became President of InLine in October of 2023. he brings a wealth of food & beverage experience to this role with over 30 years building and leading global organizations within companies like Nestlé Waters and the Coca-Cola Co.
  • Gregg Coleman
    Vice President, Strategic Initiatives - Gregg began his career in the food manufacturing industry with Bremner, Inc., a subsidiary of Ralcorp (Ralston Purina) and served four years as a Project Engineer and Maintenance Manager. He later became Vice President of Engineering at ATI, Inc., which engineered and constructed printed circuit board handling and conveyance for the electronics industry. After six years at ATI Gregg founded InLine Automation Group in 1996. He currently serves as a Senior Project Manager and President of InLine Engineers. Gregg holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Kentucky.
  • Darren Frost
    Director, Atlanta - As a Director for InLine Engineers, Darren has served as the General Manager of the Atlanta office since 2011. Prior to InLine, Darren compiled significant experience as a supply chain and operations business consultant, working with Capgemini Consulting, Brooks Group, AmeriCold Logistics, Deloitte Consulting, and others. Darren received a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering at Georgia Tech and his MBA in Finance from Georgia State University. Darren is also a certified PMP.
  • Debra Watterson
    Director, Operations - Debra was named Director of Operations for InLine Engineers in 2013. Serving the company since 2006, Debra manages the day-to-day operations of the company including finance, personnel, IT, facilities, and overall support of the three office locations. Prior to InLine, Debra worked for The DeLor Group as an Office, Facility, and System Administrator for twelve years. Debra has a background in technology and has developed her skills through her years of experience. She enjoys the hustle and challenges of the day-to-day activities.
  • Gary Sisler
    Director - Gary leads Recruiting and Customer driven continuous improvement initiatives. Prior to joining InLine Engineers in 2013, Gary spent over 25 years with OTP Industrial Solutions as an Applications Engineer, Branch Manager, Region Manager and VP of Sales. His time there was spent leading and growing team-oriented business units that provide pre-engineered products and technical/business solutions services to a wide variety of industrial manufacturing customers. Gary holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kentucky.
  • Macaire Benson
    Director, Louisville - Macaire is a highly accomplished former Director of Operations and Engineering and Plant Manager with an MBA and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from West Point. She has a strong background in capital project management including new product introductions.
  • Rahul Nehete
    Director, Cincinnati - Rahul joined InLine in 2014 as a Junior Project Engineer. In early 2020 he was promoted to Project Manager and began managing projects including scope, schedule and budget. He relocated to Cincinnati in the summer of 2021 continuing in the Project Manager role but taking on additional responsibilities. He earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Pune in India, and holds a Master of Science, Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Kentucky.
  • Gary Garfield
    Director, Remote - Gary joined Inline in 2019 as a Senior Program Manger after a long-distinguished career with Kellogg's in Battle Creek, Michigan. He held various management and engineering roles while with Kellogg's. Gary is an accomplished engineering leader with expertise in innovation, productivity, and manufacturing.

Unit Operations

 

Bulk ingredient handling Bottling
Handling combustible dust Form, fill, seal
Mixing, blending Pouch filling, bag-in-box
Thermal processing Canning
Pasteurization Accumulation
Grinding, forming, linking Cartoning
Trimming, skinning, slicing Case packing
Various cooking methods Check weighing, metal detection
Retorts Palletizing
Baking, frying Hygienic zoning
Cooling, freezing Liquid storage and distribution
Aseptic filling Custom sanitary skids, design and build
Precision dosing

 

 

 

InLine Engineers is a Gray company.

InLine provides engineering, process improvement, and planning services for Food & Beverage leaders. In 2018, InLine joined the Gray family to complement its Food & Beverage offering. As a Gray company, we help customers transform their operations to maximize their ROI.