When James Schatz took over as CEO of the bakery in Maine almost two years ago, he stepped into a decades-old company. He quickly created a to-do list, recognising the opportunity for Connecticut-based granola companies to expand their business and reduce inefficiencies.
“Manufacturers are often caught up in the idea that ‘we’ve come this way forever’, but I don’t believe it,” Shutts said.
Determined to reposition 30 years ago for long-term success, Shutts laid out the strategy. Clear your brand, streamline your operations, and invest in the latest scalable technologies. That meant making bold changes, including rebranding the company. The man is Cramblesrefocusing the product linesand automation to eliminate bottlenecks and strengthen the workforce.
Now, Uncle Klepples is laying the foundation for an expansion that not only outperforms the legacy brand, but also has automation at the heart.
“When I stepped in, we had a safe quality food (SQF) score of 87. Now we’re at 99,” Shutts said. “We rethinked the whole business with a focus on people and processes.”
Reforming the 30-year-old company
Since rebranding the Connecticut-based company to Uncle Crumbles, the company has focused on core products (mainly granola, oats, soon oatmeal) and a more distinct identity that suits the company’s creative culture. Since narrowing down SKU counts and doubling certain products, Uncle Crumbles has shown to perform better than their previous brands.
“We had 40 SKUs in all kinds of shapes and sizes, but only a handful were in high demand,” Shutts said. “By leveraging real-time internal data using the new Oracle Netsuite ERP system and feedback from the strongest consumers, we have been able to streamline our products to under 10 and return to growth.”
And the momentum continues. Thirty years later as a leading gluten-free brand, Uncle Crumbles saw the opportunity to reach a larger audience. In response to growing demand from consumers and interest from major retailers, the company is continuing its commitment to all-natural ingredients and the use of gluten-free oats for the Uncle Crumbles brand, while expanding to standard oats. Results: A product lineup that appeals to both health-conscious and value-driven consumers.
That shift also means that the company can bid on businesses that it had to turn its back on before. “Last year, the top five grocery stores sent us 20 bids, but only two were able to reply because it didn’t contain gluten,” Shutts said. “That’s changing now.”
But on the horizon, more businesses are underway, Shuts saw the need to deploy automation to build market share and take advantage of opportunities to change employees’ inefficient mindsets.
“We’ve been restrained, but the reins are free now,” he said. “The equipment we bring can handle cartneys and bulk items that are more complicated than our customers want. The more we can say yes, the more chances we have will be to win. But historically, the way we think about it has been working with what we had and what we didn’t work for.”
An advanced approach to automation
Uncle Krepples’ automation experience has not been successful historically. Shutt said they would eventually be able to “finally”Robot Cemeterywas made up of second-hand automated equipment they installed, but they couldn’t keep running and had to push away.
This time, Shutts said they have come up with a more strategic approach to where automation is deployed and where they will partner. Automation in the coming months formatDelkor, and Pattyn collide with Uncle Crumble’s production floor, tackling automated palletization, cartney, and casepacking.
These first – fully managed Robot Palletizer From Fromic – Live in a few weeks. It is designed to eliminate years of pain. Employees manually stack 50 pound boxes, often leading to injuries and inefficiencies.
“We literally palette a 50-pound box,” he said. “We can’t ask our employees to do that. We can become more efficient and at the same time improve our skills.”
When Shutts first joined the company, he realized that many of the manual tasks being done could be automated to improve both productivity and ergonomics and eliminate the possibility of injury from bending, lifting and twisting movements.
Uncle Klepple was formed as he was able to quickly make new business happen. Shutts says Formic’s rapid deployment, monthly contracts and $0 Capex are a big plus, but including full support for preventive and corrective maintenance was the top cherry.
“With Frumic, I was able to quickly start my automation plan by saying, ‘Get it now’. If the customer wants something different, there’s the option to quickly change and shift,” he said.
Empower employees with automation
In the case of shutting, automation is not just about throughput, it’s about creating a better workplace. He focuses on retraining and high-skilling current employees, supporting and managing new systems rather than replacing them.
“We’re going to get more work done, but it’s going to be an easier job,” he said. “We run 24 hours a day, five days a week. We want to run the robots non-stop.”
format It helps train operators as part of the deployment, ensuring workers are capable of suc- turing success in their new roles. It can be combined with a more efficient workflow, so that uncle Cransble can say yes and order if he would have previously turned his back on the box size, configuration, or volume function.
In addition to retraining line workers, Shutts is focused on developing a more powerful management pipeline. “We need more team leads. We need more managers to lead,” he said. Now he has a path for people to get there. That focus on that has aligned the workforce with the company’s growth trajectory, creating new internal opportunities.
That approach reflects what Connecticut is defending. Paul Lavoy, Chief Manufacturing Officer in Connecticutemphasised that this is “something that every manufacturer in Connecticut needs to consider to ensure a sustainable growth trajectory.”
“Investing in industrial innovation and automation, raising and reskilling the workforce is the formula for manufacturing success not only in Connecticut, but across the country. As we move to growing manufacturers, we need a foresightful leader like James. “Congratulations to Uncle Klepples and Forman.
Build the foundation for the future
The story of my uncle Clerbulls is more than just one new equipment or fresh logo. It’s about leadership, clarity of the vision, and willingness to challenge the way things were always done to build a stronger business.
Safety incidents have declined, operational scores have risen, employees are trained for higher pay and have physically less demanding roles. Operationally, the company has also introduced new scanner systems and inventory management, increasing production and satisfaction visibility as teams scale to higher capacity accounts.
“We were ahead of the flavor game,” Shatts said. “But behind automation.”
Now, Uncle Krepple is building a modern and scalable business. It combines product quality with operational agility and places its workforce at the heart of its transformation. Not only are they catching up anymore, but the company is setting a pace for what a responsive, people-first food manufacturer looks like.
“Want to maintain a small, family-owned, gluten-free business or want to grow?” Shutt said. “We’re choosing to grow.”
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