The food manufacturing industry in Virginia is diverse, rich, and innovative. This sector includes companies that range from automation solutions providers to specialists in food processing and packaging. With a growing preference for automation and high-quality packaging in the food industry, these companies are set to be key players in the sector’s progressive trend. Leveraging cutting-edge technology and incessant innovation, they offer solutions that ensure efficiency, sustainability and product integrity. This industry's evolving dynamics reveal a future where technology and sustainable practices will continue to shape product yield, productivity, and profitability.


Top 20 food manufacturing companies in Virginia

1. Markel Food Group

Markel Food Group is a leading supplier of high-quality automation solutions to food producers around the world. They offer complete automated bakery solutions, informed by their expert bakers, for the production of a wide range of bakery products.


2. Drake Company

  • Website: drakeloader.com
  • Headquarters: Waynesboro, Virginia, United States
  • Founded: 1979
  • Headcount: 51-200
  • Latest funding type: Acquired
  • LinkedIn

Drakeloader.com is a leading company in the food industry that specializes in automating the loading process for cylindrical food products such as hot dogs, sausages, cheese sticks, and more. They offer high-performance loading systems that can load up to 1,800 pieces per minute, enabling flexible packaging options. With their custom designs, they ensure maximum yields while maintaining product integrity and aesthetics.


3. Ross Industries, Inc.

Ross Industries Inc. is a world-leading manufacturer of commercial food processing and packaging equipment. They specialize in engineering processing and packaging solutions that improve product yields, productivity, and profitability for food processors and packagers.


4. Chesapeake Bay Packing LLC

Chesapeake Bay Packing is a fast-growing processor and packer of high-quality frozen and fresh scallop products for domestic and worldwide distribution. They offer a comprehensive lineup of fresh and frozen domestic sea scallops, as well as imported scallops from various sources around the world.


5. Simpson Heating &a; Cooling

  • Website: simpson-heat.com
  • Headquarters: Woodstock, Virginia, United States
  • Headcount: 11-50

Simpson Heat is a food sterilization equipment manufacturer that designs, develops, produces and sells a range of products including double-layer water bath sterilizers and experiment sterilizers for various food processing applications.


6. LH

  • Website: lhcorp.net
  • Headquarters: Dublin, Virginia, United States
  • Headcount: 1-10

L.H. Corp. specializes in high precision machined parts made to customer specifications. Incorporated in 1989 in Virginia, L.H. Corp. capitalizes on the industrial experience of its people. With linguistic capabilities including German, French, Italian, and Spanish, we are well suited for business with foreign companies and their specific requirements. Our manufacturing facility - greatly expanded in 2004 with new offices and production space - is located conveniently near Interstates 81 and 77. We are proud of the latest in Wire-EDM and CNC machine tool equipment as well as our full CAD/CAM system. And we operate to ISO 9002 standards.


7. Effie's Bakery & Caterers

Effie's Place is an international bakery and kitchen rental company that offers production of West African foods, catering services, and bakery products.


8. AMF Bakery Systems

  • Website: amfbakery.com
  • Headquarters: Richmond, Virginia, United States
  • Founded: 1915
  • Headcount: 201-500
  • Latest funding type: Acquired
  • LinkedIn

AMF Bakery Systems is a leading provider of bakery equipment solutions. They offer a range of products and services that improve line efficiencies and simplify sanitation for baking operations. Their systems include cooling, freezing, pan and product handling, and fully-integrated conveying systems. AMF's flexible soft bread, bun, roll, and English muffin systems set the industry standard for product quality and operation simplicity.


9. Food Industry Technician

Learn about how the FIT program will prepare you for a good-paying job in the food and beverage industry. Already working as a food industry technician? Learn how you can use your experience to get your FIT Certification. Learn how the FIT program will help you hire skilled technicians for your food industry facilities and plants. In the U.S. alone, there are currently 5.6 million youth between the ages of 16 and 24 who are out of school and not working. At the same time, there are 3.5 million unfilled jobs. Middle-skill jobs account for 54 percent of United States labor market, but only 44 percent of the countrys workers are trained to the middle-skill level. What is the FIT Program? The Food Industry Technician (FIT) program is a partnership between the Food Processing Suppliers Association (FPSA), leading food companies, and academic program providers. Through this program, students receive the training and certification they need to become qualified technicians for the food and beverage manufacturing, processing, and packaging industries. Contact us today for detailed information.


10. The Colonial Group

The Colonial Group is a world-class executive search and recruiting firm specializing in connecting American manufacturers with top talent. They have expertise in general manufacturing, including food & beverage, chemical, plastics, packaging, machinery, and automation.


11. King's Gourmet Popcorn LLC

King's Gourmet Popcorn is a company that specializes in producing high quality and delicious flavored popcorn for customers worldwide.


12. Detectamet, Inc.

Detectamet is a leading global designer and producer of metal and X-ray detectable products, serving food factories, pharmaceutical factories, and processing environments around the world.


13. Rocktown Bites Food Tour

Rocktown Bites is a company that offers food and beverage products in the market.


14. SELEX Galileo Inc.

Leonardo Electronics US Inc. provides laser and sensor solutions for defense and commercial applications, including advanced targeting and illuminator systems, radar and infrared systems, electronic warfare, avionics, and more.


15. Cold Pressure Council (CPC)

The Cold Pressure Council promotes the standardization, education, and awareness of High Pressure Processing in the food industry.


16. Monoflo International

Monoflo International is a premier manufacturer of superior-quality, injection-molded plastic products. They offer a wide range of reusable transport packaging solutions for various industries, including manufacturing, automotive, food, and bakery. Their products include attached lid nestable totes and dollies, automation trays and containers, bulk containers, collapsible containers, pallets, poultry and dairy containers, and straight wall containers. Monoflo International is known for its design technology, sustainability efforts, and excellent customer service.


17. Consultare Inc.

InterlinkIQ is a certification services specialist that offers a wide range of services including accounting, branding, consulting, distribution, engineering, fulfillment, HR, IT, manufacturing, marketing, packaging, quality control, regulatory compliance, supply chain management, training, and more.


18. Techni-Pak, LLC

Techni-Pak, LLC is a contract packaging company that offers assembly, fulfillment, kitting, shrink wrapping, labeling, and product testing services. They help businesses grow and become more profitable by providing expert packaging solutions. By outsourcing packaging, companies can reduce costs, focus on core competencies, and benefit from faster turn-times for large volume projects.


19. Alpha Marathon Film Extrusion Technologies

  • Website: alphamarathon.biz
  • Headquarters: Woodbridge, Virginia, United States
  • Headcount: 51-200

Alpha Marathon is a global leader in the design and manufacturing of plastic film extrusion equipment which includes blown film lines, cast film lines, sheet lines, bi-oriented multilayers lines, and extrusion systems for food packaging, industrial packaging, medical packaging, and agricultural packaging.


20. Packaging Resources

Packaging Resources, Inc. has partnered with Airlite Plastics Co. for all of our customer's plastic container needs. Airlite Plastics Co. is an industry leader in plastic injection molding and printing. Airlite Plastics offers a broad range of stock containers and lids. With sizes ranging from 2 oz. to 172 oz. and diameters ranging from 300 to 811, Airlite offers over 100 stock container and lid options. Lightweight and durable, all containers and lids are molded from FDA approved plastic resins. Stock containers and lids are molded in the standard colors of natural or white or, if required, can be molded in a color of choice. High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) containers are freezer safe. Polypropylene (PP) containers, 410 diameter and smaller, are available in freezer safe or clarified natural resin. All containers will accept an inner heat seal film. This provides tamper resistance and assures freshness. Linear Low Density Polyethylene (LLDPE) lids in all sizes are available in white or natural. Decorating options include offset printing, applied pressure sensitive labels, in-mold labeling (IML) or shrink labeling. The company is proud of its products, because many of the brand name products that consumers find in their refrigerators and freezers are packaged in Airlite Plastics' containers. Airlite Plastics is based in Omaha, Nebraska, where it operates from two state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities. The company produces approximately 1.5 billion molded units, prints over 1 billion units and processes approximately 60 million pounds of plastic each year. Family owned and operated for almost 50 years, Airlite Plastics is an industry innovator. It pioneered the world's first four-level stack mold, became one of the early manufacturers of ICF construction blocks, and developed new and customized approaches to molding plastic packaging. Employing over 650 and operating in 820,000 square feet of production and warehouse space, the company possesses a passion for technology, a penchant for innovation and the ...


Want to find more food manufacturing companies?


If you want to find more companies that offer solutions for efficient food processing, packaging, and automation you can do so with Inven. This list was built with Inven and there are hundreds of companies like these globally.


With Inven you'll also get to know the company's:


  • Ownership: Which of these are private equity backed? Which are family-owned?
  • Contact data: Who are the owners and CEO's? What are their emails and phone numbers?
  • Financials: How do these companies perform financially? What are their revenues and profit margins?

...and a lot more!