The Middleby Corp. has acquired JC Ford, a manufacturer of production equipment systems for corn and flour tortillas, tortilla chips, and other corn-based snacks. “We have targeted the snack food category as an attractive growing market for our food processing group,” said Tim FitzGerald, chief executive officer of Elgin-based Middleby. “The acquisition of JC Ford complements our existing product offerings, significantly strengthening our presence in this faster growing category. The company has developed innovative solutions that have been quickly accepted as the industry standard, allowing customers to automate production lines with a low cost of ownership. JC Ford has highly recognizable customers with a strong base of recurring revenue. We see significant opportunities to leverage synergies providing for added growth and margin opportunities.”