If you’ve ever picked up a Doritos chip or Taco Bell taco, you’ve likely had an encounter with JC Ford.

The La Habra-based small business makes the machinery – from “masa” dough mixers to fryers that crisp up tortilla chips – that’s used to create some of the nation’s favorite comfort food.

With no experience in the food business, Scott Ruhe and his father, Thomas, acquired JC Ford, a struggling company in 1990 in hopes of cashing in on a hot trend.

Salsa had outpaced ketchup in U.S. condiment sales by $40 million, and the Ruhes were betting the Mexican-fare market was just revving up.

They were onto something.

More than two decades later, salsa continues to outsell ketchup, tortillas have dethroned hot dog and hamburger buns and, based on data from market research company Information Resources, Inc., tortilla/tostada chip sales in the U.S. total more than $4 billion a year.

The Orange County company’s sales have more than doubled since 2001 to $25 million, said Ruhe, a Yorba Linda resident.

The recent growth of JC Ford, named after founder and original owner John Ford, has relied heavily on innovation.

The Ruhes, who previously ran their own automotive parts rebuilding company, drew on their manufacturing expertise to make more efficient tortilla-making equipment.

Their machines, which cost clients up to $2 million-plus each, can churn out per hour up to 120,000 tortillas and as many as 5,000 pounds of tortilla chips. The Ruhes have tripled the capacity and efficiency of the line since the early 1990s.

Another priority was making machinery that would make consistent products, which is especially important for clients like Frito-Lay and Tyson Foods. Customers expect the same experience every time, Ruhe said.

“Every tortilla will weigh the exact same, so (companies are) certain that every bite and texture are the same,” added Ruhe, 51, as he walked through a bustling, 80,000-square-foot manufacturing area that’s consistently humming with activity.

More than 100 employees run the local operation. The only time you’ll catch a whiff of tortillas or JC Ford’s version of tortilla chips is while employees are testing the equipment. Everything that’s made eventually gets tossed out.

JC Ford supplies clients with either whole systems to produce tortillas or tortilla chips or individual components. Dallas-based tortilla retailer Ole Mexican Foods has ordered a mammoth, $2 million system that handles the whole process.

Also important to the company is making most of its parts in-house instead of outsourcing the work, Ruhe said. In-house work means more quality control and less expensive labor, which equals savings.

Though thriving, JC Ford isn’t without challenges.

As tortillas surpassed bread in U.S. sales, an increasing number of large bread companies have attempted to break into the market and gobble up the company’s share.

“The industry is no longer niche,” Ruhe said.

He gets at least two offers a year from companies offering to buy him out, he said, but has declined each time.

“Where else can you find another roller coaster like this in your lifetime?” Ruhe said.

Contact the writer: lleung@ocregister.com