Abstract: A tray forming machine, including a programmable controller that controls: (a) the movement of tray blanks from a hopper (41) to a conveyor (73) that moves trays from a hopper station (31) through a glue station (33) to a mandrel station (35); (b) the application of glue to tray blanks (43) moved by the conveyor (73) through the glue station (33); and, (c) the formation of the tray blanks (43) into trays at the mandrel station (35), is disclosed. The programmable controller controls the operation of the tray forming machine in accordance with operator instructions, which include tray length, glue pattern length, margin distance and mandrel dwell time, plus on/off instructions regarding glue application and glue format (stitch or continuous). The readily changeable operator inserted instructions are entered via a control/display unit (135), which displays information about the function and changes being made when the instructions are being entered.