It’s Peanut Butter Jelly Time in McCalla: Smuckers opens biggest Uncrustables factory in the country

 1647610749 
1730997313

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey along with Smuckers CEO Mark Smucker cut the ribbon on the company's new $1 billion Uncrustables plant.

Noelle Annonen, WBHM

It’s a good day for peanut butter and jelly sandwich lovers in Birmingham. 

Three years after the Jefferson County Commission announced the largest economic development project in the region, the J.M. Smucker Company’s Uncrustables factory opened in McCalla on Thursday. 

The 900,000 square-foot facility represents a more than $1 billion capital investment from Smuckers and is predicted to bring in 750 jobs to the community. Smuckers CEO Mark Smucker cut the ribbon alongside Gov. Kay Ivey. 

“Folks, no matter how you slice it, this is a monumental partnership,” Ivey said, eliciting laughter from the audience. 

The factory is now one of three Uncrustables facilities making the fruit and peanut butter pocket pastry. 

Smuckers staff said Uncrustables is the company’s fastest growing item out of its substantial portfolio of products, including Jif peanut butter and Folgers coffee. 

“The decision to have our newest location here in McCalla was one we were very confident in and one we are very pleased with,” Smucker said. 

Officials estimated that Uncrustables will become a billion dollar brand by the end of Fiscal Year 2026. Othell Phillips, executive director of the Jefferson County Economic and Industrial Development Authority, called the new facility “a sweet deal” for the region. 

When the deal was first announced in 2021, county officials compared the project to development announcements for Honda and Mercedes, although those operations have grown since they first began. Officials added that the $1.1 billion from Smucker is the largest initial investment in the county’s history. 

 

New ‘Hunger Games’ prequel reminds that sometimes past truths aren’t visible

Sunrise on the Reaping recounts the 50th annual Hunger Games, telling the story of Haymitch Abernathy. It's themes and events conjure images of today's U.S. political climate.

At 83, Martha Stewart celebrates gardening with her 101st book

Martha Stewart talks gardening, wanting to be "one of the girls" and her 101st book with NPR Morning Edition host Michel Martin.

In the Missouri Ozarks, residents struggle to rebuild after tornadoes

Twisters that tore through Union County, Missouri killed 6 people. One couple survived against incomprehensible odds in a trailer obliterated by the storm.

‘Segregated facilities’ are no longer explicitly banned in federal contracts

The Trump administration cut a clause from federal contracting rules that had been on the books since the 1960s: Companies are no longer explicitly prohibited from having segregated facilities.

This is why Canada has plenty of eggs — and the U.S. doesn’t

While the U.S. grapples with an egg shortage caused by avian flu, eggs remain plentiful and affordable in Canada. There are reasons for that, including that egg farms there tend to be smaller.

Trump says he’s ending Secret Service protection for Biden’s adult children

President Trump said he was ending "immediately" the Secret Service protection details assigned to Democrat Joe Biden's adult children.

More Economy Coverage