It’s Peanut Butter Jelly Time in McCalla: Smuckers opens biggest Uncrustables factory in the country
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey along with Smuckers CEO Mark Smucker cut the ribbon on the company's new $1 billion Uncrustables plant.
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.
Judge blocks Trump from cutting funding over ‘sanctuary’ policies
A judge ruled the Trump administration cannot deny funding to Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and 30 other cities and counties because of policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration efforts.
As Trump touts D.C. arrests, experts caution they’re not the best indicator of public safety
The Trump administration says it has arrested more than 700 people in Washington, D.C., in its mission to crack down on crime. Experts say it's difficult to draw conclusions from that about public safety.
Tour bus rollover kills 5 on interstate highway in western New York
A tour bus returning to New York City from Niagara Falls with 54 people on board crashed and rolled on a highway near Pembroke, killing five passengers and injuring many others, authorities said.
Famine is declared in Gaza: What does it take to make this pronouncement?
An announcement of famine — as has now happened regarding Gaza — is a complicated decision. Here's what must be considered before such a declaration is made.
Intel will give the U.S. government a 10% stake, Trump says
The president's highly unusual announcement underscores the Trump administration's desire to take control over U.S. businesses.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia released from federal custody pending criminal trial
The case of Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man originally from El Salvador, raised basic questions of due process in Trump's crackdown on undocumented immigrants after he was arrested and sent to a maximum security prison in El Salvador, violating a U.S. immigration judge's 2019 order prohibiting his deportation to his home country.
