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

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.