USA — American consumer goods company The J.M. Smucker Co. is investing US$1.1 billion in a new manufacturing facility in McCalla, Alabama.
A statement from the company indicates that the new plant will be dedicated to the manufacturing of the company’s Uncrustables brand.
Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2022, and the plant is expected to be operational by 2025.
The facility is the third manufacturing location dedicated to the Smucker’s Uncrustables brand along with
the firm’s current facilities in Scottsville, Kentucky and Longmont, Colorado
The McCalla plant combined with a completed expansion at the Longmont facility will more than double Smucker’s Uncrustables manufacturing capacity, according to the company.
The thaw-and-eat Smucker’s Uncrustables brand has grown to approximately US$500m in annual net sales, growing by double digits each year over the past decade.
With increased production capacity, the company expects to grow Smucker’s Uncrustables brand over the next five years to approximately US$1bn in annual net sales.
During an investor call this past December, John P. Brase, chief operating officer of J.M. Smucker, said the only barrier to future growth of Uncrustables was the ability to supply product.
He called the brand the fastest growing part of Smucker’s consumer food business and the new facility will enable J.M Smucker to overcome the current barrier to growth.
Smucker has steadily extended the line of frozen, handheld sandwiches with new formats. Two varieties introduced in October were uncured pepperoni bites and uncured pepperoni roll-ups.
The bites are formulated with bread, pepperoni, marinara sauce, and mozzarella cheese while the roll-ups feature flatbread, pepperoni, Provolone, and Neufchatel cheeses with seasoning.
Earlier, J.M Smucker announced that a liquid coffee facility in Suffolk, Virginia, will be shuttered in spring 2022.
After it closes its doors, the 80 employees who work there will receive support in transitioning to new work, the company said in an email.
The plant closure was announced as the company shared news of a partnership with JDE Peet’s.
The world’s largest pure play coffee and tea company will support J.M. Smucker’s liquid coffee business — which serves foodservice and does not deal with retail coffee — with product development, production and equipment innovation.