Smucker’s $340M Longmont plant opens

LONGMONT — With the opening of the new J.M. Smucker Co. (NYSE: SJM) Uncrustables manufacturing plant, Longmont is now home to the largest single capital investment in the company’s 122-year history. 

Smucker CEO Mark Smucker and Gov. Jared Polis were among those on hand Wednesday to celebrate the opening of the 430,000-square-foot, $340 million factory that will eventually employ about 500 people.

“This is a very significant milestone in our company’s history,” Smucker CEO Mark Smucker said during Tuesday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.

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The project, which was bolstered by a $6.5 million incentive package from Longmont and a roughly $3 million package from Weld County, broke ground in 2017. It is located at 2900 Peak Ave. on Longmont’s eastern edge within Weld County. 

“We would not be here today without the tremendous support we’ve received from the state, city, county and our economic-development partners,” Smucker said. 

The initial phase of the pant, which is the company’s first in Colorado, was completed within the last couple of weeks and is now operational. The second phase of construction will soon be underway. 

Longmont leaders expect the plant to generate more than $12 million in direct fiscal impact for the city and more than $200 million in overall regional economic impact over the next decade.

“Colorado truly is a great place for that [$340 million capital investment],” Polis said. “We’re going to make sure you see a return on that investment.”

He added: “Smucker’s decision to locate the plant in Colorado is a great example of our high quality of life, our collaborative business environment and our political cooperation of both parties from people who are about good jobs in our state.”

Uncrustables is one of Smucker’s fastest-growing brands, and the company expects to double production in the near future, Smucker said.

The peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, which have historically been manufactured only in Smucker’s Scottsville, Kentucky, plant, accounted for roughly $250 million in 2018 sales. The Kentucky factory cranks out more than 2 million Uncrustables every day.

“This [Longmont] plant is vital to our growth strategy,” Smucker said. “… The reason we have built this plant is because there is so much demand for the product. We could easily double the business when we launch our national advertising campaign.”