Janicki Industries, a privately owned engineering and manufacturing company specializing in composite and metallic tooling, has selected Great Falls, Montana as the site of an $800 million manufacturing campus. The project will add roughly 2 million square feet of production space over the next decade and is expected to create more than 2,000 jobs at full build-out.
Details of the project
Announced June 2, 2026, the investment follows a multi-month site-evaluation process driven by rising demand from aerospace, defense and space programs that has outgrown Janicki's existing facilities. The company is purchasing 180 acres of shovel-ready land within the region's AgriTech Park, positioning it to move quickly from site selection to construction.
Key figures
- $800 million total investment over roughly ten years.
- About 2 million square feet of new production space.
- 1,000 jobs within the first five years, exceeding 2,000 at full campus.
- Construction expected to begin July 2026, with the first phase opening by the end of 2027.
Why Montana
Janicki designs and builds composite and metallic tooling, parts, prototypes and assembled structures for customers across aerospace, defense, space and marine markets. The Great Falls selection reflects a broader dispersal of advanced manufacturing beyond traditional aerospace hubs, as companies seek shovel-ready sites, available land and workforce potential. Reports indicated Janicki had also evaluated locations in Idaho before choosing Montana, underscoring how competitive states have become in courting large industrial employers.
For a company whose growth is tied to long-cycle aerospace and space programs, expanding production capacity is a way to secure future work. Tooling and structures for aircraft, launch vehicles and defense systems require large, specialized facilities and skilled labor, and demand has pushed Janicki beyond the limits of its current footprint. A greenfield campus lets it design workflow and capacity around the programs it expects to win.
Regional impact
- A major addition to Montana's manufacturing base.
- High-wage aerospace and advanced-manufacturing jobs for the region.
- Phased construction to align capacity with program demand.
- Spillover for local suppliers, construction firms and services.
The bigger picture
The expansion is one of several large U.S. factory commitments announced in June 2026, part of a wave of investment in aerospace, defense and advanced materials. Building in phases lets Janicki match new capacity to incoming orders rather than overbuilding ahead of demand. For Great Falls, the campus represents one of the largest industrial investments in the area's history and a long-term anchor for the local economy.