Janicki Industries to break ground in Cascade County; local development leaders say project will bring hundreds of jobs

Jolene Schalper, with the Great Falls Development Alliance, told the Cascade County Commission at a July work session that Janicki Industries will break ground this week on a major manufacturing facility at the AgriTech Park.

"They're gonna break ground on that facility on Friday at noon at the Avery Tech Park," Schalper said, and gave the nearby reference address as 5901 18th Avenue North. She said the building will be roughly "350,000-ish" square feet and that site work will begin immediately to allow interior work over the winter and a target opening about a year from now.

Schalper said the company’s hiring will draw largely from Cascade County and neighboring communities, covering jobs from entry level through engineering roles. "The majority of the people that will work at Janicki already live in Cascade County and the surrounding counties," she said.

The Alliance official thanked the county for prior investments, including ARPA funds, and emphasized that having a development‑ready site helped secure Janicki against competing locations. Schalper said the county’s AgriTech Park offered the necessary infrastructure and immediately buildable land, which she described as decisive during company site selection.

Schalper also told commissioners the Alliance applied for Opportunity Zone designation for downtown census tracts and an adjacent riverfront corridor; the governor’s office is expected to decide by August and the state will forward nominations for federal approval. She said additional housing projects and brownfield catalyst sites remain priorities to support the company and other downtown investment.

Chair (S1) and other commissioners asked brief clarifying questions during the presentation; no action was taken at the work session. Schalper invited commissioners and members of the public to a Janicki information session scheduled for the prior evening at Great Falls College MSU and reiterated that the company and local partners expect the project to have long‑term economic impact on the county.

The county staff and the Alliance said the next public step is the planned Friday groundbreaking and ongoing coordination on workforce and site readiness.