Boat Molds to Aerospace: What Janicki Is Building in Great Falls, by the Numbers
Janicki Industries plans an $800 million, 1.6 million square foot campus in Great Falls. The first phase is now expected by the end of 2028.
Gravel roads now cross a 180-acre field in the AgriTech Park on the northeast edge of Great Falls. That ground is meant to become an $800 million manufacturing campus for Janicki Industries, a Washington company most Montanans had not heard of until this year. The Montana Statesman profiled the company and its plans. Below are the key figures and dates in one place.
The company in brief
- Founded: 1993, as Janicki Machine Design, by Peter and Susan Janicki in Sedro-Woolley, Washington.
- Leadership: Peter Janicki is founder and CEO. His brother John joined a year after the start and is president.
- Size today: more than 2,000 employees and over 1 million square feet of production space in Washington and Utah, according to the company.
- Markets: aerospace, defense, space, marine and architecture.
The origin is a useful lesson in listening to customers. The founders meant to sell large, precise five-axis milling machines to boat builders. The builders wanted the cutting done for them instead, so the company machined hull molds and plugs. Aerospace firms noticed the precision, and over three decades Janicki moved from composite tooling into making parts, prototypes and assemblies.
How Great Falls won
- Mid-May 2026: the Great Falls City Commission and Cascade County Commission approved tax abatements. Under the state law used, qualifying property is taxed at 50 percent of taxable value for five years after construction begins, rising to full value by year ten. The county also approved an 80 percent equipment abatement. Janicki put the eventual full annual tax bill at about $6.5 million.
- June 2: Janicki named Great Falls the winner. The Electric reported the final choice was between Great Falls and Twin Falls, Idaho.
- July 10: groundbreaking, with Gov. Greg Gianforte, U.S. Rep. Troy Downing, Mayor Cory Reeves and Great Falls Development Alliance CEO Brett Doney. The Janicki brothers moved the first dirt in two excavators.
John Janicki told KRTV the company looked at the whole state, and that workforce and housing drove the pick.
The build and the jobs
- About 1.6 million square feet, built in phases over roughly ten years.
- About 200 workers when the first building opens.
- About 1,000 jobs expected within five years, and more than 2,000 at full build-out.
- First phase timing has slipped from the end of 2027 to the end of 2028, KRTV reported in October, with winter weather a factor in concrete work.
Who will run it
On Oct. 8, Janicki announced that Daniel Voorhies, a retired Air Force colonel who last commanded the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base, joined in September as senior director of operations for the campus. He told KRTV hiring will come "in waves" as buildings finish. John Janicki has estimated that 85 to 90 percent of future employees already live in Montana.
What to watch
The open questions are the usual ones for a project this size: the pace of construction, the growth of customer demand, and whether local housing can absorb hundreds of new workers. Job postings and updates appear on the company's Montana page.
Originally reported by The Montana Statesman. Read the full profile: Janicki Industries in Great Falls: The Family Manufacturer Behind Montana's $800 Million Aerospace Campus.
