Sacramento-based Blue Diamond Growers surpassed $1 billion in a record sales year that concluded Aug. 31.
Mark Jansen, Blue Diamond's president and CEO, will formally announce surpassing the $1 billion threshold later today at the cooperative's 102nd annual members meeting in Modesto.
The cooperative's chief executive predicted last year that Blue Diamond would become a $1 billion-a-year business within the next two to three years. As it turned out, it happened in just one year.
In 2011, Blue Diamond reported sales of $825 million.
In Sacramento, what would become Blue Diamond opened a small hulling and shelling plant on C Street in 1914. That grew to what is now touted as the largest nut-processing plant in the world, covering 90 acres.
Blue Diamond also operates a smaller processing plant in Salida and several receiving stations that gather nuts for shipping to the processing plants.
In Modesto this week, Blue Diamond also is celebrating a new chapter.
Having purchased 88 acres in Turlock in fall 2011, Blue Diamond is working on the first phase of a new manufacturing plant at North Washington and Fulkerth roads. Media representatives toured the construction site on Tuesday.
Phase One is scheduled to be completed in May 2013, with about 200,000 square feet for manufacturing and delivering almond products worldwide.
The three-phase project eventually will top out at 500,000 square feet over the next 15 years.
Blue Diamond Growers is owned by 3,000-plus growers. California grows more than 80 percent of the global supply of almonds.
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