Ohio beats-out 40 states for $20B Intel chip plant; Company pledges ‘Silicon Heartland’

NEWARK — Ohio was selected as the winner of Intel’s new $20 billion chip facility following competition from 40 U.S. states, according to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.

>>RELATED: Intel building $20B Ohio chip facility amid global shortage

DeWine, along with Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, Intel Senior Vice President and General Manager of Manufacturing Keyvan Esfarjani, and others spoke during a formal announcement of the company’s plan at The Midland Theatre in Newark Friday afternoon.

“This is a major win for Ohio, and its really a gamechanger for our economic future,” DeWine said. “Intel could have put these plants anywhere in the country, in fact, there were 40 states that were competing to try and get these plants.”

“And we won! Ohio won! They chose Ohio! We worked, we fought, and we won to bring these jobs to Ohio,” DeWine said.

DeWine, like leaders across the state and in the White House emphasized the importance of semiconductors and to shore-up the United States’ ability to produce them domestically, with over 70 percent of the current global supply coming from east Asian countries. These new facilities will be vital to national security, and to help continue to make modern life possible.

“We must make more products right here in the United States. What better place to manufacture any of them than right here in Ohio, made by Ohioans,” DeWine said. “Pat (Gelsinger), Ohioans are just darn hard workers.”

DeWine said Intel’s announcement and new commitment to the state and region represents a chance for Ohio to lead once again in manufacturing.

“Intel announcement today confirms this is Ohio’s time in history. This is our time we have an opportunity to lead once again.”

“Intel’s announcement today is a signal to China and the rest of the world that from now on our essential manufactured products in this country will be made in the United States of America,” DeWine said.

Gelsinger detailed more about the company’s plans during his portion of the address and said the goal of this facility is to become one of, if not the largest and most advanced semiconductor facility in the entire world.

“We expect that Intel Ohio will become one of, if not the largest semiconductor manufacturing sites in the world over the next decade. This is a great day,” Gelsinger said.

As detailed in events during the day, Gelsinger said there will be 3,000 direct jobs through Intel coming, along with an estimated 7,000 construction jobs coming to build the facilities.

“If there’s a concrete truck in the state of Ohio that isn’t working for me, I want to know about it,” Gelsinger said.

Gelsinger also detailed an additional $100 million investment to create a talent pipeline that would continue to feed qualified workers to the facility. The pipeline calls for partnerships with many state colleges, universities, and community colleges.

“We want your best and brightest participating with us. We need the full range of capabilities,” Gelsinger said.

Gelsinger again detailed today’s $20 billion facility announcement is only part of the entire plan to company has for the facility. Two chip plants will be built on the 926-acre property with this investment, but the company wants to expand to eight facilities on the land.

The expansion would result in $100 billion in additional investments in Ohio over the next decade, Gelsinger said.

This story will be updated with details as they are released.

UPDATE @ 11:50 a.m.:

President Joe Biden, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, and Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger spoke at the White House Friday morning following the company’s major investment in Ohio to build a large semiconductor facility near Columbus.

>>RELATED: Intel building $20B Ohio chip facility amid global shortage

Gelsinger said the Licking County facility, an initial $20 billion investment, is only the first part of a larger investment in the state that could top $100 billion.

The initial part of the plan, totaling $20 billion, calls for Intel to build two chip-making facilities on the 926-acre site by 2025. However, Intel plans to expand on the property to include eight total chip-producing facilities.

“As the company that puts silicon into ‘Silicon Valley,’ and the company that is now the catalyst for a ‘Silicon Heartland’ Intel is committed to restoring end-to-end leadership, innovation, and manufacturing here in the U.S.”

“Think of this as a magnet for the entire tech industry and all of this is creating new jobs.”

While the facility will be creating new jobs and means major economic development for the State of Ohio, Gelsinger said given the need and reliance on computer chips in all factors of life, its essential for the nation to start manufacturing more domestically.

“As a country we can’t rely solely on imports for such essential technology. And the only way to address this economic insecurity risk is to increase our domestic semiconductor capacity,” Gelsinger said.

Biden called Friday’s announcement a “truly historic investment” and thanked the bipartisan work of Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) for landing the deal that brought the project to Ohio.

“This is a truly historic investment in America, in American workers. It’s never been a good bet to bet against America,” Biden said.

Raimondo, who spoke first during the news conference outlined how the current chip shortage, which has cause major disruptions across supply chains in several industries, can also be tied to inflation. Raimondo said the current shortage of chips, and shortages in the ability to produce cars has driven up inflation.

“The fact is car prices are currently driving a third of inflation. Why? Because we don’t have enough chips,” she said.

Raimondo said last year automakers make 8 million fewer cars due to chip shortages. And with more electric vehicles coming, a goal for 50 percent of cars sold by the end of the decade to be electric, the demand for chips is set to increase even more.

“That’s why today’s announcement from Intel is so exciting. Semiconductors produced right here in America will allow us to shore-up our supply chains, bring down costs, keep manufacturing facilities running, and create American jobs,” Raimondo said.

The semiconductor supply chain currently is “far too dependent” on conditions in other countries, since the U.S. imports the majority of the chips needed for domestic use.

“A COVID disruption, a typhoon, political instability in another country has the potential to shut down an auto facility and harm American families in places like Ohio. The semiconductor industry was created in the United States of America and its time for us to lead again,” she said.

Gelsinger, along with Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and other Ohio political and economic leaders will have another event at 2:30 p.m. in Licking County further announcing the facility.

We’ll continue to update this story as we learn more.

FIRST REPORT:

A new $20 billion investment in manufacturing is coming to Ohio in what’s been tabbed as the largest single private sector company investment in the state’s history.

Semiconductor manufacturer Intel announced Friday they will build two state-of-the-art facilities in Licking County, east of Columbus, poised to open by 2025, according to a spokesperson for Gov. Mike DeWine’s office.

>>Ohio governor facing primary: no pandemic response regrets

The project, which will be built on a 926-acre site, is expected to generate over 20,000 jobs in the state including 7,000 construction jobs. In its entirety, the project is expected to add $2.8 billion to Ohio’s annual gross state product, the spokesperson said.

“Today’s announcement is monumental news for the state of Ohio,” said Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said in a media release. “Intel’s new facilities will be transformative for our state, creating thousands of good-paying jobs in Ohio manufacturing strategically vital semiconductors, often called ‘chips.’ Advanced manufacturing, research and development, and talent are part of Ohio’s DNA, and we are proud that chips — which power the future — will be made in Ohio, by Ohioans.”

>>How revenue from legalized sports betting will impact Ohio

The site is Intel’s first new manufacturing site in 40 years and is aimed at boosting the country’s chipmaking capabilities. The U.S., and world, continues to deal with a shortage of semiconductors that’s impacted all sectors of consumer goods.

“Today, we take an important step toward our goal to rebalance global chipmaking capacity and help boost production to meet the surging demand for advanced semiconductors, powering a new generation of innovative products,” Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said. “The new factories we’ll build in Ohio are part of our strategy to increase semiconductor R&D and global manufacturing capacity and restore U.S. semi manufacturing leadership.”

“We expect Intel Ohio will become one of the largest semiconductor manufacturing sites in the world over the next decade.”

The U.S. has slipped over the last 30 years in chip production, at one time producing 40 percent of the world’s semiconductors. In 2020, the U.S. slipped to just 12 percent and is projected to slide further by 2030 unless new facilities are built, the governor’s office spokesperson said.

“The confluence of geopolitical tensions and pandemic disruptions starkly exposed this danger to the U.S. economy: decades of offshoring the manufacturing of chips — a foundational technology that makes modern life possible — to Asia has stagnated innovation and left the U.S. vulnerable to supply chain disruptions that have crippled major sectors of our national and state economy, and harmed businesses and consumers,” the spokesperson said.

“Boosting chip production in the U.S. is critical to national security and industrial competitiveness.”

Lt. Gov. Jon Husted called Friday’s announcement “critical” for national and economic security.

“With the project announced today, we are establishing an entirely new industry sector that currently does not exist in our state, and along with it, we are rebuilding for America a sustainable, resilient domestic supply chain of semiconductors, which is critical to our national and economic security,” Husted said.

State and industry leaders will hold a formal news conference in Newark at 2:30 p.m.

This story will be updated with new developments as they are announced.

©2022 Cox Media Group