Vice president explains why Intel is ready to invest up to $100 billion in new Ohio sites

More than 40 years ago, Intel broke ground on a new factory in a small agricultural town just outside of Phoenix, Ariz.

More: Intel picks Greater Columbus for $20 billion semiconductor factory to employ 3,000 workers

What began life as an empty patch of desert farmland has since become a manufacturing powerhouse with an annual economic impact of nearly $10 billion.

Today, Intel employs more than 12,000 people in Arizona and drives a vibrant community of supporting services and suppliers with a magnitude on the order of a small city.

We also have seen significant impact at our other U.S. sites in Oregon and New Mexico. Now, we are bringing these benefits to Ohio.

Intel has committed $20 billion to fund the construction of two new leading-edge chip factories in Licking County.

With the potential to grow to more than $100 billion over the next decade, this investment is an essential part of our strategy to restore U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing – an area where the nation has fallen behind to foreign competitors.

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The U.S. needs to grow its chipmaking capability and capacity, and Intel is excited to partner with the state of Ohio to create a new epicenter of economic growth. The chips made in Licking County will not only help diversify the region’s economy, but they will also make U.S. supply chains, and the overall economy, more resilient.

Chips made here will power everything from personal computers to jet engines. Intel’s Ohio site is expected to become a full-fledged “mega factory,” a major contributor to Intel’s leading-edge manufacturing network.

In the short term, Intel’s Ohio investment is expected to create 3,000 Intel jobs, 7,000 construction jobs, and tens of thousands more local long-term jobs. In addition, Intel is already working with Ohio leaders and top technology companies to encourage them to build supporting capabilities right here in Ohio with investments of their own.

Several members of our supply chain have already committed to establishing a presence in Ohio because of this investment, and we anticipate many more commitments in the coming weeks. Chips made in Ohio will boost a healthy ecosystem of innovation and create the kind of virtuous cycle that the U.S. needs to win back its place as the global leader in semiconductor manufacturing.

As we searched for a site that could support the next phase of Intel’s growth, we had insightful conversations with leaders from states across the country. But we ultimately decided that the Licking County location offered the best combination of attributes to meet our needs.

More: Intel picks Greater Columbus for $20 billion semiconductor factory to employ 3,000 workers

The region has a proud heritage as an industrial and manufacturing powerhouse, it sits near the fast-growing Columbus metropolitan area, it has a robust existing infrastructure with the capacity for future growth, and a strong talent pipeline sustained by world-class educational institutions in the area.

The site is also within a day's drive to every major Midwest city, making it possible to create an ecosystem across the entire region. We are “all in” on Ohio. We could not be more impressed by the partnership that has developed with local and state leaders, and we feel confident that this will be a mutually beneficial long-term relationship.

Construction of our factories will begin at the end of 2022, but we plan to have an immediate impact in the community.

We look forward to building strong relationships with our new neighbors by bringing jobs, forging close partnerships with the educational institutions so vital to establishing a rich local talent pipeline, and continuing to be good stewards of the environment – a commitment we have demonstrated over decades at other sites in the U.S. and around the globe.

Intel is proud to be the only American chipmaker making investments of this size and scale to grow our country’s chipmaking capacity. We are committed to investing even more in years to come, but we continue to need close partnership with the federal government to meet the urgent need for more U.S. based chipmaking.

Congress has shown strong bipartisan support for our industry in enacting the critical CHIPS for America Act, and it now must move forward to fully fund this important legislation. With that support, Intel is prepared to invest faster and up to $100 billion in our new Ohio operations over the next decade to establish additional factories.

Our journey to establish the U.S. as a leader in semiconductor is far from over, but I am confident that with strong partnership, a common vision and continued support, we can help create a new era of manufacturing here at home in the U.S. We look forward to becoming part of the community.

Keyvan Esfarjani is senior vice president and general manager of Manufacturing, Supply Chain and Operations at Intel Corporation.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Vice president explains why Intel is ready to invest up to $100 billion in new Ohio sites