Construction on Intel's Ohio facilities recently reached a milestone as the company touted its commitment to production in the United States.
Naga Chandrasekaren, executive vice president and chief technology and operations officer with Intel Foundry, announced in an Oct. 21 statement that the first structural truss was raised for the $30 billion project in the Licking County portion of New Albany.
Citing progress made in manufacturing, especially in Arizona, Chandrasekaran mentioned Ohio, where, he said, "We’re also making progress ... where the first major structural truss has been installed on the first fab in New Albany.
Advanced chip manufacturing relies on a range of occupations, from materials science, chemistry and engineering to scientists,
researchers and technicians involved in the complex manufacturing process.
"While semiconductors have become increasingly central to modern life, the share manufactured in theUnited States declined from 37% to 10% between 1990 and 2022," Chandrasekaran said in the statement. "This represents another significant step toward expanded U.S. leading-edge semiconductor capacity and a visible reminder that the future of American manufacturing is being built today."
Construction on Intel's New Albany plant was originally planned to be complete in 2025. It is now slated to begin operating in 2031. Officials have pointed to a lack of customers for Intel's chips, but recently, Apple has expressed interest in Intel chips for its products and a South Korean company partnership is being explored.
Chandrasekaran said Intel's projects go far beyond the scope of just the manufacturing facilities.
"These investments support a U.S. supply chain that extends well beyond Arizona, Ohio, Oregon, NewMexico and California. Across our U.S. footprint, Intel works with more than 4500 suppliers in 49 states,generating more than $29 billion in annual domestic spending," he wrote.
"This investment strengthens businesses, generates economic activity and supports communities across the country. It also helps communities build the workforce, infrastructure and local capacity needed to participate in America’s semiconductor future."
Growth and development reporter Dean Narciso can be reached at dnarciso@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Intel's delayed New Albany plant reaches construction milestone
