On January 21, 2022, Intel announced an initial investment of more than $20 billion in plans to build two new leading chip factories in Ohio. According to Intel officials, "As part of the company's IDM 2.0 strategy, this investment will help increase production to meet the growing demand for advanced semiconductors, power Intel's next generation of innovative products, and meet the needs of foundry customers." To support the development of the new site, Intel has committed an additional $100 million to establish partnerships with educational institutions to build talent pipelines and support research initiatives in the region. ”
Image source: Network
It is worth noting that in many ways, Ohio may not be Intel's only choice, and some other states in the United States, such as Indiana and Oregon, also have the conditions to undertake Intel's investment. For example, According to an analysis article on the New York-based MarketWatch website, Indiana can compete with or even beat Ohio in tax breaks, tax rates, and regulatory environment; on the other hand, Intel is The largest private employer in Oregon, with 22,000 employees in Washington County, Oregon alone. But both states ended up outnumbering Ohio. So what is the secret of Ohio's standout in the face of the crowd?
Conventional support can not be less, but it is not a must-kill
Giving economic incentives is already a necessary operation for U.S. states to attract semiconductor companies, and Ohio is no exception. According to The Columbus Dispatch, a daily newspaper based in Columbus, Ohio, Ohio has provided Intel with more than $2 billion in incentives. In addition to state incentives, Ohio's economic development arm, JobsOhio, will invest $150 million in economic development and labor subsidies, and the state's City of New Albany said it would provide Intel with a 30-year, 100 percent property tax break for buildings within the city's business park.
True kills: high-quality talents and high-quality living environment
But as the analysis article on Market Watch puts it, these policies are available to all states, and what really frustrates Ohio is the state's soft power that cannot be ignored. Intel's new facility is just a 25-minute drive from the Ohio State University College of Engineering and close to the fastest-growing area of the Columbus metropolitan area.
Wage levels also suggest that the plant's workforce will be made up mainly of college graduates. In the final year before the coronavirus pandemic led to the downturn, workers in Ohio's semiconductor industry earned an average of $65,490 a year. Based on this talent structure, there is a good chance that Intel's new site will involve a lot of product development and testing.
The above facts show that a large number of highly qualified personnel was a driving factor in Intel's final selection of Ohio. Many of the top engineering schools are less than a five-hour drive from the site, including Purdue University, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Kentucky, and Ohio State University.
In addition, in 2020, 29.6 percent of ohio adults had a college degree; in Indiana, that percentage was 26.9 percent. While that difference isn't too big, the percentage of adults with a college degree in Indiana has been declining since 2018, a factor that immediately puts Indiana at a disadvantage against competition for advanced semiconductor factories.
In terms of living environment, a recent study by Brookings Metro measured quality of life in every county in the Midwest and then compared that metric to population growth. Licking County, Ohio, ranks among the top in quality of life indicators, while the county's population has grown significantly this century.
It can be seen that the most important factor why Intel is attracted to Ohio is not real money and silver, but soft power such as talent reserves and living environment.
The aroma of wine is also afraid of deep alleys, and publicity work is the key
In addition to Ohio's own strength, the state has also made great efforts in its propaganda efforts. The Author found an interesting phenomenon when combing through Intel's choice to build a factory in Ohio, ohio local newspaper The Columbus Dispatch for Intel's report on the establishment of a factory in the state can be described as informative and comprehensive, such as January 21, 2022, the day of Intel's official announcement, the newspaper published an article on its website titled "Mike DeWine and Jon Husted How to Get Intel to Come to Ohio" (Mike DeWine is Governor of Ohio and Jon Husted is Lieutenant Governor of Ohio). Just two days later, on January 23, 2022, the newspaper's website detailed why Intel chose Ohio to invest $100 billion, and the author of the article, Keyvan Esfarjani, intel's chief global operating officer and executive vice president, oversees Intel's manufacturing, supply chain and operations. On January 27, 2022, J.P. A. Thompson, CEO and President of JobsOhio, the state's economic development arm, was released. Nauseef also joined Yahoo Finance Live to answer why Ohio has won Over Intel. As soon as the official announcement is frequent, it must have been prepared for a long time, and it is not difficult to imagine that in the process of winning intel, many departments in Ohio have already made great efforts. After winning this "distinguished guest", Ohio also gave Intel enough face in publicity.
Keyvan Esfarjani's article on The Columbus Dispatch
图源：The Columbus Dispatch
epilogue
Ohio's successful case of attracting Intel can vividly prove that at a time when the competition for advanced semiconductor companies is becoming increasingly fierce, economic subsidies and tax incentives alone may not be enough to attract the best companies, because there is determination and courage to attract semiconductor companies where they are not bad. In addition to economic factors, soft power such as a good living environment, strong talent reserves, and publicity work in place may become the key to victory. (Proofreading/Hidden Drei)