Late last year, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine received a $20 billion Christmas gift: The news that Intel would build two new manufacturing plants in Ohio.

One month later, DeWine, a Republican, announced the exciting news publicly, telling those gathered at the Midland Theatre in Newark, Ohio, “It’s really a game changer—a game changer for our economic future. You know Intel could have put these plants anywhere in the country…We worked, and we fought, and we won, to bring these jobs to Ohio,” Ohio Capital Journal reports.

DeWine is not alone, as an array of officials from local business groups to Senate candidate JD Vance, R, Ohio, agree the coming Intel plant will be a boon for the state.

‘High Quality, American Made’

In an interview with Newsmax Finance, JD Vance says that the two new plants “are great for Central Ohio,” and the new plants can help offset the computer chip shortage in America. Furthermore, Vance tells Newsmax that with megaprojects like this, “Usually, there’s red tape, but people cut through it. It took a lot of work to make this happen. It shows if leaders dedicate themselves, we can make it happen here, adding that the emergence of new manufacturing in Ohio can help re-industrialize the Midwest.
 

For Vance, the significance of the new plants affects the overall economy. “I want our products to American made and high quality. I want an economy dominated by American jobs made by Americans. Our economy must exist for our people,” Vance says.

JobsOhio underscores just how impactful the two new plants will be. The two new plants, being built at the cost of $20 billion, will be built on a 926-acre site in Licking County, Ohio, just east of the state capital, Columbus. The state-of-the-art plants will have over 3,000 new high-tech jobs, over 7,000 construction jobs over the course of the project, and will create tens of thousands of indirect jobs for the region. Additionally, the campus will become “the first semiconductor wafer facility in Ohio.”

‘Silicon Heartland’

Pat Geislinger, CEO of Intel, sees the plants’ announcement as nothing less than monumental, to the point where he even coined a new term: Silicon Heartland.

"We're thrilled to be launching the Silicon Heartland in Ohio,” Geislinger said at the Midland Theatre. Geislinger added that the new plants “literally are going to take New Albany from a wonderful little town to becoming one of the high-tech mega-centers on the planet.”

Overall, the project, which is expected to be operational by 2025, will be the largest investment in the history of the state of Ohio, according to Intel.

Gelsinger said that the new investment “marks another significant way Intel is leading the effort to restore U.S. semiconductor manufacturing leadership,” and that the coming factories “will create a new epicenter for advanced chipmaking in the U.S. that will bolster Intel’s domestic lab-to-fab pipeline and strengthen Ohio’s leadership in research and high tech.”

Indirectly, the plants will also impact the state through new infrastructure in and around New Albany to support the project, and an even stronger emphasis on STEM educational opportunities for local schools.”

The project will add $2.8 billion to Ohio’s annual gross state product, according to Governor Mike DeWine.

Huge Impact

Local officials agree that the project will have a massive impact. Carol Grubaugh, Executive Director at the Knox County Chamber of Commerce, sees the plant will have a far reaching impact, saying to Newsmax Finance in an interview, “I feel [the new plant] will have a huge impact regionally…Not just in Licking County, but it will revolve through the whole state. More visitors, more suppliers, more commerce, more housing and more jobs will be coming to Central Ohio.”

With local officials, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, and area business groups lauding the decision, the potential emergence of a Silicon Heartland could really be on the horizon for Ohio.