COLUMBUS, Ohio – Since Intel announced it would be planting roots in central Ohio, local businesses have been booming. 

What You Need To Know

  • Intel broke ground in September 2022

  • The company plans to invest $20 billion on the plant over the next few years

  • They have already invested $3 billion
  • There are 500 employees currently working on site and another 500 offsite 
  • The plant plans to start production in 2025

Intel continues to be one of Columbus's biggest investments to date. Columbus has taken on the challenge.

“We're thinking big. we've promised big and we plan to deliver big,” said Kenny McDonald, president and CEO of Columbus Partnership. 

Intel broke ground last September and has already brought in suppliers both locally and abroad. Columbus continues to prepare for the billion-dollar industry. 

“The intellectual journey that we've been on is to get smart about an industry that we didn't have before, and we're going to be one of the major players in the world now over the next few decades,” said McDonald. “We're working very hard every day to understand all the elements of it so that we could bring it here to the Midwest and obviously to Ohio and the Columbus region.”

Semiconductor chips are Intel's most popular product. They are used for various processors such as laptops, desktops and more. The tech company has already invested $3 billion of the initial $20 billion investment. The Columbus Partnership said that along with the hubs on the plant, Intel plans to put money toward workforce development, research and training facilities along with investments in education.

“They've established education partnerships in middle schools and everything else working on the next generation of employees that they're going to have,” said McDonald. “Not just initially with this plant, but for years to come.”

So far, the project has already employed around 500 people on the construction site and roughly another 500 to 600 offsite. 

Suppliers from out-of-state and abroad have already started to arrive, but the company is still awaiting the arrival of some on the west coast. Columbus Partnership says they’ve already begun establishing community relationships.

“So we're in touch with suppliers all over the world so far, a few of them have started to come in and as I said before, they've already invested over $3 billion into our market, which makes them one of the largest investors in Central Ohio,” said McDonald. "They're just beginning their journey here.”

According to city officials, construction is on schedule. The first couple of plants are expected to start production in 2025.

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