Listen to this article 3 min
Ohio has racked up significant manufacturing wins in recent years, including not only Intel Corp.'s $28 billion New Albany plan and Honda Motor Co.'s more than $5 billion commitment to electric vehicle production in the state, but also investments from American Nitrile and Amgen Inc.
Representatives of that quartet of companies spoke Thursday at our annual Columbus Opportunity Summit, covering an array of topics from Ohio’s manufacturing strengths to the growing role of A.I. to where the businesses expect to be in five years.
A major theme: expect more investment to come.
Intel's future plans
Five years from now, Intel could already be prepping for an expansion.
The company's initial semiconductor "fab" is on track to be completed by 2026 or 2027, with up to a year of equipment installation and certification after that. Production could begin in 2027 or 2028.
“Hopefully we will be running full speed ahead five years from now,” said Kevin Hoggatt, Intel's director of state government affairs for Ohio. “We’ve committed to building first two (fabs), but Keyvan and our CEO Pat Gelsinger have not been shy. We have 1,000 acres on our site in New Albany. The full build out for the company can accommodate eight fabs or more. We're currently building the fifth and sixth in Arizona. I think we have 730 acres there.”
Intel's New Albany, Ohio plant: Everything you need to know
Keyvan is Keyvan Esfarjani, Intel’s chief global operations officer and general manager of foundry manufacturing and supply chain.
He also spoke at Thursday's event, saying the Ohio project is not just critical for the state and Intel, but the country as a whole as it tries to regain a leadership position in semiconductor manufacturing.
Hoggatt said the U.S. once produced 40% of the world’s chips. It now makes 11%
“I've had the opportunity to go out (to Arizona) a couple times to see the scale,” he said. “It gets me excited about the potential of what Ohio could look like long term with the amount of land we have available for potential future expansions.”
American Nitrile grows in Grove City
American Nitrile opened in Grove City in 2022. The facility and its 130 employees are producing 1.2 billion rubber gloves a year there with an existing capacity to grow to 3.5 billion.
That’s just phase one.
“This facility was really just a template to demonstrate we could actually produce this product and get the right quality and cost,” said Damon Richardson, senior vice president of manufacturing. “Fundamentally, if we're successful in this venture, we're looking to continue to use this as a as a footprint to continue to expand operation.”
Honda's long-term commitment
Honda’s aspirations are on a longer timeline, with Ohio playing a key part. The company has set a goal of 100% of sales being battery electric or fuel cell electric vehicles by 2040. By 2050, it plans to be carbon neutral.
“We are working diligently on that, continuing the transformation of our facilities towards those achievements,” said Bob Nelson, executive vice president of corporate services at American Honda Motor Co. Inc.
In addition to its $3.5 billion joint-venture battery plant under construction in Fayette County, the automaker is spending $700 million to retool existing plants in Marysville, East Liberty and Anna for electric vehicle production which will begin by the end of 2025.
With 14,400 employees in the state, Honda is Ohio’s largest manufacturer.
Amgen open and ready for more
Amgen Inc.'s biopharmaceutical processing and packaging plant opened in February in New Albany. It has more than 200 employees now and two production lines with a goal of growing to 400 workers and eight lines.
Javier Tapia, executive director and plant manager with Amgen, said that operation will deliver 11 million units this year. By 2025 that could be 55 million.
Based on Amgen’s pipeline, the company expects to need 15 more production lines throughout its manufacturing network, which now includes Ohio.
Why does manufacturing matter?
Ryan Augsburger, president of the Ohio Manufacturers Association, also spoke at Thursday's event.
He said the manufacturing sector is the biggest private industry in Ohio by share of the state’s gross domestic product. Though employment has declined steadily since a peak in the 1960s, the sector is still the state's second-largest employer.
Nationally, Ohio ranks fourth in manufacturing economic output, trailing only Texas, California and Illinois, and third in manufacturing jobs in the nation trailing only Texas and California.