Rapid Factory Growth in Arizona Led by Record-Breaking Commerce Authority Effort
By Carly Moran
Last week, two technology companies announced new factories in Arizona, leading to over 500,000 total private sector jobs created by the Arizona Commerce Authority under Gov. Doug Ducey.
These three factories are a part of over a dozen manufacturing companies that announced their expansion in Arizona this year. In total, over 15,000 manufacturing jobs have been created under the Ducey Administration’s ACA since January 2015.
“The Governor’s tenure has been transformational for our state,” said Sandra Watson, CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority. “With his leadership, the right business environment, and a thriving innovation ecosystem, Arizona has become an international hub of advanced manufacturing, bringing new opportunities for small businesses and rural communities across our state.”
The ACA includes aerospace and defense, bioscience, technology and manufacturing as its targeted industries. The rapid factory development in Arizona is only a small piece of the state’s innovation at work.
One of the two companies that announced new locations in Arizona is the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, hoping to return semiconductor production to the United States. The business seeks to build two plants in Phoenix, one by 2024 and the other by 2026.
“When complete, TSMC Arizona aims to be the greenest semiconductor manufacturing facility in the United States producing the most advanced semiconductor process technology in the country, enabling next generation high-performance and low-power computing products for years to come,” said TSMC Chairman Dr. Mark Liu. “We are thankful for the continual collaboration that has brought us here and are pleased to work with our partners in the United States to serve as a base for semiconductor innovation.”
Production of the two facilities is estimated to create 10,000 tech jobs and employ an additional 10,000 construction workers. The project is a $40 billion investment in the Valley of the Sun, with an estimated 600,000 wafer per year output.
The American Battery Factory was the other company to push Arizona to create 500,000 jobs. The group has plans to build a $1.2 billion lithium ion factory in Tucson, with the goal of 1,000 jobs on-site.
“With this first factory, we will secure a strategically positioned company headquarters while taking the critical first steps in making it possible to one day move the country and the entire world to 100% renewable power,” said Paul Charles, CEO of ABF. “We are honored to start this journey in Tucson and give back to the community through innovation, quality job creation, revenue generation and environmental protection.”
The nearly 2 million square foot campus will be the largest gigafactory in lithium iron phosphate production and is the first to break ground in a series of ABF locations nationwide.
“When we took office, our economy was broken, and fixing it was a top priority,” said Governor Ducey. “The engine of our economic growth has always been our people. Today, Arizonans have access to abundant jobs as well as the opportunity to work in good-paying industries with the potential for advancement. With this kind of momentum and our incredible talent, Arizona is unstoppable.”
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This article was published by The Center Square – Arizona and is reproduced with permission.
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