Lehi • The tech manufacturer Texas Instruments broke ground Thursday on its second semiconductor fabrication plant in Lehi — an $11 billion facility expected to create more than 800 jobs, the company’s president said.
At Thursday’s groundbreaking ceremony, TI President and CEO Haviv Ilan said, “we take an important step in our company’s journey to expand our manufacturing footprint in the United States and build the capacity our customers will need for decades to come.”
In addition to the expected 800 jobs, Ilan said the plant would create “thousands” of indirect jobs.
Gov. Spencer Cox, speaking at the event, called the plant the “greatest single economic investment in Utah history.”
The state of Utah has offered the Dallas-based manufacturer a post-performance tax credit of up to 30% of tax income generated over the next 20 years, or up to $34.5 million, according to the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity database.
TI’s expansion includes a $9 million investment into the Alpine School District, to develop a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) program and “community” in K-12 schools. The investment will enhance STEM programming taught in classrooms and provide “STEM-oriented professional development” for teachers and administrators, Ilan said.
Shane Farnsworth, the superintendent of the Alpine School District, said TI’s investment is the largest in district history, and will “benefit tens of thousands of students and educators for years to come, and this community for generations.”
Cox said the investment in schools showed that Texas Instruments “understands the ethos of Utah,” which is to help companies thrive so that they can “give back and make the community a better place.”
“Even though your name says Texas, and even though you’ve only been here for two years, you’re acting a lot like a Utah company,” Cox said.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Trevor Bee explains the semiconductor fabrication process at Texas Instruments' facility in Lehi on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023.
The semiconductor “fab” will manufacture chips for such devices as computers, thermostats and cars.
Domestic production is good for the economy and for national security, Cox said.
“It’s about supply chains,” Cox said, “and bringing supply chains back to the United States, away from our adversaries who want to do us harm, giving us more control over the future and making sure that the future of prosperity is very bright here in the United States, in North America, and especially right here in Utah.”
Last year, Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act, to increase the production, research and development of semiconductors in the United States. The bill passed with bipartisan votes in both houses — though the only member of Utah’s all-Republican delegation to vote in favor of it was Sen. Mitt Romney.
Semiconductor production requires a lot of water — millions of dollars’ worth a day, by some estimates, to keep semiconductor components clean. Semiconductors’ heavy reliance on water has contributed to nationwide shortages and drawn criticism from people concerned about the impact of manufacturing on the water supply.
Utah continues to battle historic drought conditions, but Cox said in February he thought Utah had the water infrastructure to support the facility. The new fab will recycle water at nearly twice the rate of the current facility, Ilan said, though the company did not say how much water the fab is expected to use or discard.
The new facility will be powered by renewable energy, Ilan said, making it one of TI’s most “environmentally efficient” plants.
Lehi Mayor Mark Johnson, in a prerecorded video, said he is excited about the “economic opportunity” TI’s expansion will bring to the city. The move helps put Lehi oh the map, he added, as a “tech-savvy, forward-thinking community.”
The partnership between TI and Lehi, Johnson said, “signifies a commitment to advancing technology, research and development.”
Shannon Sollitt is a Report for America corps member covering business accountability and sustainability for The Salt Lake Tribune. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by clicking here.
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