Generational Change

In 1980, Intel Corp. started layering microcircuits on thin-as-a-dime discs of melted and purified sand at its new fabrication plant in Chandler, Arizona, a town of 30,000 surrounded by cotton fields and the Sonoran Desert.

Over 40 years, Intel has spent some $50 billion building semiconductor “fabs” in Chandler, with two more under construction.

The Phoenix suburb has grown its population to 240,000. The Intel complex directly employs more than 12,000, supports five times as many supplier and ancillary jobs, and overall has an estimated $8.6 billion annual economic impact in Arizona.

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Story excerpt provided by Columbus Business First.

Written by Carrie Ghose.

Originally published January 28, 2022.