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Intel's $20B Ohio factory could become world's largest chip plant

reuters.com

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Re: Intel's $20B Ohio factory could become world's largest chip plant

#251

Post by hguant »

destitude wrote: post #200
gaoshan wrote: post #122

This is actually a brilliant location for them. One of those places that has much more going for it than people not from the region would realize. International airport, large rail depot, extremely low cost of living and a city/region that has more good restaurants and activities than might be expected. Ohio State University is in the city and is a huge school that is rapidly growing in academic standing. Road transi…

They are extremely anti-renewable energy though. There was attempt (not sure if it passed) to make wind turbines illegal.

I don't want to say so, but...so? At Intel scale, they're able to buy carbon offsets or - gasp! - install their own solar/wind in their properties. The municipal and state governments are I'm sure bending over backwards to get the plants and infrastructure investment, a permit to run whatever solar/wind/renewable they want is probably chump change for them.

Re: Intel's $20B Ohio factory could become world's largest chip plant

#252

Post by kragen »

quantumwannabe wrote: post #225
hnthrowaway0315 wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aside from Cal, which other State(s) do you consider to be at least growing a culture of innovation? Just curious because might move to US from Canada in the future.

Innovation is a function of you and the people you work with, not where you live. You should be looking at the team you will be working on, not the reputation of a physical place or company. If you fail to do that, you will be disappointed when the reality inevitably doesn't match the hype. Nearly every state has loads of smart and innovative people, despite what HN's regional bias would lead you to believe. The exce…

The people you work with (in person) is to a significant extent a function of where you live, though, and what the team is allowed to attempt is even more so. Maybe there are a hundred smart and innovative fluorine chemists in your state, but 30 of them are assholes, 20 retired, 40 already have jobs too good to hire them away from, and the other 10 aren't allowed to do any lab work because of NIMBYs or because your legislature associates chemistry primarily with Breaking Bad. (That's a big problem in California today, but it wasn't 50 years ago.)

Re: Intel's $20B Ohio factory could become world's largest chip plant

#253

Post by planetsprite »

gaoshan wrote: post #122

This is actually a brilliant location for them. One of those places that has much more going for it than people not from the region would realize. International airport, large rail depot, extremely low cost of living and a city/region that has more good restaurants and activities than might be expected. Ohio State University is in the city and is a huge school that is rapidly growing in academic standing. Road transi…

However it's misguided. Cost of labor is still 10x higher than a plant with the same productivity in a relatively poorer country. American manufacturing is mostly indirect social welfare now, it's not economically efficient.

Re: Intel's $20B Ohio factory could become world's largest chip plant

#254

Post by tonyhb »

N1H1L wrote: post #140
MathCodeLove wrote: post #130

I've actually been considering a move to Ohio this June. Any suggestions for whetr in Ohio I should look? My main consideration is low CoL as I work remotely but I'd like there to be stuff to do within a reasonable driving distance.

Both Columbus and Cincy are great. Cleveland is iffy and too snowy in my opinion

Living in Cincy and it's pretty okay! If you're like me and you're coming from the bay then, well, you need a car. Many people that aren't in tech. Smaller town vibes, but that's a pretty good thing. Mortgage for a 3/4 bedroom with a garden etc. is 1/2 of my SF rent.

Re: Intel's $20B Ohio factory could become world's largest chip plant

#255

Post by mNovak »

mrfusion wrote: post #237
jnorthrop wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to mention low probability of natural disasters: Earthquakes, tornados, wild fire, hurricanes, etc.

Low geopolitical risk is probably one of the best factors.

Fun fact, Ohio was supposedly high on the Soviet nuke target list, because of Wright Patterson AFB, which houses the Air Force Research Lab (and aliens).

I have an old Soviet invasion map of central Ohio, marking all potential airfields etc.

Re: Intel's $20B Ohio factory could become world's largest chip plant

#256

Post by bigbillheck »

ct0 wrote: post #245
destitude wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are extremely anti-renewable energy though. There was attempt (not sure if it passed) to make wind turbines illegal.

Sounds more like they are anti turbine. Where does someone put a turbine when it's at the end of its life?

https://www.eenews.net/articles/volatile-place-new-laws-thwa...

Re: Intel's $20B Ohio factory could become world's largest chip plant

#257

Post by enkid »

planetsprite wrote: post #253
gaoshan wrote: post #122

This is actually a brilliant location for them. One of those places that has much more going for it than people not from the region would realize. International airport, large rail depot, extremely low cost of living and a city/region that has more good restaurants and activities than might be expected. Ohio State University is in the city and is a huge school that is rapidly growing in academic standing. Road transi…

However it's misguided. Cost of labor is still 10x higher than a plant with the same productivity in a relatively poorer country. American manufacturing is mostly indirect social welfare now, it's not economically efficient.

Is cost of labor really one of the major costs of a semiconductor plant? Plants in South Korea and Taiwan are economical and they have relatively high labor costs, so I'm not sure I buy this.

Re: Intel's $20B Ohio factory could become world's largest chip plant

#258

Post by nwiswell »

7952 wrote: post #87
qsmi wrote: post #67

Does anyone know why Intel would want to build a "mega-site" in the city of Columbus Ohio? Why not choose Cleveland Ohio where one has port access with an existing route to Europe? Fabs are international affairs, no matter where they're rooted, because just to keep the place running one needs a constant stream of parts from everywhere. It seems like being in a sea/rail/truck hub would be a logistics advantage. [1] ht…

It has an international airport, intermodal rail freight depot and interstate highways. I would guess that raw materials can be transported by road or rail. Access to a waterway is sometimes needed for very heavy indivisible parts (not sure if this is commons for fabs) but that is unlikely to be a regular occurrence. Just drive it down the interstate with a police escort at 2am.

> needed for very heavy indivisible parts (not sure if this is commons for fabs)

It is not common. Semiconductor equipment is generally designed to be sent via air freight and assembled on site.

Some of the supporting operations (water and air purification plants, on-site chemical production, LN2 production, etc) may require some large parts but that's a case-by-case basis and probably avoidable.

Re: Intel's $20B Ohio factory could become world's largest chip plant

#259

Post by [deleted] »

7952 wrote: post #87
qsmi wrote: post #67

Does anyone know why Intel would want to build a "mega-site" in the city of Columbus Ohio? Why not choose Cleveland Ohio where one has port access with an existing route to Europe? Fabs are international affairs, no matter where they're rooted, because just to keep the place running one needs a constant stream of parts from everywhere. It seems like being in a sea/rail/truck hub would be a logistics advantage. [1] ht…

It has an international airport, intermodal rail freight depot and interstate highways. I would guess that raw materials can be transported by road or rail. Access to a waterway is sometimes needed for very heavy indivisible parts (not sure if this is commons for fabs) but that is unlikely to be a regular occurrence. Just drive it down the interstate with a police escort at 2am.

[deleted]

Re: Intel's $20B Ohio factory could become world's largest chip plant

#260

Post by mNovak »

fullstop wrote: post #152
MathCodeLove wrote: post #130

I've actually been considering a move to Ohio this June. Any suggestions for whetr in Ohio I should look? My main consideration is low CoL as I work remotely but I'd like there to be stuff to do within a reasonable driving distance.

Most people are trying to move in the opposite direction. With that being said, here's a few interesting things about Ohio: 1. Vehicle safety inspections are not required 2. It's very flat, but their flag is the only non-rectangular state flag 3. Due to an oversight (congress never voted -- oops!), Ohio was not officially admitted to the union until 1953. If you want stuff to do within a reasonable distance you might…

Not sure I'd suggest eastern Ohio, that's rural Appalachia, I would not recommend for interesting things.
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