New Intel Plant

Feb. 13, 2017

Transcript:

TED SIMONS: THIS IS "ARIZONA HORIZON." WE'LL TALK ABOUT INTEL'S PLANS TO EXPAND OPERATIONS IN CHANDLER WITH THE CITY'S MAYOR, JAY TIBSHRAENY. THAT'S NEXT.

TED SIMONS: INTEL LAST WEEK ANNOUNCED A $7-BILLION INVESTMENT TO REVIVE AN EMPTY FABRICATION PLANT IN CHANDLER, WHERE INTEL PLANS TO BUILD THE NEWEST GENERATION OF COMPUTER CHIPS. CHANDLER MAYOR JAY TIBSHRAENY IS HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE EXPANSION. GOOD TO SEE YOU BACK HERE. GOOD NEWS, I GUESS. I WANT TO ASK IF IT'S GOOD NEWS. I THOUGHT WE DID THE STORY BEFORE. WHAT EXACTLY DID INTEL ANNOUNCE?

JAY TIBSHRAENY: IT'S KIND OF LIKE GROUNDHOG DAY. THEY ANNOUNCED AN EXPANSION TO FAB 42. IN 2011 FAB 42, WE STARTED CONSTRUCTION ON THAT. THEN IT WAS STOPPED ONCE IT HIT THE SHELF. IT BECAME A SHELL. THEY STOPPED THAT BECAUSE THE PROCESS THEY WERE GOING TO DO THEY WERE ABLE TO RETRO FIT OTHER PARTS TO DO IT THERE. THIS HAS BEEN SITTING FOR THREE TO FOUR YEARS, AND THE AMOUNT ANNOUNCED LAST WEEK, ALTHOUGH NOT A SURPRISE, WAS A GREAT ANNOUNCEMENT TO KNOW THEY WERE MOVING FORWARD. THEY FIGURED OUT WHAT TECHNOLOGY. IT'S FANTASTIC TECHNOLOGY. THEY ARE MOVING FORWARD AND CHANDLER WITH THE $7 BILLION EXPANSION.

TED SIMONS: RIGHT. HOW FAR ALONG IS THE CONSTRUCTION? THAT WAS AS YOU SAID, THE SHELL IS THERE. IS IT GOING TO TAKE ANOTHER FEW YEARS TO GET IT COMPLETED?

JAY TIBSHRAENY: THREE TO FOUR YEARS. IT'S A PROCESS AND IT'S HARD TO EXPLAIN. THE SHELL IS THERE. WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IN THE CLEAN ROOM IS THE TOOLING AND EQUIPMENT AND CONSTRUCTION RELATED TO THAT. THAT WILL TAKE THREE TO FOUR YEARS. THAT'S A MASSIVE BUILDING. I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY SQUARE FEET OFF THE TOP. THAT'S WHAT IT WILL TAKE. WE ARE BACK UP AND RUNNING.

TED SIMONS: WE ARE TALKING 3,000 SOME ODD TEMPORARY CONSTRUCTION JOBS JUST TO GET THIS UP AND RUNNING?

JAY TIBSHRAENY: JUST TO GET UP AND GOING. A LOT OF ACTIVITY IN MY CITY. PERMANENT JOBS AT THE FACILITY WHEN ITS DONE, 3,000 HIGH-WAGE JOBS FOR ENGINEERING AND TECHNICIANS THAT KIND OF THING. THEN THE RIPPLE EFFECT, ALL THE OTHER BUSINESS THAT WLL BENEFIT AND GROW THEY ESTIMATE BETWEEN THE PERMANENT JOBS OF 3,000, IT WILL BE 10,000 JOBS INTO THE VALLEY PERMANENTLY.

TED SIMONS: GIVE ME CROSS STREETS?

JAY TIBSHRAENY: OFF OF PRICE ROAD, THE DYNAMIC PRICE ROAD CORRIDOR AND QUEEN QUAKE ROAD.

TED SIMONS: FURTHER SOUTH THAN THE OTHER STUFF?

JAY TIBSHRAENY: IT'S THE SAME. THEY OWN A SQUARE MILE IN OUR CITY. THIS IS ANOTHER EXPANSION ON THE GROUND. THEY HAVE PLANNED THIS. WE KNEW SOMETHING WAS IN THE WORKS. WE DIDN'T KNOW IT WOULD BE ANNOUNCED THAT DAY.

TED SIMONS: WHY, WHEN IT WAS LAUNCHED IN 2011, 2014 INTEL SAID, WE CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE. WHY DID THEY SAY THAT THEN? WHAT'S CHANGED?

JAY TIBSHRAENY: IT'S THE TECHNOLOGY. IT'S MOORE'S LAW, ONE OF THE ORIGINAL FOUNDERS OF INTEL. WHERE THE TECHNOLOGY CHANGES SO RAPIDLY AND TURNS OVER AND INCREASES EVERY 12 TO 18 MONTHS, NOW IT'S ABOUT EVERY TWO YEARS. THE TECHNOLOGY WAS CHANGING SO QUICK WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO DO IN THAT BUILDING, THEY DID IN ANOTHER BUILDING AND RETROD THE FABS OUT THERE. AND THEY WERE GOING TO WAIT FOR THE FUTURE TECHNOLOGY, THAT'S WHAT THIS IS. THIS IS WHAT THEY CALL, AND DON'T ASK ME WHAT IT MEAN, 7-NANOMETER. THAT WILL BE THE TECHNOLOGY AND THE MOST SOPHISTICATED MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY PLANT IN THE WORLD WHEN IT'S COMPLETE.

TED SIMONS: THAT SOUNDS SMALL, THIN, SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES.

JAY TIBSHRAENY: IT'S SMALL.

TED SIMONS: YOU MENTION MOORE'S LAW. THINGS ARE OBSOLETE ALMOST BEFORE THEY GET -- IF IT HAPPENED ONCE AND THIS TAKES TWO OR THREE YEARS TO BUILD OUT, WHAT KEEPS IT FROM HAPPENING AGAIN?

JAY TIBSHRAENY: THEY'VE SKIPPED AHEAD, THEY ARE AT 14-NANOMETER, AND GOING TO 7, SO THEY ARE SKIPPING AHEAD GENERATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY. IM PRETTY CONFIDENT. INTEL IS REPUTABLE ENOUGH. ONCE THEY DECIDE IT'S SHELVED AND MOVING FORWARD, YOU KNOW IT'S REAL WHEN IT'S ANNOUNCED IN THE WHITE HOUSE. WE ARE WORKING WITH THEM CONSTANTLY ON INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS.

TED SIMONS: THE FOREIGN TRADE ZONE THAT WAS IN PLACE AT THE TIME. IS THAT STILL IN PLACRE AND HOW DOES IT WORK?

JAY TIBSHRAENY: ITS STILL IN PLACE. IT GIVES THEM A 25% -- THE PROPERTY TAX IS 25% OF WHAT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN. IT'S A PROPERTY TAX BREAK FOR THEM.

TED SIMONS: ARE THERE OTHER INCENTIVES INVOLVED?

JAY TIBSHRAENY: NO, NOT ON OUR END.

TED SIMONS: THAT'S IT?

JAY TIBSHRAENY:: THAT'S IT.
TED SIMONS: AS FAR AS CHANDLER, YOU MENTIONED THE RIPPLE EFFECT. GIVE US A BALLPARK FIGURE. WHAT ARE WE TALKING WITH 3,000 EXTRA WORKERS?

JAY TIBSHRAENY: I DON'T KNOW ABOUT CHANDLER, BUT JUST THAT PROJECT AND THE PLANT AND WHAT THEY DO IN ARIZONA, THEY HAVE A $5.1 BILLION IMPACT TO THE ECONOMY IN ARIZONA EVERY YEAR. I WOULD IMAGINE WHATEVER THE NUMBER IS, A LARGE PART OF THAT IS IN MY COMMUNITY. THEY ARE GOOD CORPORATE PEOPLE THAT GET INVOLVED WITH COMMUNITY ACTIVITY.

TED SIMONS: THE ANNOUNCEMENT WAS MADE AT THE WHITE HOUSE AS YOU SAID. WE HAVE VIDEO OF IT. THE PRESIDENT CALLED IT GREAT OR SUPERLATIVE OR SOMETHING, BUT THE EMPHASIS IT HAS ON U.S. JOB, DID THAT PLAY A FACTOR IN THE DECISION?

JAY TIBSHRAENY: I DON'T KNOW. THAT'S ONLY SOMETHING THAT INTEL AND THE PRESIDENT HAS. WE KNEW EVENTUALLY THERE WAS GOING TO BE AN ANNOUNCEMENT THEY WERE GOING TO DO SOMETHING HERE. BUT, HOW MUCH INFLUENCE HE HAD, THEY WERE MEETING, TALKING, DID HE ENCOURAGE THEM TO EXPEDITE IT? I'M NOT SURE. WE'LL TAKE ANY NUDGE WE CAN. IT WAS FANTASTIC NEWS, CEMENTING OUR REPUTATION IN CHANDLER AS THE INNOVATION TECHNOLOGY ABOVE THE HABUB OF THE SOUTH WEST UNITED STATES..

TED SIMONS: SPOKEN LIKE A TRUE MAYOR. WHEN DOES CONSTRUCTION START UP?

JAY TIBSHRAENY: THERE GOING TO BE TALKING TO CITY FOLKS ABOUT GETTING THE PLANS PROCESSED AND WHAT HAVE YOU. I WOULD SAY IT'S IMMINENT WHEN IT WILL BE STARTING. I DON'T HAVE AN EXACT DATE BUT IT'S AN EXCITING TIME FOR US. WE'LL BE BUSY AND A LOT OF ACTIVITY AT THE PLANT.

TED SIMONS: LAST QUESTION, YOU ARE MAYOR. YOU WERE EXPECTING SOMETHING LIKE THIS, JUST NOT SURE WHEN. WAS IT A BIT OF A SURPRISE?

JAY TIBSHRAENY: YES AND NO. IT WAS A SURPRISE THAT THE ANNOUNCEMENT WAS GOING TO BE MADE THIS MORNING. WE KNEW SOMETHING WAS UP. WE ARE ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS. WE HAD A MEETING WITH THE PUBLIC WORKS FOLKS THE WEEK BEFORE. WHEN THEY POPPED IT -IT WAS A SURPRISE. LAST TIME IT WAS THE PRIOR PRESIDENT'S ADMINISTRATION MAKING THE ANNOUNCEMENT WITH THE CEO OF INTEL NOT AT THE WHITE HOUSE BUT PORTLAND, OREGON. NOT A SURPRISE HOW IT CAME DOWN.

TED SIMONS: WE'LL SEE HOW IT PANS OUT. CONGRATULATIONS TO CHANDLER, HUH?

JAY TIBSHRAENY: YES.

TED SIMONS: THANK YOU.