As Intel slows work on Ohio plant, advanced manufacturing still critical to LCCC

The future of Intel's planned $28 billion semiconductor manufacturing plant in Ohio now appears less than certain after media outlets reported last week that the company would slow down work on the project. Lorain County Community College worked to expand its advanced manufacturing training in 2022 in large part because of the announcement of Intel's project, but school officials are confident that their students learning and working in the industry will be badly needed by a growing industry, regardless of Intel's plans. On Wednesday, The Statehouse News Bureau reported that Gov. Mike DeWine expressed confidence that the New Albany plant will arrive, but admitted that specific dates were "up in the air." Columbus' NBC 4 reported last week that Intel announced it would slow down work on the plant during its Q2 financial report, but that Intel CFO David Zinsner said the project would not stop. The report further explained that the slowdown was due in part to Intel's desire to find major customers for its new '14A' generation of semiconductors. If not enough demand for the product materializes, the New Albany plant could be in jeopardy, according to media reports. According to the News Bureau, DeWine said he spoke with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, whom he described as "very, very optimistic" about the plant, but DeWine added that those new customers needed to materialize. "What he has to do is go out and sell now. Looks like a pretty good salesman to me," DeWine said, according to the News Bureau. "It's all about production. It's all about the sales. It's all about the book of business. And that's what they have to focus on." Whatever the new timeline for the plant, DeWine said he was certain that Intel would not simply drop the project. "They're not going to walk away from this site. They've got $6 billion, $7 billion, maybe $8 billion literally invested in the ground. They're not leaving that," DeWine said, according to the Statehouse News Bureau. "It's always been a question, even from the very beginning, at what date do they start really production, and then do they go to their second phase of production? That's still very, very much up in the air." What is not up in the air, according to LCCC officials, is the growing need for advanced manufacturing workers in Ohio. The college founded its micro electromechanical systems, or MEMS, program over a decade ago, but has worked hard to expand the program since 2022, when Intel announced the New Albany plant. That work was bolstered when LCCC was one of 11 higher education institutions to receive a portion of $17 million in grants from Intel to expand its advanced manufacturing education and help create the talent pool Intel would need. LCCC received about $2 million, which was used to buy new equipment for the MEMS program and to expand education in microchip and circuit board manufacturing to younger students, said Tracy Green, vice president of Strategic and Institutional Development for LCCC. While the prospect of new jobs at Intel would be important, Green said that a lack of jobs has never been a problem for the MEMS program. "We started our MEMS program 10 years before Intel was ever looking at Ohio," Green said. "Going back to 2013 or 2014 when we started, we have had 100 percent of our graduates having jobs (in the industry) at or before their graduation. We have 90 employer partners just here in the greater Lorain County, Northeast Ohio region." The college uses those employer partners to facilitate its "earn and learn" program, which places students in the field working following their first year. Green said this close connection and on the job experience has helped the college place its MEMS graduates so easily. "We were super excited, and we still are, about Intel choosing Ohio, because I think that really says something about Ohio's capabilities and future," Green said. "But our program still needs to expand, with or without the Intel opportunity. We are already looking at how do we double (the program), how do we quadruple it, because the need is so great in that area. We are really preparing students for an industry, not just a single company." If new customers are what Intel needs, Green said, further building up the advanced manufacturing talent in Lorain County and across the region would be one of the major things helping to bring them in. "One of the data points we see coming from JobsOhio and TeamNEO here is that site selectors, when they're looking to expand operations, talent is at the top of the list," she said. "Is there access to talent? "We certainly want to keep supplying talent to our employer partners who have supported us and been part of our program for 10 plus years. But, we also know that for Ohio and our community to keep growing in terms of economic opportunities, we want to be able to demonstrate that Lorain County is a great place to do business and that we can produce the talent." Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.