Samsung to build $17B chip manufacturing plant in Taylor

Governor Greg Abbott announced plans for a $17 billion Samsung chip manufacturing plant in Taylor.

The Wall Street Journal reports Samsung has made its decision to bring the plant to the town outside of Austin

The factory would make advanced logic chips that will power next-generation devices for applications such as mobile, 5G, high-performance computing (HPC), and artificial intelligence (AI), says Abbott's office. 

This will help to avoid future global computer chip shortages.

Samsung is the world’s largest manufacturer of microchips by revenue. The company already has another semiconductor manufacturing site in Northeast Austin.

The Taylor factory is set to be 1200 acres larger than the one in Austin. It will need reliable utilities and will be located near Oncor. Williamson County plans to partner with Milam County to share the water supply. 

The project will create over 2,000 high-tech jobs, thousands of indirect jobs, and a minimum of 6,500 construction jobs. Construction will begin in early 2022 with a target of production start in the second half of 2024, says Abbott's office. The $17 billion in capital investments includes buildings, property improvements, machinery, and equipment.

A Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) grant of $27,000,000 has been extended to Samsung for their job creation, says Abbott's office. Samsung has also been offered a $20,000 Veteran Created Job Bonus. 

Samsung’s approximated $17 billion investment will be the largest foreign direct investment in Texas on record, bringing the company’s total Texas investment to more than $35 billion since 1996, says Abbott's office.

Officials from the City of Taylor, Taylor ISD and Williamson County say they have been working to bring the semiconductor manufacturer to Taylor since January 2021. 

"Williamson County has again proven to be a leader in attracting the world’s top technology companies. To Samsung, I want to say ‘Welcome Home.’ We want to thank Governor Abbott for his amazing leadership and help on this project. With the addition of Samsung on the east side of our county, Apple on the west side and Dell Technologies world headquarters in the center, Williamson County is now home to the technology superhighway of the world," said County Judge Bill Gravell.

The city of Taylor says this was a partnership with incentive-based agreements with the county and Taylor ISD, as well as incentive agreements with the state. The City’s portion includes a Chapter 311 Tax Increment Refinancing Agreement allowing the city to issue bonds or notes to finance the redevelopment of the land used for the plant's construction, with the intention for those funds to paid by ad valorem property taxes.

It also includes a Chapter 312 Tax Abatement Agreement which allows the City to abate ad valorem taxes by decreasing amounts over 30 years as the company meets specific milestones. 

The net property tax revenue over 30 years is anticipated to be $52,550,000, says the city. Mayor Brandt Rydell said that this project is a game changer. 

"The City of Taylor is honored to have been selected for the Samsung project, which will be the single most significant and consequential development for the local economy since the International & Great Northern Railroad laid tracks here in the 1870’s," he said in a statement. "This project will provide unprecedented opportunities for our local business owners, our students, and our City’s future development. We are excited to welcome Samsung and their employees to our community, and we look forward to a long-lasting and mutually-beneficial relationship."

The White House has been pushing for greater chip production in the U.S.

South Korea, China, and Taiwan currently dominate the industry. Microchip production has declined in the United States. In 1990 the country made 37% of the world's chips and now it makes just 12%.

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