Made in Arizona. It’s a phrase that is becoming more familiar as the state’s manufacturing sector continues to grow and add a rapidly increasing number of manufacturing jobs. Between the development of technologies improving efficiency and reducing costs, automation of manufacturing processes and a business-friendly climate, Arizona’s manufacturing landscape is being recognized on a national stage.
The Arizona Commerce Authority and Taiwan’s Bureau of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Economic Affairs, today committed to partnering on trade and economic development. The partnership, which was outlined in a recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), aims to support efforts to establish or expand operations and supply chains in Arizona or Taiwan.
Intel last Friday broke ground on a $20 billion expansion of its facilities in Chandler, Arizona, building two new fabrication plants, or fabs, at its Ocotillo campus. The two new chip factories – which will be known as Fab 52 and Fab 62 – will be operational within three years and will supply semiconductor chips at a time when a global shortage of chips is wreaking havoc on supply chains in nearly all industries, from automobiles to data centers.
Emerge, a Scottsdale technology company that facilitates freight procurement and shipping, said Thursday it has raised $130 million in series B funding. The funding is a big milestone for the 4-year-old company, and Andrew Leto, founder and co-CEO of Emerge, said now has the opportunity to build a technology that will be foundational in the freight industry.
The Covid-19 pandemic induced a global shortage of computer chips, and the shortfall has raised subsequent questions about American manufacturing ability and how it affects the nation’s security.
The proposed factory would support up to 12 gigawatt hours of battery cell production in an effort to diversify the U.S. battery supply chain. The vast majority of the world’s battery cells, which end up in electric vehicles, e-bikes, e-scooters or drones, are produced in Asia. In addition to the 3,000 would-be KORE Power employees, the company estimated that the new plant would bring an additional 10,000 direct and indirect jobs to the selected region.
The recent news that Intel is adding two semiconductor manufacturing facilities to its Ocotillo campus in Chandler was nothing short of spectacular: an expansion valued at $20 billion that will create more than 3,000 permanent high-wage positions, approximately 3,000 construction jobs and about 15,000 jobs indirectly when the project is completed. The announcement may have prompted some outsiders to do a double-take and ask, “Why Arizona?” I say, why not Arizona?
The biggest learning from this pandemic is that every company must recognize that it is in the business of supply. Consumer experience is increasingly solely based on a supply chain experience. The responsibility of viable, robust and resilient business continuity planning is an absolutely pivotal task that merits an ongoing process guided by business measures and winning scenarios.
Benchmark’s new Phoenix facility produces solutions for high-reliability RF, photonics, and high-speed electronic systems in a wide range of market sectors, including: aerospace and defense, computing, complex industrial, medical, and next-generation telecommunications. Benchmark currently serves several high-profile customers within each of these key industries today at the new site.
If we’re thinking about the big picture, what Benchmark Phoenix really offers is a new approach to solving technology challenges. We are changing how a complex solution goes from an idea in someone’s head to a piece of technology in their hands.