Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Kinan Kim, Samsung Electronics Device Solutions division head, announced the selection in a Nov. 23 press conference.
The facility, to be located on approximately 1,200 acres, will bring around 2,000 jobs to the city of Taylor. According to documents from the Texas comptroller, commercial operations will begin in 2024.
During the press conference, Kim praised legislation in support of investment in semiconductor manufacturing, the CHIPS for America Act. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who also spoke during the conference, said "Silicon Hills" is growing, referring to the concentration of technology companies operating in Central Texas. Increasing the domestic production of semiconductors will benefit manufacturing and business of virtually everything else, he said.
"I participated in a number of roundtables all over the state with industry leaders, including GM, Toyota, Dell, HP, Boeing, Raytheon, VA systems, and many others, and they all told us exactly the same thing," Cornyn said. "From automotive to consumer electronic manufacturing, virtually every industry has been negatively affected by the chip shortage."
Questions following the announcement were not directed at the announcement; rather, they revolved around power grid concerns.
Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell's response to Samsung, shared in a release from the county, was, "welcome home."
"We want to thank Gov. Abbott for his amazing leadership and help on this project," Gravell said. "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."
Taylor Mayor Brandt Rydell said Samsung's investment in the town would represent the most significant development for the local economy since tracks were laid by the International & Great Northern Railroad in the 1870s.
“The city of Taylor is honored to have been selected by Samsung as the site for this critically important project, and we look forward to a long-lasting and mutually beneficial relationship between our community and the company," Rydell said.
