Dorsey Hager: Intel plant will be a gamechanger for Ohio’s economy

Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council Executive Secretary-Treasurer Dorsey Hager made his monthly appearance on the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and discussed the immense impact the $20 billion Intel plant will have on Ohio’s economy, and what the building trades are doing to prepare for its construction.

Hager was recently part of a delegation who toured an existing Intel plant, a fabrication shop to service the plant and an apprenticeship training facility in Portland, Ore. so building trades leaders could wrap their minds around the immense size of the project. This followed an earlier trip to similar facilities in Chandler, Ariz.

Even though he has seen both plants with his own eyes and witnessed how they have impacted their respective communities, Hager admitted he still cannot put into words what is coming to Ohio. To give Ferenc an idea of scope, he provided data from the Chandler Unified School District. In 1996, before the plant was built, the district had 1,800 students and one high school. It now has 47,000 students and six high schools. Licking County in central Ohio is bracing for that kind of transformative growth, he explained.

Hager then provided an update on the plant’s construction. Dirt is being moved, and the plan is to break ground and begin vertical construction by the end of the year, he said. Air permits and water permits are currently being pulled. Construction should take 30 to 36 months. 

Hager stressed the project will significantly impact the entire economy of the state, as more businesses will be drawn to cities like Cleveland and Toledo to service and supply the plant.

Hager conceded that at one time, Columbus was in a race to the bottom. That philosophy is changing thanks to the Intel plant and projects from Facebook, Amazon, Google and Microsoft, he said. When students graduate from The Ohio State University and other Ohio colleges, they will not have to go outside the state to find good paying jobs, he added. Ohio will have plenty of work for the foreseeable future.

Listen to the entire episode to learn more about these topics.