Samsung has a long and storied history in Texas. In 2021, the company announced plans to build its largest semiconductor manufacturing plant in Taylor, Texas, with an estimated investment of $17 billion. This marks the latest in a string of investments Samsung has made across the Lone Star State.
In this article, we’ll discuss Samsung’s presence in Texas, from its first investment in the state to its current operations in Taylor:
Samsung to build $17B plant in Taylor Texas
Samsung is a South Korean electronics, appliance manufacturing and semiconductor company founded in 1938 as Samsung Sanghoe by Lee Byung-chul. It was initially a trading company, but it has diversified into numerous industries and subsidiaries over the years.
In Texas, Samsung opened its first U.S. offices in 2005 in Austin to specialise in semiconductor R&D and strategic planning. The company also has offices in Richardson and Plano focused on marketing, service operations and business development for their consumer electronics division. Over the years Samsung has become one of Texas’s top employers with more than 10,000 employees across multiple campuses around Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston area – making Texas home to one of largest base of Samsung personnel outside South Korea.
Samsung’s presence in Texas has resulted in large investments throughout the state from:
- Facilities construction
- Local talent recruitment efforts
- Cutting-edge research projects at Institute for Innovation & Creativity (I&C)
In addition to tremendous benefits for consumers as a result of greater integration between its US offices and product teams based out of its Asia headquarters, this network allows more efficient movement of ideas between continents – making it easier for new products to be born here rather than having them shipped from overseas markets – giving citizens access to the latest technologies faster while at same time allowing TX businesses increased access international markets without ever leaving the region.
Samsung’s Expansion in Texas
In April 2021, Samsung announced plans to build a new $17 billion plant in Taylor, Texas. This ambitious move was made as part of a broader effort by the company to expand its presence in the United States. This project would be the largest single foreign investment in Texas and bring many jobs to the area.
Take a closer look at Samsung’s history and expansion plans in Texas.
Samsung’s Early Presence in Texas
Samsung’s presence in Texas began in 1976, when it opened the Samsung Houston Building on Richmond Avenue. This was the company’s first US office, and they continued to expand throughout the state, opening a semiconductor fabrication plant in Austin in 1996. In 2004, they opened an Austin office focused on research and development. This has now become Samsung’s primary engineering base in North America, responsible for developing mobile products such as phones and tablets.
In 2015, Samsung opened its first US appliance manufacturing facility in Newberry Springs near Tyler Texas.
This facility is responsible for producing several kitchen appliances at lower cost than traditional US plants due to its efficient processes and access to cheaper materials worldwide. The following year, Samsung announced its expansion into their second Texas location – Project 42 – north of Dallas-Fort Worth at Allen Meadows Business Park.
This new location is a 17 billion dollar investment by Samsung with plans for over 2 million square feet of retail shopping space to create thousands of jobs from construction to retail opportunities. In addition to housing retail shops and restaurants, this innovative project also provides offices used for R&D labs as well as an Audible Reality Lab where developers can test immersive audio technology used for home theatres or handheld devices.
Samsung’s Expansion in Texas
Samsung’s Texas story began in 2006 when the electronics manufacturer opened its first regional office in Plano, TX. Since then, the company’s operations have grown significantly, creating thousands of jobs and establishing multiple manufacturing and research facilities across the state.
Today, Samsung has 8 business divisions: consumer electronics; enterprise computing; home appliances; and entertainment products. The company is also one of the leading investors in semiconductor chip research and development in Texas. Samsung Austin Semiconductor (SAS) is located north of downtown Austin, producing several hundred million chips yearly for consumer electronics such as televisions and computer monitors.
Research and development is a major focus of Samsung’s activities in Texas. Its Advanced R&D centre based in Dallas functions as an innovation hub for all major departments within the company. Home appliance division engineers are driven to develop cutting-edge designs through an open-innovation platform hosted at this facility where they can connect with universities like UT Austin across the state. In addition to these locations, Samsung is heavily invested in medical imaging systems and biometric sensor technologies through its subsidiary NeuroLogica Corp., which it acquired from Massachusetts General Hospital in 2011.
By further strengthening its presence across many divisions, Samsung has expanded beyond consumer electronics into many other intricate fields, transforming what was once completely foreign territory into a thriving regional hub for global technological innovation within the US.
Samsung’s Impact in Texas
In 2021, Samsung announced their plans for a $17 billion chip fabrication plant to be built in Taylor, Texas. This was a major development for Texas, as the plant’s construction will add thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in capital investments, spawning further economic development in the area.
In this article, we’ll look at the history of Samsung in Texas, and its overall impact on the state.
Economic Impact
Since establishing its footprint in Texas in 1995, Samsung has become one of the most significant contributors to the state’s economy. With multiple branches across the state and an ever-increasing number of jobs it creates, Samsung is directly contributing to the economic growth of Texas.
In 2019 alone, Samsung’s total investments in Texas passed $17 billion, including employing thousands of employees and making multibillion-dollar purchases from local suppliers. In addition, the revenues generated by Samsung’s stations have helped boost local businesses’ profits and furthered economic activities throughout the region.
Not only that, but its impact is deeply felt because it helps create employment opportunities for Texans at significantly higher wages than other leading industries. As a result, Texans can increase their standard of living without having to move elsewhere for better opportunities or wages.
Regarding business advantages, Samsung offers tax incentives for companies collaborating to develop new products and technologies. This, in turn, helps reduce production costs, leading to more competitive prices in the market and higher profit margins for businesses. These are a few ways that Samsung has left a positive mark on Texas’s economy by increasing business opportunities statewide and boosting employment opportunities with higher salaries than leading industries in other states.
Social Impact
Since establishing a presence in Texas in 1981, Samsung has significantly impacted the state’s economy, its citizens, and the local communities.
In terms of economic impact, Samsung has contributed more than $16 billion towards the Texas economy and maintains multiple locations with over 500 acres of operations within Texas. This includes two major U.S. headquarters in Plano, Texas that are focused on supporting North American consumers for sales and marketing efforts and multiple semiconductor fabrication plants in Austin and San Antonio.
The company’s direct philanthropy initiatives have provided more than $23 million to various charitable organisations throughout the state over the past three decades. Moreover, thousands of Texans have benefited from job opportunities through the wide variety of roles across Samsung’s locations throughout Texas which span:
- Digital products and services including home appliances, smartphones and tablets;
- Global customer service operations;
- Semiconductor R&D facilities;
- IT support centres providing services to hundreds of millions of users globally;
- Schools supporting early-childhood education programs;
- Marketing & communications teams creating content for brand visibility & campaigns for product launches; and
- Research affiliates devoted towards breakthrough innovations with industry partners.
Samsung’s proactive involvement in local communities via annual volunteer days across its various locations has enabled employees to actively engage with numerous activities such as maintenance work at children’s playgrounds, food drives to assist local families in need – or helping out shelters or animals rescue charities etc., fostering both personal relationships between team members while also impacting society positively with lasting results manifested through these group efforts individually year by year.
Samsung’s Plans for Taylor, Texas
In 2020, Samsung announced it would invest an estimated $17 billion to build a new plant in Taylor, Texas. This would be the biggest project Samsung has ever undertaken in the US, and the new plant would span 7.7 million square feet and be the second-largest chip production site in the US. This news has been met with much anticipation as the project can potentially have a large economic and environmental impact on the region.
Let’s take a closer look at Samsung’s plans for Taylor, Texas:
Details of the Plant
In December 2013, Samsung Austin Semiconductor announced plans to invest in Taylor, Texas. The company planned to build its second semiconductor plant in the United States on a 200-acre site. The new facility would include two cleanroom spaces for manufacturing operations of more than ten billion dollars. In addition, the site is expected to contain research and development labs as well as design centres.
The plant’s construction began in April 2014 and is expected to be completed by 2019. At full buildout, the new facility will create up to 1,800 jobs for office, engineering and cleanroom personnel. Construction alone is projected to result in approximately 1,700 construction jobs over five years and generate a long-term economic impact estimated at 2.3 billion dollars.
Samsung’s Taylor location should create jobs in three distinct but related sectors –
- engineering and design (including technical and R&D teams);
- frontline manufacturing (such as device fabrication technicians); and
- corporate operations (such finance, human resources or marketing).
As part of their commitment to creating high quality employment opportunities they are actively recruiting local colleges to develop custom training programs that match their current needs while providing long-term growth paths for people looking for career advancement opportunities.
Impact of the Plant
The Taylor, Texas facility has had a significant economic impact on the city and the surrounding area. The facility’s construction was a major infrastructural and financial investment. This large investment allowed job growth in many sectors, putting thousands of people back to work.
The economic impact has extended far beyond jobs created directly at the plant. Auto and home sales and additional employee spending have experienced noticeable boosts in this region. In addition, retail numbers were surprisingly high during Samsung’s first year in operation – nearly double initial estimates – showing the effect reaches local businesses catering to citizens living and working near Taylor, Texas.
In addition to its economic benefits, Samsung’s presence in Taylor has revolutionised its educational system. Take Home Technology (THT) is one of Samsung’s major initiatives. Units provide every student with an individual laptop or tablet for use at school and home for educational purposes free to students whose families qualify for free or discounted meals. Through THT initiative, Samsung’s partnership with local schools provide students with access to 21st century technology resources previously reserved for wealthy districts only.
The partnership between Samsung and Taylor was welcomed immediately by locals with enthusiasm – expanding local employment opportunities while simultaneously creating a ripple of positive effects on businesses, education, and culture throughout central Texas. Moreover, the plant promises even more benefits in the future – stirring up new energy through innovation in manufacturing technology while increasing global competitiveness by providing high quality products – an economy-building formula that promises a sustainable future.
tags = samsung plans to build a $17B chipmaking plant in Taylor, samsung 17b taylor wall streetjournal, sources samsung taylor texas streetjournal, sources 17b taylor texas wall streetjournal, samsung 17b taylor texas samsungsohn streetjournal, sources samsung 17b taylor wall streetjournal, samsung taylor texas samsungsohn wall streetjournal, sources 17b taylor texas samsungsohn streetjournal, samsung 17b taylor texas wall streetjournal, sources samsung 17b taylor texas streetjournal, 17b taylor texas samsungsohn wall streetjournal, samsung 17b taylor texas streetjournal, 6 million square feet microchipmaking plant
