Samsung Electronics' US Taylor Semiconductor Plant Positively Impacts Local Economy

Supply Chain Expert Willy Si, Harvard University Professor, Forbes Op-Ed

Samsung Electronics' semiconductor factory being built in Taylor, Texas, USA, is expected to have a positive impact on the local economy.

Willy C. Shih, a global supply chain expert and professor at Harvard Business School, wrote in an article for the American economic magazine Forbes on the 16th (local time) that "Samsung's new fab in Taylor is noteworthy," expressing this outlook.

Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek Campus viewed from the air. [Aerial filming cooperation=Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Aviation Unit, Pilots: Lieutenant Shin Seung-ho - Lieutenant Park Ji-hwan, Crew: Lieutenant Park Sang-jin] Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Professor Shih described the Taylor factory by saying, "Samsung is building a cluster beyond just the factory," and explained, "The 1,200-acre (approximately 4.86 million square meters) site is about twice the size of Samsung's Pyeongtaek campus, and the vision for this site is to be as vertically integrated and self-sufficient as possible."

He added, "To control supply chain risks, the existing Austin fab sources most of its production materials domestically within the United States, and Taylor plans to continue this practice," evaluating that "this has the advantage of broadly growing the capabilities of local suppliers."

He also emphasized, "According to an analysis by an independent organization, combining the Austin site and the Taylor construction site, Samsung's economic impact on the region was $13.6 billion (approximately 17 trillion KRW) in just last year."

Professor Shih said, "Samsung has 27 years of experience operating the Austin site, so it clearly has ambitions to operate the Taylor factory successfully," and conveyed that "Samsung says this is part of its commitment to customers and the local community."

Samsung Electronics is currently constructing a foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) plant in Taylor, aiming to start operations in the second half of next year. This factory will produce advanced system semiconductors used in fields such as 5G, high-performance computing (HPC), and artificial intelligence (AI).