August 4, 2025 • 7 mins
Phil Derrow, Opinion Writer for The Columbus Dispatch says 'Yes' it is old news but believes this project will get done
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I wanted to spend some time talking to our next guest.
I saw an op ed in the Dispatch and it
caught my eye. I thought it was really well done.
Let's welcome in Phil Daryll on a Legacy Retirement Group
dot com phone line. Phil is a guy who started
a business and in the New Albany area industrial distribution business,
served time on the New Albany Plain Local Board of Education.
(00:20):
And this op ed piece or opinion piece in the
Dispatch on the Intel, which I'm now Phil affectionately calling
the world's largest and most expensive concrete slab in Licking County.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Good morning, how are you, sir?
Speaker 3 (00:33):
I'm doing well? Thank you? How about you?
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Great?
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Thanks for spending a couple of times a time with
moments with us this morning, so we know the story.
Last week there's another announcement from Intel announcing a delay
in their operation and getting the semiconductor plant up and running.
That plant, by the way, was supposed to be up
and running like now, like this year. As we speak,
(00:56):
it's now twenty thirty one, maybe even longer. And this
CEO even said we may have to pull the plug
all together if we can't get customers set up before
I think twenty twenty seven, twenty twenty eight.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
So it's kind of gotten sideways. Phil.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
You live in the area, you deal with that, you
talk to people, You're seeing what's going on out there,
what's your read.
Speaker 4 (01:18):
Well, as I wrote in my column, I think the
plant will eventually get built. I'm not as confident that
Intel will be the one to finish building it. Intel
has quite a few of their own challenges. They really
lost their market leadership over the last decade or so
and they're trying to play catchup.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
And the biggest challenge.
Speaker 4 (01:41):
With them building and running this plant is that they
need external customers. They need other chip makers to want
to use this fabrication facility.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
To build their chips.
Speaker 4 (01:56):
And I'm not sure that Intel is going to be
successful in that bench. They might be, but I still
think the project goes forward because of all of the
work that's already been done does lend itself to building
a chip plant, and so even if Intel doesn't do it,
somebody else probably will.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
So they've got what about seven billion already literally in
the ground there and in poured concrete and some of
these very specific uh you know, slabs, and they've got
to put these pads in and that that's the hard part, right,
that they already have done that lends itself to being
a semiconductor plant.
Speaker 4 (02:37):
Yeah, I mean, sixty foot thick concrete slabs is a
pretty big deal. But frankly that could be covered up.
You know they can. They can cover it up, build
something else there. And you know, businesses are aware of
the sunk cost fallacy that just because Intel spent seven
billion dollars doesn't mean they should spend another twenty one
billion dollars to finish the plant and and not have
(03:01):
any customers for it. So I think just as much
as those slabs, I think that an even bigger issue
is the environmental control systems that are already on site.
Those are really purpose built for this sort of operation.
So I think the plant gets built and will be
making chips.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
I just don't know exactly.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
When, when, or and who will ultimately be running that.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Speaking with Phil Daryl, he's got an op ed piece
in the Dispatch and his column there on the future
of Intel. So you know, I've heard that a company
like Oracle, who does similar work, could come in and
take over the facility. They I've heard that they may
even just come in and just take over Intel, and
Intel goes away as we know it.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
If you've heard anything like that, I.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
Don't have any specifics on that.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
You know, it's a wide open field.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
There are other chip makers in the world that you know,
probably wouldn't mind having a presence here, especially with the
push of this administration, and I think a correct push
to assure that we have advanced chip making capability in
our in the continental US. As I wrote in the
(04:14):
column during COVID, it really exposed our vulnerabilities there. You know,
we couldn't we couldn't ship cars. We our military depends
on chips that we get from Taiwan. You know, if
if things go badly in Taiwan, we're in trouble.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Have have they received any of the chips Act money?
Maybe a portion of it, or any of it at all?
Speaker 4 (04:38):
Okay, now a small portion. I don't know the exact number.
I think it's you know, as I started the column,
it says, you know, a billion here, seven billion there.
Pretty soon we're talking real money. I think Intel has
gotten from the from taxpayers, you know, a billion or two.
It's a lot of money, but yeah, it's some of
(04:59):
the money has been spent.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
I'd be curious if there's any any clawback clauses, if
this thing continues to just stutter along, if there's people
going to go, I want my money back, because if
we've got two point two billion already invested from the
taxpayer dollars, it's like, hey, what's going on here?
Speaker 4 (05:17):
There are clawback provisions there. You know, it's a pretty
good in MS in terms of government support for private industry.
I think the agreements are pretty solid.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
But if things go.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
Really badly for Intel, who you're going to get.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
The money from.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Yeah, well it's a good point.
Speaker 4 (05:33):
But you know, look, this isn't This is hardly the
first time this has happened. There was, you know, over
a decade ago, there was you know, a big hoopla
over hundreds of millions of dollars given to Celindra for
you know, I think of solar energy, right, and there's
half a dozen other green energy projects that have gone
belly up that were funded by the government.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
So this is hardly this is hardly news.
Speaker 4 (05:56):
It's one of the reasons I'm not a big fan
of government support for such things.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Phil What are you hearing from folks in the area
You know, a lot of people came in and they
snapped up land and just to be a part of
the intel orbit, if you will. Other secondary tertiary type businesses.
Are these people sort of sitting on these plots of
land not knowing quite what.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
To do with it.
Speaker 4 (06:19):
Sure, that's you know, private business. Private investors take risks.
They don't all pan out, they don't all pan out
in the time they want, and that's how it goes.
But again, I think the plant will get built five
years later.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Yeah, Look, the.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
Twenty twenty five timeline was never reasonable when you saw
how complex the plants were going to be, that was
never gonna happen. Twenty twenty eight was the doable from
a reality point of view. And you know, I know
it's in the news as new news, but these delays
really were announced back in February, and all of the
(06:59):
press that we're seeing now is really related to the
February announcement. There's some details about needing external customers and blah.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Blah blah, but really it is it's old news. It's
just it's back in the news.
I wanted to spend some time talking to our next guest.
I saw an op ed in the Dispatch and it
caught my eye. I thought it was really well done.
Let's welcome in Phil Daryll on a Legacy Retirement Group
dot com phone line. Phil is a guy who started
a business and in the New Albany area industrial distribution business,
served time on the New Albany Plain Local Board of Education.
(00:20):
And this op ed piece or opinion piece in the
Dispatch on the Intel, which I'm now Phil affectionately calling
the world's largest and most expensive concrete slab in Licking County.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Good morning, how are you, sir?
Speaker 3 (00:33):
I'm doing well? Thank you? How about you?
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Great?
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Thanks for spending a couple of times a time with
moments with us this morning, so we know the story.
Last week there's another announcement from Intel announcing a delay
in their operation and getting the semiconductor plant up and running.
That plant, by the way, was supposed to be up
and running like now, like this year. As we speak,
(00:56):
it's now twenty thirty one, maybe even longer. And this
CEO even said we may have to pull the plug
all together if we can't get customers set up before
I think twenty twenty seven, twenty twenty eight.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
So it's kind of gotten sideways. Phil.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
You live in the area, you deal with that, you
talk to people, You're seeing what's going on out there,
what's your read.
Speaker 4 (01:18):
Well, as I wrote in my column, I think the
plant will eventually get built. I'm not as confident that
Intel will be the one to finish building it. Intel
has quite a few of their own challenges. They really
lost their market leadership over the last decade or so
and they're trying to play catchup.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
And the biggest challenge.
Speaker 4 (01:41):
With them building and running this plant is that they
need external customers. They need other chip makers to want
to use this fabrication facility.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
To build their chips.
Speaker 4 (01:56):
And I'm not sure that Intel is going to be
successful in that bench. They might be, but I still
think the project goes forward because of all of the
work that's already been done does lend itself to building
a chip plant, and so even if Intel doesn't do it,
somebody else probably will.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
So they've got what about seven billion already literally in
the ground there and in poured concrete and some of
these very specific uh you know, slabs, and they've got
to put these pads in and that that's the hard part, right,
that they already have done that lends itself to being
a semiconductor plant.
Speaker 4 (02:37):
Yeah, I mean, sixty foot thick concrete slabs is a
pretty big deal. But frankly that could be covered up.
You know they can. They can cover it up, build
something else there. And you know, businesses are aware of
the sunk cost fallacy that just because Intel spent seven
billion dollars doesn't mean they should spend another twenty one
billion dollars to finish the plant and and not have
(03:01):
any customers for it. So I think just as much
as those slabs, I think that an even bigger issue
is the environmental control systems that are already on site.
Those are really purpose built for this sort of operation.
So I think the plant gets built and will be
making chips.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
I just don't know exactly.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
When, when, or and who will ultimately be running that.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Speaking with Phil Daryl, he's got an op ed piece
in the Dispatch and his column there on the future
of Intel. So you know, I've heard that a company
like Oracle, who does similar work, could come in and
take over the facility. They I've heard that they may
even just come in and just take over Intel, and
Intel goes away as we know it.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
If you've heard anything like that, I.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
Don't have any specifics on that.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
You know, it's a wide open field.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
There are other chip makers in the world that you know,
probably wouldn't mind having a presence here, especially with the
push of this administration, and I think a correct push
to assure that we have advanced chip making capability in
our in the continental US. As I wrote in the
(04:14):
column during COVID, it really exposed our vulnerabilities there. You know,
we couldn't we couldn't ship cars. We our military depends
on chips that we get from Taiwan. You know, if
if things go badly in Taiwan, we're in trouble.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Have have they received any of the chips Act money?
Maybe a portion of it, or any of it at all?
Speaker 4 (04:38):
Okay, now a small portion. I don't know the exact number.
I think it's you know, as I started the column,
it says, you know, a billion here, seven billion there.
Pretty soon we're talking real money. I think Intel has
gotten from the from taxpayers, you know, a billion or two.
It's a lot of money, but yeah, it's some of
(04:59):
the money has been spent.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
I'd be curious if there's any any clawback clauses, if
this thing continues to just stutter along, if there's people
going to go, I want my money back, because if
we've got two point two billion already invested from the
taxpayer dollars, it's like, hey, what's going on here?
Speaker 4 (05:17):
There are clawback provisions there. You know, it's a pretty
good in MS in terms of government support for private industry.
I think the agreements are pretty solid.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
But if things go.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
Really badly for Intel, who you're going to get.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
The money from.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Yeah, well it's a good point.
Speaker 4 (05:33):
But you know, look, this isn't This is hardly the
first time this has happened. There was, you know, over
a decade ago, there was you know, a big hoopla
over hundreds of millions of dollars given to Celindra for
you know, I think of solar energy, right, and there's
half a dozen other green energy projects that have gone
belly up that were funded by the government.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
So this is hardly this is hardly news.
Speaker 4 (05:56):
It's one of the reasons I'm not a big fan
of government support for such things.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Phil What are you hearing from folks in the area
You know, a lot of people came in and they
snapped up land and just to be a part of
the intel orbit, if you will. Other secondary tertiary type businesses.
Are these people sort of sitting on these plots of
land not knowing quite what.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
To do with it.
Speaker 4 (06:19):
Sure, that's you know, private business. Private investors take risks.
They don't all pan out, they don't all pan out
in the time they want, and that's how it goes.
But again, I think the plant will get built five
years later.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Yeah, Look, the.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
Twenty twenty five timeline was never reasonable when you saw
how complex the plants were going to be, that was
never gonna happen. Twenty twenty eight was the doable from
a reality point of view. And you know, I know
it's in the news as new news, but these delays
really were announced back in February, and all of the
(06:59):
press that we're seeing now is really related to the
February announcement. There's some details about needing external customers and blah.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Blah blah, but really it is it's old news. It's
just it's back in the news.
Popular Podcasts
Fudd Around And Find Out
UConn basketball star Azzi Fudd brings her championship swag to iHeart Women’s Sports with Fudd Around and Find Out, a weekly podcast that takes fans along for the ride as Azzi spends her final year of college trying to reclaim the National Championship and prepare to be a first round WNBA draft pick. Ever wonder what it’s like to be a world-class athlete in the public spotlight while still managing schoolwork, friendships and family time? It’s time to Fudd Around and Find Out!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!