Arizona Economic Development Sets New Records

PHOENIX, AZ (August 3, 2023) – Arizona economic development efforts continue to break records and earn international attention. During the 12-month fiscal period that ended June 30, 2023, the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) and local economic development agencies successfully worked with companies that committed to creating a projected 24,227 new Arizona jobs with an average wage of $72,581. Those companies also committed to investing a record $40.73 billion in local communities – single year records for jobs, capital investment and wages.

The Fiscal Year 2023 (FY 23) results represent 121 percent of the ACA’s projected jobs goal, 122 percent of its wages goal, and 1,018 percent of its projected capital investment goal.

The ACA worked with companies across the state in FY 23, with expansions taking place in Avondale, Buckeye, Camp Verde, Casa Grande, Chandler, Coolidge, El Mirage, Eloy, Gila Bend, Gilbert, Glendale, Goodyear, Kingman, La Paz, Mesa, Phoenix, Pima, Peoria, Queen Creek, Sahuarita, Scottsdale, Sierra Vista, Surprise, Tempe, Tolleson, Tucson, Willcox, and Yuma.

Contributing significantly to the FY 23 results were TSMC and LG Energy Solution. TSMC’s announced $28 billion investment in December 2022, bringing its total investment in Arizona to $40 billion, and LGES’s $5.5 billion investment to build a battery manufacturing complex in Queen Creek earned international recognition.

“Arizona is experiencing unprecedented economic growth, delivering increasing economic opportunities to residents across the state,” said Sandra Watson, President and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority. “With a reputation as the premier destination to do business, Arizona continues to attract global companies in high-wage industries such as advanced manufacturing, life sciences, technology, and more. We are grateful to Governor Hobbs, Senate President Warren Petersen, and Speaker Ben Toma as well as all of our industry, academia, and local partners for their continued support and collaboration to advance Arizona’s economy.”

Expansion and attraction projects in FY 2023 include:

• TSMC announced a total $40 billion investment and plans to build a second state-of-the-art semiconductor fab in Phoenix, creating 4,500 total jobs.
• LG Energy Solution announced a $5.5 billion investment to build a battery manufacturing complex in Queen Creek, creating thousands of jobs.
• American Battery Factory announced plans to build a $1.2 billion lithium iron phosphate battery cell manufacturing facility in Tucson, creating 1,000 jobs.
• Republic Services announced it will relocate its corporate headquarters to a newly- built facility in Phoenix, which will house 1,000 employees.
• Discount Tire announced plans to develop a new corporate headquarters in Phoenix, including a 300,000+ square-foot office building that will house 1,100 employees.
• Virgin Galactic announced a new Delta class spaceship manufacturing facility in Mesa, creating hundreds of aerospace engineering and manufacturing jobs.
• Moov, a marketplace for used semiconductor equipment, celebrated the grand opening of its new U.S. headquarters and office in Tempe, supporting hundreds of jobs.
• Benchmark Electronics celebrated the grand opening of its $20 million Precision Technologies facility in Mesa, supporting up to 100 new jobs.
• Procter & Gamble (P&G), a global consumer goods leader, announced plans to invest $500 million to build a new fabric care product manufacturing facility in Coolidge, creating 500 new jobs.
• EVelution Energy, an electric vehicle battery materials processing company, announced plans to build a $200 million cobalt sulfate production facility in Yuma County, creating 60 new jobs.
• Blue Origin celebrated the grand opening of its new avionics and systems engineering office in Phoenix, creating hundreds of new jobs.
• Corning, one of the world's leading innovators in materials science, announced plans to build a new optical cable manufacturing facility in Gilbert, creating 250 jobs.
• FrameTec, announced the commencement of construction on its new $40 million framing truss manufacturing facility in Camp Verde, creating over 180 new jobs.
• JA Solar will invest $60 million to establish its first solar module manufacturing facility in the U.S. in Phoenix, creating over 600 jobs.
• Rehrig Pacific, a manufacturer for the supply chain and environmental waste industries, broke ground on a new manufacturing facility in Buckeye, creating over 100 jobs.
• Sion Power, a leading technology developer of batteries for electric vehicles, announced an expansion of its battery manufacturing operations in Tucson, creating over 150 jobs.
• Nucor, the largest steel and steel products producer in the U.S., will invest $100 million to expand its existing bar mill in Kingman, creating 140 new jobs.
• JX Nippon Mining & Metals USA broke ground on its new electronic materials manufacturing facility in Mesa, creating over 100 jobs once operational in 2024.
• Chang Chun Arizona, a leading petrochemical supplier based in Taiwan, broke ground on its $300 million semiconductor chemical manufacturing facility in Casa Grande, creating over 200 new jobs.
• Ecobat, the global leader in battery recycling, announced plans to build a lithium-ion battery recycling facility in Casa Grande, creating over 60 new jobs.
• Cirba Solutions, a leading battery management and materials processor, announced plans to construct a lithium-ion battery recycling facility in Eloy, creating over 100 jobs.
• HyRel Technologies, a global provider of quick turn semiconductor modification solutions, commenced operations at its $15 million manufacturing facility in Peoria, creating 50 new jobs.

In June, Arizona was awarded a prestigious “Gold Shovel” award from Area Development Magazine in the 6-10 million population category, marking the state’s third consecutive gold shovel. In addition, TSMC’s $40 billion investment for its two fabs in Phoenix was named one of 15 “Manufacturing Projects of the Year."

Since 2011, Arizona has successfully won more than 1,166 competitive projects, which represent over 264,000 projected new Arizona jobs and more than $112 billion in capital investment across the state.

Media Contact

Alyssa Tufts, Arizona Commerce Authority, [email protected]

About the Arizona Commerce Authority
The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) is the state's leading economic development organization with a streamlined mission to grow and strengthen Arizona's economy. The ACA uses a three-pronged approach to advance the overall economy: attract, expand, create - attract out-of-state companies to establish operations in Arizona; work with existing companies to expand their business in Arizona and beyond; and help entrepreneurs create new Arizona businesses in targeted industries. For more information, please visit azcommerce.com and follow the ACA on Twitter @azcommerce.