COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — New Albany went from a “long shot” contender to the official site of Intel’s semiconductor chip plants in nine months, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted revealed Monday.

“It started in May of 2021,” Husted said in an interview with NBC4. “So it’s very quick for a project of the size.”

In May, Husted said Intel laid out exactly what they needed for the factories.

“We got this call, and they said, ‘Hey, do you have a facility that meets all of these standards?’ It had to be … a lot of little things — like it couldn’t even be near a railroad track because of the vibration, it can’t have a vibration. You have to have more than 1,000 acres. It had to have the infrastructure. It had to have reliable electricity. It had to have access to a workforce,” Husted said.

“There was only one site in Ohio that we could even produce on that short of notice that actually met this criteria … and by the way, we didn’t actually own the land. So we were kind of betting on this.”

A month later, Intel came back and said Ohio qualified as a long shot with 35-40 other potential locations.

“So every great optimist, somebody tells you you’re on the list, you’re a long shot, you say, ‘Hey, I got a chance, right?'”

Lt. Gov. Jon Husted on bringing the Intel semiconductor chip plant to Ohio

From long shot to chosen in 9 months

At every turn and question Intel presented, Husted said it built confidence and trust that New Albany and Ohio were the right place and can handle the challenges that come along with a facility of that magnitude.

“They wanted to go a place where they trusted that the state and local governments would honor their word, that we would deliver it on time, that we can meet their benchmarks. And we just kept building confidence and trust in them along the way that we could do that,” he said.

At Friday’s official Intel announcement in Licking County, Husted said he asked the Intel executives directly about what differentiated Ohio from dozens of other proposals.

“They just believed that we were going to be good partners, that Ohio wanted this. They felt that there are some places that wanted to dictate terms to them, that didn’t really appreciate what they were up against, that maybe weren’t going to be as welcoming,” Husted said.

“I think they felt like Ohio was a place that was a patriotic state where people wanted to work hard, that they appreciated manufacturing and manufacturing jobs. And I think they just felt confident that we could deliver, that we would be a great partner, and that’s why they picked Ohio.”

You can watch the Lt. Governor’s full live interview with NBC4 Digital Anchor Kristine Varkony in the video player below.