Writer: Alejandro Sanchez
2 min read January 2021— With no end in sight to supply chain disruptions, Orlando is taking the necessary steps to create the facilities needed to produce a vital component for any modern economy: semiconductors.
From the Job Growth Grant Fund, Gov. Ron DeSantis made available $6 million for NeoCity, a smart city center in Osceola County, and $3.7 million for Valencia College to invest in the infrastructure and training programs to produce semiconductors. With the resources, Valencia College is expecting to train 120 students in the next two years with the skills to repair, operate and design the robotic technology used to create chips and semiconductors. Meanwhile, the infrastructure to link Southern Osceola County and NeoCity will be built.
“The COVID-19 pandemic showed just how reliant we are on foreign supply chains,” DeSantis said during the public announcement. “The more that can be done here in the United States and in Florida, that gives more opportunities for people in Florida, of course, which is very important, but it does strengthen our economic resiliency and it does strengthen our national security.”
Additionally, last month the city was also awarded $500,000 from the U.S. Department of Commerce, with the possibility of receiving $100 million more, as part of the federal Build Back Better Regional Channel. Securing those funds was a collective effort between Osceola County, Orlando Economic Partnership, University of Central Florida, and BRIDG, and they will be invested in a variety of projects, including the expansion of the Center for Neovation, a semiconductor manufacturing facility in NeoCity.
“The research and manufacturing capabilities that have been developed at NeoCity are critically needed to strengthen our supply chain and national security efforts,” said Osceola Board of County Commissioners Vice Chairwoman Viviana Janer in a press release. “I have faith that our strategic planning will result in a wealth of new opportunities for our community as we move forward.”
According to a recent report by the consulting firm Deloitte, the chip and semiconductor shortage will persist through 2022 and even 2023. Although the shortage will not be as critical compared to the two previous years, the consulting firm predicts that the market will only reach some balance in early 2023. Key industries like automobile, computer, healthcare and artificial intelligence depend on the production of chips and semiconductors and the shortage has impacted production in those fields.
The issue is so critical that the Commerce Department on Tuesday raised the alarm about possible factory shutdowns as a result of shortages. According to a survey conducted by the federal agency, 150 companies that use semiconductors have less than five days of inventory, listing businesses in the automobile and healthcare sectors as the most impacted by the scarcity.
