Integra Technologies announces megaproject site for Wichita-area semiconductor plant

Integra Technologies has selected a site to build its microchip manufacturing and testing plant, part of a heavily subsidized $1.8 billion project aimed at winning the international competition for semiconductor superiority.

The 1-million-square-foot building will be built at the southeast corner of the intersection of Rock Road and K-254 in Bel Aire. A training center and interim headquarters will be at 3718 N. Rock in Wichita, where Integra is leasing space.

The total incentives package for Integra remains unclear. Kansas has committed $304 million in state incentives, but federal and local incentives are not yet known. If any of those fall through, the project will not be viable, Integra CEO Brett Robinson said.

Integra said in a news release that the site will constitute the “largest back-end semiconductor manufacturing and test facility in the United States.”

Bel Aire Mayor Jim Benage would not discuss what incentives the city offered Integra. He said they should come up for a vote within the next month.

“I have seen the incentives that we’re talking about,” Benage said. “I think our City Council is going to be supportive of that package.”

Robinson said the company is working with the city of Bel Aire and Sedgwick County on local subsidies but would not disclose the details on Wednesday.

“There is a requirement for CHIPS funding, just like there was funding for state support, you do have to have local support,” Robinson said. “So there’s a group of folks putting together a support package with the city and county.”

Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple said the project is a win for Wichita, even though the site is outside the city limits.

“The Wichita economy is the winner today, regardless of whether Integra is a town over or not,” Whipple said.

“We (the city of Wichita) created an incredible incentive package for this so we could be competitive. However, I think Bel Aire just had a different package, one that might have aligned better with the vision of Integra. So now we’re getting the best of both worlds, meaning Wichita gets the economic benefits and activity without having to give anything away in incentives.”

Robinson said Integra chose Bel Aire instead of Wichita because it needed to buy such a large property. The company plans to buy nearly 300 acres for future expansion and to set aside land for suppliers that will set up shop nearby.

“It is a beautiful site,” Robinson said.

Integra recently announced the company planned to add 2,000 jobs, mostly entry-level positions, and the Kansas Department of Commerce estimated the project could create 3,000 jobs at other companies in the Wichita area.

The state’s contract does not have any wage or salary commitments, and Integra has declined to say how much it pays entry-level workers. Overall, the average salary for the new employees — including higher-paid executives and engineers — will be around $51,000.

Local officials said the project is part of an economic development strategy to diversify Wichita’s economy, which has a high concentration of aviation manufacturing workers — more than 40 times more concentrated than the national average, according to figures from the city of Wichita’s annual financial disclosures.

In 2020, 16.2% of total employment in the Wichita metropolitan area was in manufacturing, nearly double the national average of 8.6%. The new jobs would make Integra one of the largest private employers in the city. It would remain far behind Wichita’s largest employers — Spirit AeroSystems and Textron Aviation — but more in line with Ascension Via Christi, Wesley Healthcare and Koch Industries, according to city data.

Sedgwick County Commission Chairman Pete Meitzner said the Integra deal symbolizes a “passing of the torch” between the Wichita region’s history in aviation manufacturing to microchip manufacturing.

“It’s in our DNA that we know how to gather people together on big challenges — to make things, ship things, get partners and supply-chain people together to build things,” Sedgwick County Commission Chairman Pete Meitzner said, pointing to the Wichita region’s rich aviation history as a manufacturing hub during World War II. “That’s in our DNA.”