Industry propels any city, state, or nation forward. In America, each state focuses on what it does best. For some, this is agriculture. Others focus on tourism or natural resource mining. Ohio’s industry is manufacturing.
The Buckeye State has not only leaned into manufacturing, but has actively recruited for it, positioning itself to play an even larger role in the nation’s defense in the coming years.
Anduril Industries announced plans in January to open a new manufacturing plant in Ohio with an ambitious new project called Arsenal-1, a 5-million-square-foot facility on 500 acres just south of Columbus.
Why manufacture in Ohio?
At defense exhibitions, states such as Oklahoma, Virginia, and Ohio frequently showcase their strengths in order to attract new businesses and jobs.
“The way we look at our mission is, really, what can we do to create jobs that provide a quality life for Ohioans, and whether it’s in the military, aerospace or one of the nine other sectors that we work in, that’s really our mission is, how many of those good quality jobs can we create for the state that not only creates a great life for the Ohioan that’s going to get that job, but it’s also going to offer a valuable return to the state economically,” Terry Slayba, the company’s president, said.
A seismic announcement
“We’re here to announce that Anduril, one of the world’s leading defense technology manufacturers, is building Arsenal-1 here in Ohio,” said Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, about the company’s plans.
“This is very historic. It is the largest single project in Ohio history in terms of job creation. And it really hits our sweet spot. And our sweet spot is aviation and national defense-related products,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said.
Landing companies such as Anduril requires more than just what is visible on the surface.
“It used to be, you had to have sites in your state, you had to have water, sewer, you had to have the infrastructure for an opportunity like Anduril,” says Slaybaugh. “I believe that companies today want to know, ‘Where will the talent come from? “Where am I going to get the workforce?” JobsOhio, as well as our governor and administration, are very focused on how we can amplify the talent that exists in the state. And then, how do we improve the talent?”
Anduril hopes to kickstart large-scale production of military-grade autonomous weapons systems, including drones, at a cost and pace that will keep the United States ahead of its near-peer competitors, such as Russia and China. Palmer Luckey, the founder of Anduril, referenced an interview when Arsenal-1 was announced.
Luckey told Bloomberg News, “There are no other options. The entire point here, the reason we raised that $1.5 billion round, the reason we’ve been accelerating this process, and the reason we’re investing in building this factory before the customer pays us to do so, is that we believe in that timeline. Because we need to believe in it. It’s critical that we hit it.”
What’s the plan?
Anduril intends to manufacture the first phase of the site and begin production in mid-2026. Luckey stated that Ohio provided Anduril with the best chance of meeting those objectives, which is consistent with why JobsOhio targets companies like Anduri.
“You know, we don’t count all of the jobs that will be created in construction, retail, and ancillary services. “When we bring in an annual 4,000 manufacturing jobs, it creates a lot of other jobs in the economy,” Slaybaugh said. “You know, we don’t really focus on all those other jobs because we’re looking at the value that we’re going to get from those jobs that we’re creating through our incentives and what that return is to the state, but we know it has a huge impact on the economy.”
The project is expected to create over 8,500 new jobs by 2035, generating more than $2 billion in annual economic output and more than $1 billion in in-state labor income. Tax revenues are expected to be around $800 million, so attracting new businesses is a long-term investment.
