As Arizona Emerges as Microchip Mecca, This Company has Opened a New Scottsdale Headquarters

Article originally posted on AZ Central on March 21, 2023

Metro Phoenix is a bona fide semiconductor hotspot, with two of the biggest expansion projects anywhere in the country for manufacturing the tiny brains that power and control almost anything that runs on electricity.

The headlines are dominated by the new Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing complex rising in north Phoenix and the massive Intel expansion in Chandler, but other companies are also hitting milestones. One of those is a new headquarters in Scottsdale for On Semiconductor, which marked its opening at a ceremony on March 10.

The facility will house roughly 700 administrative and other employees, including those in research and development.

On Semiconductor is much smaller than either Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing or Intel, but it, too, is growing quickly from the surge in semiconductor use. It will benefit from the expanded tax credits and other incentives flowing to manufacturers and customers from the CHIPS Act and Inflation Reduction Act, both enacted in 2022.

Semiconductor Business Flourishing

Even without help from those laws, On’s recent growth is impressive, underscored by an 88% jump in annual profits last year to $1.9 billion on a 24% uptick in revenue to $8.3 billion. The company’s assets also have increased, with cash alone nearly doubling to $2.9 billion at the end of 2022.

On makes chips that wind up in an array of products including electric vehicles, charging stations, solar technology, lighting equipment, sensors, robotics, smart buildings, surveillance equipment, home gaming and entertainment systems, computers, smartphones and much more.

The company employs about 32,000 people, mainly at its factories in Asia along with others in the United States and Europe. The company doesn’t make products in Arizona, with the Scottsdale facility instead focusing on administration, research and development. Most of On’s products are sold to end users in Hong Kong, Singapore, the U.S. or the United Kingdom.

Hassane El-Khoury, the company’s 43-year-old president and CEO, said the new office at 5701 N. Pima Road could help the company recruit talent.

Favorable Amenities

Features include a fitness center, training and conference rooms, and covered parking. The complex is more energy-efficient, with the drop in electricity usage equivalent to what it takes to power 1,000 homes. On, which is descended from Motorola’s semiconductor business, moved from an older complex at 5005 E. McDowell Road in Phoenix.

“It’s a great place to be,” El-Khoury said of the company’s headquarters in metro Phoenix. “People want to be here and move here.”

The new building, on land owned by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, is next door to Early Warning Services, owner of the payment-processing system Zelle. The complex is south of the intersection of North Pima and East McDonald roads.

El-Khoury said On won’t feel direct impacts from the Intel expansion or the new Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing site. In fact, he described those companies as supplier partners with On rather than competitors.

“They will bring an ecosystem of technology services” and encourage more restaurants, hotels, housing and transportation,” he predicted. “The community will thrive.”