The Czech town of Roznov pod Radhostem was best known for its rum-drizzled sweet pies and an open-air museum showing off historical wooden houses. Then came an announcement that stirred the sleepy backwater.
U.S. chipmaker ON Semiconductor picked Roznov for a new $2 billion manufacturing hub in June. The past few weeks have seen a flurry of visits by property developers, the head of a local university and government officials followed around by television crews.
The interest isn’t surprising given the investment will be the biggest by a foreign company in the Czech Republic for three decades. But it also reflects how there’s more riding on the plan to make a new generation of microchips than the prospects of a corner of central Europe.