Editor's Note: This article was written for JobsOhio by Area Development Magazine.

For companies planning large-scale manufacturing or life sciences facilities, the most valuable commodity in site selection is no longer just land — it is time. Delays tied to environmental reviews, utility availability, permitting questions, or incomplete due diligence can stretch project schedules by months or even years. For manufacturers operating in fast-moving industries, those delays translate directly into higher costs and missed opportunities.

Ohio has taken a proactive approach to addressing this challenge through SiteOhio, a statewide program developed by JobsOhio to ensure industrial sites are ready for investment before a company ever begins its evaluation process.

Rather than simply maintaining a catalog of available properties, the SiteOhio program involves a rigorous authentication process that verifies critical site conditions in advance. Utilities must be located at the property boundaries with adequate capacity, environmental and engineering due diligence must be completed, and relevant state and federal entities must provide concurrence that the site can move forward for development.

The result is a portfolio of sites where much of the traditional uncertainty surrounding development timelines has already been removed. Companies evaluating these properties can move forward knowing that key questions about infrastructure, environmental conditions, and regulatory alignment have already been addressed.

JobsOhio’s broader mission centers on creating new jobs across competitive industries including advanced aerospace and defense, life sciences, and advanced manufacturing. Along with identifying suitable locations, the organization works with companies to support projects through customized financial incentives, workforce development resources, and connections with regional partners.

One recent example is Anduril Industries, which in 2025 selected Ohio for its first hyperscale advanced manufacturing campus dedicated to autonomous defense systems.

The company announced plans to invest more than $900 million and create 4,000 new jobs over ten years at a site in Pickaway County near Rickenbacker International Airport. The project represents the largest job-generating megaproject in Ohio’s history and underscores the state’s growing role in advanced defense manufacturing.

After a multi-month national search, the company cited Ohio’s available site options as a decisive factor in the location decision. The region’s strong aerospace and defense ecosystem, skilled workforce, and proximity to key customers — including Wright-Patterson Air Force Base — further strengthened the case.

“Ohio is the state that gave us the best shot of hitting our timeline,” said Anduril Founder Palmer Luckey. “Some states are really good at pushing you out and slowing you down, and there are others that are great at pulling you in and speeding you up. That's what Ohio was.”

A similar story has unfolded in the life sciences sector.

Biotechnology leader Amgen selected Ohio in 2021 for a major biomanufacturing facility. Construction of the site moved at an unusually rapid pace, reaching completion and approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in just 26 months — the fastest site completion in Amgen’s nearly 45-year history.

The speed of development reflected both the site’s readiness for construction and its strategic location near major distribution infrastructure, allowing the company to bring the facility online faster than typical industry timelines.

In 2025, Amgen announced a further expansion of the facility backed by a $900 million investment, reinforcing Ohio’s role as a growing hub for biomanufacturing. “Ohio offers a supportive business climate, skilled workforce, and strategic location, making it an ideal choice for this next phase of our investment,” said Amgen Chairman and CEO Robert A. Bradway.

Projects like Anduril and Amgen illustrate how prepared sites can reduce one of the most significant risks in facility planning: uncertainty about timelines.

Even well-located properties can face delays if utilities are not fully confirmed, environmental studies remain incomplete, or regulatory approvals must still be secured. By completing much of that groundwork in advance, SiteOhio helps reduce those unknowns.

For companies evaluating new locations, the question is often simple: how quickly can a facility move from groundbreaking to production?

Programs like SiteOhio aim to provide that answer before the site selection process even begins.