It wasn’t that long ago when a billion-dollar industrial investment was going almost exclusively to a southern state such as Texas, Tennessee or North Carolina. If a northern state did get one, it was usually a midwestern state, like Ohio.
The Lehigh Valley, let alone Pennsylvania, never seemed to be in the running.
On Friday, that changed: Eli Lilly and Co. announced that it will build a $3.5 billion plant in Upper Macungie Township to manufacture weight-loss drugs. Construction is expected to begin this year and wrap up in 2031. When fully operational, the plant will employ 850 people.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks at a news conference to announce Eli Lilly’s plans to build a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant in Upper Macungie Township, during a news conference Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown.
Eli Lilly Chair and CEO Dave Ricks announces plans to build a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant in Upper Macungie Township, during a news conference Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. The plant is scheduled to be operational in 2031, with 850 employees. (Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call)
Gov. Josh Shapiro and Eli Lilly Chair and CEO Dave Ricks announce plans to build a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant in Upper Macungie Township, during a news conference Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. Construction is expected to begin this year, creating about 2,000 construction jobs. The plant is scheduled to be operational in 2031, with 850 employees. (Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call)
Gov. Josh Shapiro and Eli Lilly Chair and CEO Dave Ricks announce plans to build a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant in Upper Macungie Township, during a news conference Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. Construction is expected to begin this year, creating about 2,000 construction jobs. The plant is scheduled to be operational in 2031, with 850 employees. (Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call)
Gov. Josh Shapiro, Eli Lilly Chair and CEO Dave Ricks and David Jaindl, Jaindl Land Development, after a press conference to build a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant in Upper Macungie Township, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. Construction is expected to begin this year, creating about 2,000 construction jobs. The plant is scheduled to be operational in 2031, with 850 employees. (Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call)
Eli Lilly Chair and CEO Dave Ricks announces plans to build a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant in Upper Macungie Township, during a news conference Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. Construction is expected to begin this year, creating about 2,000 construction jobs. The plant is scheduled to be operational in 2031, with 850 employees. (Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call)
Lehigh County Executive Josh Siegel, left, and Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation President and CEO Don Cunningham, appear prior to Eli Lilly’s announcement of a new $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant in Upper Macungie Township, during a news conference Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. Construction is expected to begin this year, creating about 2,000 construction jobs. The plant is scheduled to be operational in 2031, with 850 employees. (Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call)
Gov. Josh Shapiro and Eli Lilly Chair and CEO Dave Ricks announce plans to build a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant in Upper Macungie Township, during a news conference Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. Construction is expected to begin this year, creating about 2,000 construction jobs. The plant is scheduled to be operational in 2031, with 850 employees. (Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call)
Eli Lilly Chair and CEO Dave Ricks announces plans to build a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant in Upper Macungie Township, during a news conference Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. Construction is expected to begin this year, creating about 2,000 construction jobs. The plant is scheduled to be operational in 2031, with 850 employees. (Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call)
Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce CEO and President Tony Iannelli appears before Eli Lilly’s announcement of a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant in Upper Macungie Township, at a news conference Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. (Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call)
Gov. Josh Shapiro prior to Eli Lilly Chair and CEO Dave Ricks announces plans to build a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant in Upper Macungie Township, during a news conference Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. Construction is expected to begin this year, creating about 2,000 construction jobs. The plant is scheduled to be operational in 2031, with 850 employees. (Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call)
Gov. Josh Shapiro and Eli Lilly Chair and CEO Dave Ricks announce plans to build a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant in Upper Macungie Township, during a news conference Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. Construction is expected to begin this year, creating about 2,000 construction jobs. The plant is scheduled to be operational in 2031, with 850 employees. (Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call)
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Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks at a news conference to announce Eli Lilly’s plans to build a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant in Upper Macungie Township, during a news conference Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown.
“Typically, it’s very difficult to compete with Texas and the southern states because of what they invest in development at a state level,” said Don Cunningham, president and CEO of the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. “We’re really pushing our burner up ahead to get ourselves into that mix.”
Cunningham compared Lilly’s arrival with the founding of Bethlehem Steel 169 years ago on the impact it may have on the Valley’s economic future.
“Eli Lilly is writing the first page of a new chapter,” he said, “the era of life sciences in the Lehigh Valley’s proud history of making things in America.”
How were state and Lehigh Valley officials able to seal the deal?
Being persistent, and quick
After Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks announced almost a year ago that the pharmaceutical giant wanted to build four plants in the U.S., Lehigh Valley officials drew up an application for the region.
The first two plants went to Houston and Huntsville, Alabama. The Valley appeared to be in the running for the third, but that went to Goochland County, Virginia, near Richmond.
Instead of giving up, state Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary Rick Siger and Gov. Josh Shapiro “immediately got back on the phone” to ask what they needed to do differently, leading to an even larger $3.5 billion commitment.
“We were incredibly aggressive,” Shapiro said. “We refused to take no for an answer.”
It didn’t hurt that there was a nearly shovel-ready site owned by Jaindl Development Co. just west of Fogelsville along Old Route 22. Nearby, PennDOT is planning to build an interchange between Adams Road and Interstate 78.
The Lehigh Valley also was ready to move faster than other regions because of the PA Sites program, a $25 million investment that extended utilities to the site so construction can begin in months and not years. The state has also begun to expedite permits under the Fast Track program that accelerates approval for significant economic development.
“We sold the Lilly team on our ability to move quickly and to deliver speed to market,” Shapiro said. “We are the fastest around.”
The state also introduced an incentive program worth more than $100 million that included tax credits, grants and workforce development at Lehigh Carbon Community College.
A team effort
Politically, the Lehigh Valley is considered a swing area, so bipartisan partnerships are not unheard of.
“It took numerous key partners working behind the scenes in a multiyear process with no assurance that we would win. Victory truly had a lot of fathers and mothers,” Cunningham said.
Ricks said “reliable partners” in the Lehigh Valley, including state and local officials working together, was a primary reason for selecting it.
Shapiro, a Democrat, pointed out that U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick had a hand in landing the deal. The freshman Republican senator was scheduled to be at the announcement Friday in Allentown, but needed to remain in Washington because of impending votes on government funding.
“This multibillion-dollar investment in the Lehigh Valley is a powerful testament to Pennsylvania’s leadership in life sciences and advanced manufacturing,” McCormick said in a statement. “I am grateful for the continued partnership with the governor and his team in bringing transformational investments to Pennsylvania. This is American manufacturing at its best, and Pennsylvania is proud to lead the charge.”
State Sen. Jarrett Coleman, whose district includes the Lilly site, said this is a development that everyone can benefit from.
“People doing well shouldn’t be a partisan issue,” said Coleman, R-Lehigh.
What the Valley has to offer
Ricks appreciated the industrial history of the Lehigh Valley, along with its infrastructure and proximity to educational institutions to provide a talent pipeline.
“Where curiosity meets capability is what innovative medicine manufacturing is all about,” Ricks said. “And that’s what we’ll be doing here in your community.”
Lehigh County Executive Josh Siegel emphasized the 2,000 union construction jobs that will be filled quickly, ensuring that building the plant will start this year.
“I’m so proud of our union heritage here in the Valley,” he said. “I just want to say, we’ve got the steamfitters, the pipefitters, the plumbers and the union electricians that are ready to staff this job.”
Coleman said Upper Macungie’s rapid growth — it is expected to double in population and add several thousand jobs in the next 25 years — and its openness to new business made it a natural location.
“[Lilly’s] decision to move into Upper Macungie reaffirms the point that the heart of the Lehigh Valley is really the suburbs,” Coleman said.
Morning Call reporter Evan Jones can be reached at ejones@mcall.com.