WROCLAW, Poland/STOCKHOLM, June 22 (Reuters) – Poland’s third-largest city Wroclaw beat rivals last week to be home to the next multi-billion dollar Intel (INTC.O) chip factory in Europe, with a two-year campaign promising subsidies, infrastructure, talent and a slice of American life.

In the face of an unprecedented semiconductor shortage, Europe is offering billions of euros in subsidies to reduce its dependence on Asia. In return, Intel is committing big sums and with Germany already bagging a 30 billion euro investment, Poland decided to crash the party.

Its eventual success can be seen as a lesson in perseverance.

The U.S. chipmaker said last Friday that it had decided to invest up to $4.6 billion in the new semiconductor facility near Wroclaw.

Interviews with half a dozen Polish government officials and company executives revealed previously unreported details on how a small city in southwestern Poland ticked all the boxes to get what its Prime Minister said was the largest greenfield investment in its history.

Poland initially impressed Intel executives with the speed in which it responded to queries and addressed concerns, Intel said.

“When we began the process, we hadn’t considered Poland,” Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger told Reuters.

“As you are picking a location, imagine you are going on a date. You have a sense, oh they really want this to work,” Gelsinger said. “We definitely came away with a strong belief that the local government want to make this work.”

Poland started courting Intel in July 2021. Government and municipal officials met with the company repeatedly over the next two years, according to interviews with five officials and three Intel executives.

Two government agencies – the Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH) and the Industr