Corning to supply Apple cover glass from Kentucky

Apple and Corning partner to manufacture all iPhone and Apple Watch cover glass in Kentucky

Apple and Corning have announced a major expansion of their long-standing partnership to make precision glass for Apple products. Apple is making a new $2.5 billion commitment to produce all of the cover glass for iPhone and Apple Watch in Corning’s Harrodsburg, Kentucky, manufacturing facility. This means that 100% of the cover glass on iPhone and Apple Watch units sold worldwide will be made in the U.S. for the first time.

Corning is creating the world’s largest and most advanced smartphone glass production line at the Harrodsburg facility. The glass maker will now dedicate this entire facility to manufacturing for Apple, which will help increase the manufacturing and engineering workforce by 50%. The two companies will also open a new Apple-Corning Innovation Center at the Harrodsburg plant. This will play a key role in the development and engineering of advanced materials and next-generation manufacturing platforms for Apple’s future generations of products.

“Corning is a storied American company, and we’re thrilled to work together to build the largest and most advanced production line ever created for smartphone glass,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “Thanks to the power of American manufacturing, any customer anywhere in the world who buys a new iPhone or Apple Watch will be holding precision glass made right here in Kentucky. We’re grateful to the President and his administration for their support for American manufacturing, and we’re excited for the innovation this investment will unlock.”

“Apple is an amazing partner for American manufacturers like us, and together, we’ve innovated and pushed the boundaries of what’s possible,” said Wendell Weeks, Corning’s CEO. “We developed and made the glass for the very first iPhone in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, 18 years ago. With this new multibillion-dollar commitment from Apple and the lighting of our most advanced manufacturing platform, we are hiring more people and bringing 100 percent of Apple’s cover glass needs for iPhone and Apple Watch to the original home of the innovation.”