Throughout at the moment’s announcement of Apple’s American Manufacturing Program, the corporate confirmed that it’s going to develop its partnership with Corning to provide 100% of iPhone and Apple Watch cowl glass in Kentucky. Listed here are the main points.
’The biggest and most superior manufacturing line ever created for smartphone glass’
As a part of at the moment’s dedication to take a position an additional $100B in home manufacturing, Apple mentioned that $2.5B will go towards increasing its partnership with Corning.
Due to the brand new undertaking, “one hundred pc of the duvet glass on iPhone and Apple Watch items bought worldwide will likely be made within the U.S. for the primary time.”
As we speak’s transfer marks a brand new chapter within the long-standing partnership between Apple and Corning, which started when a hesitant Wendell Weeks (nonetheless Corning’s CEO) was satisfied by a really persuasive Steve Jobs to provide the entrance glass for the primary iPhone at scale, a narrative recounted in Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs biography.
Right here’s Apple CEO Tim Prepare dinner on at the moment’s announcement:
“Corning is a storied American firm, and we’re thrilled to work collectively to construct the biggest and most superior manufacturing line ever created for smartphone glass. Due to the facility of American manufacturing, any buyer anyplace on the planet who buys a brand new iPhone or Apple Watch will likely be holding precision glass made proper right here in Kentucky. We’re grateful to the President and his administration for his or her assist for American manufacturing, and we’re excited for the innovation this funding will unlock.”
Because of this deal, Corning will dedicate 100% of its new facility in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, to manufacturing for Apple.
That may embrace rising its native workforce by 50%, with cash left to spare for a brand new Apple-Corning Innovation Middle on the plant, which “will play a key position within the improvement and engineering of superior supplies and next-generation manufacturing platforms for Apple’s future generations of merchandise.”
OK, however when?
Apparently, Apple’s press releases concerning the Corning partnership had been gentle on one key element: deadlines.
In contrast to the brand new 250,000-square-foot server manufacturing facility in Houston, which is slated to start mass manufacturing in 2026 (which can be a bit broad), the Corning deal comes with no particular timeline, past Apple saying that “quickly, each iPhone and Apple Watch bought around the globe will likely be constructed with Kentucky-made cowl glass.”
How quickly do you suppose ‘quickly’ is? Tell us within the feedback.
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