Through Corning’s Gorilla Glass, Harrodsburg Connects To The World
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Corning’s Harrodsburg facility first fired up in 1952. The plant now employs approximately 400 people and the Gorilla Glass they manufacture there is in the hands of billions of people across the world.
Robert Moore
Herald Staff
[email protected]
Harrodsburg is celebrating its 250th anniversary this month. While the oldest continuous settlement west of the Allegheny Mountains has a lot of history to celebrate, one aspect of life in Mercer County that tends to get overlooked is the role of industry. And there is no better symbol of the importance of industry than Gorilla Glass.
Corning began manufacturing Gorilla Glass here in its Harrodsburg facility in 2007. Today, the majority of the facility’s manufacturing is dedicated to producing cover glass materials for mobile consumer electronics. According to Corning, the product has been used on more than 8 billion devices by more than 45 major global brands. If you’re reading this story on a handheld device, your fingers are probably scrolling along on Gorilla Glass.
Corning Incorporated is one of the world’s leading innovators in materials science, with total sales of $13.6 billion. Formed in 1851 and headquartered in Corning, New York, the corporation employs approximately 50,000 people across the world—approximately 400 of them here in Harrodsburg. In addition to damage-resistant cover glass for smartphones and tablets, Corning also produces precision glass for advanced displays, optical fiber, wireless technologies, connectivity solutions for high-speed communications networks and emissions-control products for cars, trucks and off-road vehicles.
Corning is one of the world’s leading innovators in materials science. For over 170 years, the corporation has applied its expertise in glass science, ceramic science and optical physics to develop products that transform industries and enhance people’s lives. Corning’s innovations include the first glass bulbs for Thomas Edison’s electric light, the first low-loss optical fiber, the cellular substrates that enable catalytic converters and the first damage-resistance cover glass for mobile devices.
Corning began developing a tough, new cover glass for electronic devices in 2006. The company’s scientists implemented significant compositional as well as other changes to achieve superior product characteristics including damage resistance, while making the glass compatible with Corning’s proprietary fusion-draw manufacturing process. The end result is an exceptionally thin glass surface that is damage-resistant.
When Apple introduced the original iPhone, Steve Jobs was dissatisfied with how the prototype’s hard plastic screen would get scratched when he carried it in his pocket. Insisting the iPhone had to have a glass screen before it went on the market in a few months, Jobs met with Wendell Weeks, Corning chairman and CEO, to devise a solution.
Apple and Corning have partnered on product development for more than 15 years, with Corning playing a key role in delivering glass solutions for iPhones, Apple Watches and iPads. With the support of Apple’s Advanced Manufacturing Fund, Corning continues to innovate new manufacturing technology that not only enables next-generation mobile consumer electronics but also sustains and creates high-value manufacturing jobs.
In the years since its introduction, Gorilla Glass has helped revolutionize the way we communicate. In a sense, you could say that nearly everyone in the world possessing one of the billions of mobile devices featuring Gorilla Glass has a piece of Mercer County in their hands.
“We could have deployed this technology in any number of locations worldwide, but we chose Harrodsburg because of the legacy of this plant and the talent of our people,” Weeks said. “With Corning’s advanced leadership in U.S. manufacturing, this facility’s technology not only enables next-gen mobile consumer electronics, but also sustains and creates high-value manufacturing jobs.”
One example of the importance of the Gorilla Glass coming out of Corning Harrodsburg’s facility came in May 2017, when Apple invested $200 million here. Ultimately, they would invest nearly half a billion here in Harrodsburg.
At the announcement of the first investment, Wendell Weeks introduced Janice Byrge, who had worked for at the Harrodsburg facility for more than 50 years.
“We are truly blessed to have employees who are so talented, so flexible and so loyal,” Weeks said in 2017, as workers at the Harrodsburg facility watched from the catwalks.
The announcement was cheered by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who held up his own iPhone. McConnell said the device was composed from parts manufactured in 30 different nations, “but the part we touch comes from Harrodsburg, Kentucky.”
Harrodsburg Herald: How long has the facility been located in Harrodsburg?
Luke Sturdevant, plant manager, Corning Harrodsburg: The Corning Harrodsburg facility lit its first glass melting tank and began operations in 1952 to meet U.S. Air Force demand for massive, top-quality optical glass casting for aerial and space photography.
Harrodsburg Herald: What drew Corning to originally locate the facility in Harrodsburg?
Luke Sturdevant: Like Corning itself, the Harrodsburg plant has a history of continual evolution— of growing and changing to meet the needs of the market and create new opportunities.
Throughout that time, Harrodsburg has played a pivotal role in making new opportunities possible – from ophthalmic glass to LCD glass to most recently, Corning Gorilla Glass. In fact, in 1984, the workers at this plant were responsible for a key technology breakthrough in the fusion manufacturing process that allows Corning to make the toughest, thinnest, and most pristine glass substrates. That core competency led to Corning’s entry into in the LCD glass market and is at the heart of our ability to make Gorilla Glass.
Harrodsburg Herald: What is it about Harrodsburg that keeps you here?
Luke Sturdevant: The Harrodsburg facility has a reputation as a global center of excellence for glass innovation. Recognizing Corning’s important leadership in advanced U.S. manufacturing, the Harrodsburg facility uniquely applies American ingenuity and manufacturing skills to continue solving some of the world’s toughest technology challenges.
At Corning, we deeply value the importance of community and people in everything we do. Our facility in Harrodsburg reflects our dedication to being not just a corporation, but a neighbor—a responsible member of the community. We’re proud to be part of Harrodsburg and to work alongside its residents towards a shared future of growth and innovation.
Harrodsburg Herald: What does Corning produce in Harrodsburg?
Luke Sturdevant: Today, the majority of Harrodsburg manufacturing is dedicated to producing cover glass materials for mobile consumer electronics.
Harrodsburg Herald:How important is the Harrodsburg facility to Corning?
Luke Sturdevant: Corning has been manufacturing products in Harrodsburg for more than 70 years. It is Corning’s longest running U.S. based manufacturing facility. Today, the Harrodsburg facility has the capability to manufacture some of Corning’s most advanced glasses, but it also serves as our global glass technology center, working closely with our scientists at Sullivan Park in Corning, N.Y., to develop advanced glass applications for the mobile consumer electronics market and other emerging applications.
The Harrodsburg facility takes pride in the diverse array of product platforms and innovations that originated there. Over the years, the plant has developed a wide range of products, from atomic radiation shields to ophthalmic lenses for sunglasses, and now the most advanced glass technology for the mobile consumer electronics industry.
Harrodsburg Herald:What are your future plans for the Harrodsburg facility?
Luke Sturdevant: Since 2019, Apple has awarded Corning nearly half a billion ($495 million) dollars from its Advanced Manufacturing Fund to enable an expansion of Corning’s U.S. manufacturing capacity and to drive research and development, building on both Apple and Corning’s deep commitment to protecting the environment. These investments have helped to facilitate research and development into state-of-the-art glass processes, enabling the creation of Ceramic Shield.
Harrodsburg looks forward to continuing to drive research and development into innovative new technologies that support durability and long-lasting product life.
Harrodsburg Herald: Does Corning have any plans to recognize Harrodsburg’s 250th anniversary in 2024?
Luke Sturdevant: The plant is considering resealing a time capsule during this timeframe, but there are no formal plans.
