Corning Inc., the renowned American Gorilla Glass manufacturer and a key supplier for Apple, is reportedly in the process of establishing a Rs 1,000 crore manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu, as per The Economic Times (ET) citing multiple sources. The proposed factory, slated to be located at Pillaipakkam near Sriperumbudur, is expected to employ 300 people.
This marks Corning’s first foray into the Indian market. While an earlier announcement from the Telangana government had indicated the company’s plans to set up a factory there, ET’s report suggests that Tamil Nadu was chosen due to its proximity to other Apple suppliers like Foxconn and Pegatron.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) is anticipated to be formalized at the Global Investor Meet (GIM) in January, although the report did not specify a precise timeline. Construction of the facility is projected to take approximately one year.
In a related development, Business Standard had reported in October that the first high-quality finished smartphone cover glass factory in India, a joint venture between domestic electronics manufacturer Optiemus Infracom and Corning, is likely to be established in either Telangana or Tamil Nadu. Operations are expected to commence by the end of 2024 under the name Bharat Innovation Glass (BIG).
Initially, the facility will focus on providing premium finishing for smartphone cover glasses as part of the 70:30 joint venture between Optiemus and Corning. The factory is projected to commence operations in 2024 with a production capacity of 30 million pieces during the first phase. The joint venture has applied for incentives under the Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS), seeking support from the central government. SPECS offers a financial incentive of 25% on capital expenditure for the identified list of electronic goods in the downstream value chain of electronic products.
