Apple awards glassmaker Corning $200M to grow made in USA jobs with Advanced Manufacturing...

Posted:
in AAPL Investors
Apple has invested into Gorilla Glass manufacturer Corning with the first award for $200 million from the Advanced Manufacturing Fund investment pool, to support "revolutionary glass production methods."




On Friday, Apple announced that Kentucky's Corning Incorporated will get the first disbursement from the fund for the company's "R&D, capital equipment needs, and state-of-the-art glass processing."

"Corning is a great example of a supplier that has continued to innovate and they are one of Apple's long-standing suppliers. This partnership started 10 years ago with the very first iPhone, and today every customer that buys an iPhone or iPad anywhere in the world touches glass that was developed in America," said Apple Chief Operating officer Jeff Williams. "We're extremely proud of our collaboration over the years and we are investing further with Corning who has such a rich legacy of innovative manufacturing practices."

Apple notes that the partnership between it and Corning has generated and sustained 1,000 jobs, with 400 in Harrodsburg, Kentucky alone. Also likely contributing to the award is Corning's acquisition of enough renewable energy to cover all of its Apple manufacturing in the U.S.

Corning is on its fifth iteration of Gorilla Glass. According to the company, the new product survives up to 80 percent of the time when dropped face-down from a height of just over five feet onto rough surfaces, as opposed to the smoother surfaces that previous testing was performed on. Previous drop testing was performed from around 40 inches.

Apple currently uses sapphire for the Apple Watch Series 2, the Touch ID sensor covering, and the lens cover on the iPhone 7 family. Despite rumors for many years to the contrary, the investment into Corning suggests that Apple may not shift to sapphire screens for any imminent iPhones.

On May 3, in an interview with CNBC's Jim Cramer, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the creation of the fund. Other than Friday's award, few hard details are known about the fund.

"We're really proud to do it," Cook said. "By doing that we can be the ripple in the pond, because if we can create many manufacturing jobs, those manufacturing jobs create more jobs around them."

The fund is in addition to Apple's $1 billion commitment to SoftBank's Vision Fund. The Vision Fund is a $100 billion pool created to accelerate the development of technology around the world, with $50 billion earmarked for U.S. companies.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 51
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Glad to see Apple finally putting out a little PR to show it does indeed create jobs in the U.S. Such a large corporation cannot help but be responsible for thousands of jobs. But that won’t silence the critics of course. This whole “bring manufacturing back to the U.S.” is a sham. Low skilled workers here have no future except for low wage service jobs. It’s also why we’re seeing the push for artificially regulated minimum wages and a resurgence of idea of guaranteed income in which taxpayers will pay you a decent salary to sit on your ass all day long and play Candy Crush on your free smartphone with unlimited data. By the way, I don’t know the answer to the problem of unskilled labor but the educational system sure hasn’t helped.
    edited May 2017 techprod1gytmaywonkothesanejony0LoneStar88stanthemanwatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 51
    fracfrac Posts: 480member
    Interesting. I'm seeing a trend here. Trump gathers tech leaders together who jointly tell him that jobs are not coming 'back to America'...because 'infrastructure!' So Trump says "OK, but you gotta do something to merit a tax holiday for your offshore cash"
    Apple: "Right, we'll invest in the future by supporting US companies and emerging technology"
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 51
    smalmsmalm Posts: 677member
    "Corning is a great example of a supplier that has continued to innovate and they are one of Apple's long-standing suppliers. This partnership started 10 years ago with the very first iPhone, and today every customer that buys an iPhone or iPad anywhere in the world touches glass that was developed in America. We're extremely proud of our collaboration over the years and we are investing further with Corning who has such a rich legacy of innovative manufacturing practices."

    As a non US customer I'm missing something like "Corning is our supplier because their product is the best". Otherwise Apple should use the alkali aluminosilicate glass from whoever is the best.
    tiger2
  • Reply 4 of 51
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    I'm glad for this just because its Corning. I live and work very close to Corning, NY which is where Corning, Inc's world headquarters are and its research facilities where Gorilla Glass is developed. Corning, Inc keeps this area alive. If they left, this area would instantly die....its already kind of a dying area (Southern Tier of NY). I applaud Apple for doing this. 

    By the way yes, I realize this money is going to Kentucky where Gorilla glass is manufactured, but its the partnership as a whole I'm talking about. Corning is now doing quite well with not only its Gorilla Glass line, but also its other things it engineers and manufacturers. 
    baconstangLoneStar88randominternetperson
  • Reply 5 of 51
    LoneStar88LoneStar88 Posts: 325member
    smalm said:
    "Corning is a great example of a supplier that has continued to innovate and they are one of Apple's long-standing suppliers. This partnership started 10 years ago with the very first iPhone, and today every customer that buys an iPhone or iPad anywhere in the world touches glass that was developed in America. We're extremely proud of our collaboration over the years and we are investing further with Corning who has such a rich legacy of innovative manufacturing practices."

    As a non US customer I'm missing something like "Corning is our supplier because their product is the best". Otherwise Apple should use the alkali aluminosilicate glass from whoever is the best.
    Well, "As a non US customer" you certainly are "missing something", namely: American citizenship, and the accompanying pride and excitement this American citizen is feeling for my country under the leadership of President Trump. Another thing you may be missing is the relative freedom of "free enterprise" in which companies such as Apple can determine their own courses and make their own choices as to which other companies they choose as suppliers. "America first" and "Buy American" have already and will, in the near future, take on very real and vital new meanings as our country recovers from the enforced lethargy from which it has suffered from for far too long.
    edited May 2017 spinnyd
  • Reply 6 of 51
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member

    lkrupp said:
    Glad to see Apple finally putting out a little PR to show it does indeed create jobs in the U.S. Such a large corporation cannot help but be responsible for thousands of jobs. But that won’t silence the critics of course. This whole “bring manufacturing back to the U.S.” is a sham. Low skilled workers here have no future except for low wage service jobs. It’s also why we’re seeing the push for artificially regulated minimum wages and a resurgence of idea of guaranteed income in which taxpayers will pay you a decent salary to sit on your ass all day long and play Candy Crush on your free smartphone with unlimited data. By the way, I don’t know the answer to the problem of unskilled labor but the educational system sure hasn’t helped.
    One way would be to give every American, not just rich ones at least a chance to get a quality education for free. New York State is kinda doing something like this where if you make under I think its $120,000 or 100,000/yr you can go to College for free. There are some catches to it such as you have to live in NYS for at least 4yrs after gravitating or else it turns into a loan and there are a couple of other things that I wish weren't there. But, at least its a start. Why can't the US as a whole do this? There are a lot of people in this country that have great potential, but don't want a $100,000+ debt to get there that they may never be able to pay off. We need to start helping the lower and middle class instead of focusing on padding the top 1%'s pockets. We will seriously fail in the end otherwise in my opinion. It may take a while, but this country will start to fail. 
    Macsplosionbaconstangroundaboutnowgatorguyfractiger2
  • Reply 7 of 51
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    None of this would've been anticipated or would've happened under any other President who was "expected" to win in 2016.
    edited May 2017 spinnyd
  • Reply 8 of 51
    pk22901pk22901 Posts: 153member
    smalm said:
    "Corning is a great example of a supplier that has continued to innovate and they are one of Well, "As a non US customer" you certainly are "missing something", namely: American citizenship, and the accompanying pride and excitement this American citizen is feeling for my country under the leadership of President Trump.
    You mean Lyin' Donald Trump? The one who told 5 different lies as to why he fired Comey?
    baconstang
  • Reply 9 of 51
    ben20ben20 Posts: 126member
    Made in the USA. Proud of Corning!  I lived in Rochester, NY for a few years and have seen Kodak and Xerox loosing so many jobs. Time for change!
    randominternetperson
  • Reply 10 of 51
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    ben20 said:
    Made in the USA. Proud of Corning!  I lived in Rochester, NY for a few years and have seen Kodak and Xerox loosing so many jobs. Time for change!
    Spellcheck, please... and good for Corning!
  • Reply 11 of 51
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,258member
    None of this would've been anticipated or would've happened under any other President who was "expected" to win in 2016.
    Apple writes checks for billions of dollars to its suppliers -- some of which are American -- every year. That happens regardless of who is president. 

    The difference is in the marketing. 

    baconstangroundaboutnowtiger2
  • Reply 12 of 51
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    smalm said:
    "Corning is a great example of a supplier that has continued to innovate and they are one of Apple's long-standing suppliers. This partnership started 10 years ago with the very first iPhone, and today every customer that buys an iPhone or iPad anywhere in the world touches glass that was developed in America. We're extremely proud of our collaboration over the years and we are investing further with Corning who has such a rich legacy of innovative manufacturing practices."

    As a non US customer I'm missing something like "Corning is our supplier because their product is the best". Otherwise Apple should use the alkali aluminosilicate glass from whoever is the best.
    Well, "As a non US customer" you certainly are "missing something", namely: American citizenship, and the accompanying pride and excitement this American citizen is feeling for my country under the leadership of President Trump. Another thing you may be missing is the relative freedom of "free enterprise" in which companies such as Apple can determine their own courses and make their own choices as to which other companies they choose as suppliers. "America first" and "Buy American" have already and will, in the near future, take on very real and vital new meanings as our country recovers from the enforced lethargy from which it has suffered from for far too long.
    Apple and others like the Musk companies, etc., have been under no "enforced lethargy." 

    They've been inventing the future, just as American companies have always done to some extent and with mixed results. So have other companies around the world.

    Long before the rise of this "America first" stupidity, Apple and Corning were doing some of the best work in their fields. Your attempt to co-opt thieir competence with this exclusionist, patriotic nonsense is offensive. And self-defeating, like Trump himself. The air's going to leak out of the over-inflated balloon, one way or another.
    baconstangroundaboutnowjony0tiger2StrangeDays
  • Reply 13 of 51
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    blastdoor said:
    None of this would've been anticipated or would've happened under any other President who was "expected" to win in 2016.
    Apple writes checks for billions of dollars to its suppliers -- some of which are American -- every year. That happens regardless of who is president. 

    The difference is in the marketing. 

    This isn't money in exchange for a product, it appears to be supporting R&D.
    edited May 2017
  • Reply 14 of 51
    smalmsmalm Posts: 677member
    Well, "As a non US customer" you certainly are "missing something", namely: American citizenship, and the accompanying pride and excitement this American citizen is feeling for my country under the leadership of President Trump.
    I'm definitly not missing to live under Trump's kakistocracy!
    baconstangjony0tiger2
  • Reply 15 of 51
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,258member
    blastdoor said:
    None of this would've been anticipated or would've happened under any other President who was "expected" to win in 2016.
    Apple writes checks for billions of dollars to its suppliers -- some of which are American -- every year. That happens regardless of who is president. 

    The difference is in the marketing. 

    This isn't money in exchange for a product, it appears to be supporting R&D.
    Apple has made a wide range of investments in suppliers before, too.

    Imagine how the whole GT Advanced thing would have been marketed today (before it imploded, of course). 
  • Reply 16 of 51
    rogifan_newrogifan_new Posts: 4,297member
    macxpress said:

    lkrupp said:
    Glad to see Apple finally putting out a little PR to show it does indeed create jobs in the U.S. Such a large corporation cannot help but be responsible for thousands of jobs. But that won’t silence the critics of course. This whole “bring manufacturing back to the U.S.” is a sham. Low skilled workers here have no future except for low wage service jobs. It’s also why we’re seeing the push for artificially regulated minimum wages and a resurgence of idea of guaranteed income in which taxpayers will pay you a decent salary to sit on your ass all day long and play Candy Crush on your free smartphone with unlimited data. By the way, I don’t know the answer to the problem of unskilled labor but the educational system sure hasn’t helped.
    One way would be to give every American, not just rich ones at least a chance to get a quality education for free. New York State is kinda doing something like this where if you make under I think its $120,000 or 100,000/yr you can go to College for free. There are some catches to it such as you have to live in NYS for at least 4yrs after gravitating or else it turns into a loan and there are a couple of other things that I wish weren't there. But, at least its a start. Why can't the US as a whole do this? There are a lot of people in this country that have great potential, but don't want a $100,000+ debt to get there that they may never be able to pay off. We need to start helping the lower and middle class instead of focusing on padding the top 1%'s pockets. We will seriously fail in the end otherwise in my opinion. It may take a while, but this country will start to fail. 
    Who pays for everybody to go to school for free?
    spinnyd
  • Reply 17 of 51
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    blastdoor said:
    blastdoor said:
    None of this would've been anticipated or would've happened under any other President who was "expected" to win in 2016.
    Apple writes checks for billions of dollars to its suppliers -- some of which are American -- every year. That happens regardless of who is president. 

    The difference is in the marketing. 

    This isn't money in exchange for a product, it appears to be supporting R&D.
    Apple has made a wide range of investments in suppliers before, too.

    Imagine how the whole GT Advanced thing would have been marketed today (before it imploded, of course). 
    Not every investment will be a winner. 😉
    baconstangh2p
  • Reply 18 of 51
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,403member
    None of this would've been anticipated or would've happened under any other President who was "expected" to win in 2016.
    Your brilliance in being able to make forecasts about the counterfactual world leaves me.... gobsmacked!
    baconstangroundaboutnowjony0StrangeDays
  • Reply 19 of 51
    slprescottslprescott Posts: 765member
    Is this money a:
    • grant                 (a gift, with no repayment to Apple)
    • investment        (money provided with some anticipated return / benefit)
    COO Jeff Williams uses the word, "investing".  I'm curious what form the payback will take...i.e., just improved products, or some financial ROI?

  • Reply 20 of 51
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    None of this would've been anticipated or would've happened under any other President who was "expected" to win in 2016.
    Your brilliance in being able to make forecasts about the counterfactual world leaves me.... gobsmacked!
    After 8 years of economic sputtering, no growth, insider payoffs for favors... the change so far has been overall pretty good for business and it looks like it'll get even better. Trump doesn't get a free pass from me on everything, but on business matters his team is performing spectacularly so far. Looking forward to tax reform.
    edited May 2017 h2pLoneStar88ben20spinnyd
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