Corning Incorporated is an American
multinational technology company
A technology company (or tech company) is an electronics-based technological company, including, for example, business relating to digital electronics, software, and internet-related services, such as e-commerce services.
Details
According to '' ...
that specializes in specialty
glass
Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling ( quenching ...
,
ceramic
A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...
s, and related materials and technologies including advanced
optics
Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultrav ...
, primarily for industrial and scientific applications. The company was named Corning Glass Works until 1989.
Corning divested its consumer product lines (including
CorningWare
Corning Ware, also written CorningWare, was originally a brand name for a unique glass-ceramic ( Pyroceram) cookware resistant to thermal shock. It was first introduced in 1958 by Corning Glass Works (later Corning Inc.) in the United States. The ...
and
Visions Pyroceram Pyroceram is the original glass-ceramic material developed and trademarked by Corning Glass in the 1950s.
Pyroceram is an opaque, white, glass material, commonly used in kitchenware, glass stove tops, wood stove doors, etc.. It has high heat toleran ...
-based cookware,
Corelle
Corelle is a brand of glassware and dishware. It is made of Vitrelle, a tempered glass product consisting of two types of glass laminated into three layers. It was introduced by Corning Glass Works in 1970, but is now manufactured and sold by Co ...
Vitrelle tableware, and
Pyrex
Pyrex (trademarked as ''PYREX'' and ''pyrex'') is a brand introduced by Corning Inc. in 1915 for a line of clear, low-thermal-expansion borosilicate glass used for laboratory glassware and kitchenware. It was later expanded to include kitchenwa ...
glass bakeware) in 1998 by selling the Corning Consumer Products Company subsidiary (now known as
Corelle Brands
Corelle Brands, LLC was an American kitchenware products maker and distributor based in Downers Grove, Illinois. In 2019, the company merged with Instant Brands.
The company began as the ''Corning Consumer Products Company'', a division of th ...
) to
Borden.
, Corning had five major business sectors: display technologies, environmental technologies, life sciences, optical communications, and specialty materials. Corning is involved in two
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and economic risk, risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four rea ...
s:
Dow Corning
Dow Corning Corporation, was an American multinational corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. Originally established as a joint venture between The Dow Chemical Company and Corning Incorporated, Dow bought out Corning and ...
and Pittsburgh Corning.
Quest Diagnostics
Quest Diagnostics is an American clinical laboratory. A Fortune 500 company, Quest operates in the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Brazil. Quest also maintains collaborative agreements with various hospitals and clinics across the globe ...
and
Covance
Labcorp Drug Development is a contract research organization (CRO) headquartered in Burlington, North Carolina, providing nonclinical, preclinical, clinical and commercialization services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Formerl ...
were
spun off from Corning in 1996.
Corning is one of the main suppliers to
Apple Inc.
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...
Since working with
Steve Jobs in 2007 to develop the
iPhone; Corning develops and manufactures
Gorilla Glass
Gorilla Glass is a brand of chemically strengthened glass developed and manufactured by Corning, now in its seventh generation. Designed to be thin, light and damage-resistant, the glass gains its surface strength, ability to contain flaws, and ...
, which is used by many smartphone makers. It is one of the world's biggest glassmakers.
Corning won the
National Medal of Technology and Innovation four times for its product and process innovations.
History
![Corning Conaphore y](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Corning_Conaphore_y.jpg)
Corning Glass Works was founded in 1851 by Amory Houghton, in
Somerville, Massachusetts
Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total population of 81,045 people. With an area o ...
, originally as the Bay State Glass Co. It later moved to
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant to the south; Bushwick and East Williamsburg to the east; and the East River to the west. As of the 2020 United ...
, and operated as the Brooklyn Flint Glass Works. The company moved again to its ultimate home and eponym, the city of
Corning, New York
Corning is a city in Steuben County, New York, United States, on the Chemung River. The population was 10,551 at the 2020 census. It is named for Erastus Corning, an Albany financier and railroad executive who was an investor in the company t ...
, in 1868 under leadership of the founder's son, Amory Houghton, Jr.
Corning continues to maintain its world headquarters at Corning, N.Y. The firm also established one of the first industrial research labs there in 1908. It continues to expand the nearby
research and development facility, as well as operations associated with
catalytic converters
A catalytic converter is an exhaust emission control device that converts toxic gases and pollutants in exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine into less-toxic pollutants by catalyzing a redox reaction. Catalytic converters are usual ...
and
diesel engine filter product lines. Corning has a long history of
community development
The United Nations defines community development as "a process where community members come together to take collective action and generate solutions to common problems." It is a broad concept, applied to the practices of civic leaders, activists ...
and has assured community leaders that it intends to remain headquartered in its small upstate New York hometown.
The
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...
's telescope mirror at
Palomar Observatory was cast by Corning during 1934–1936 out of low expansion borosilicate glass.
In 1932,
George Ellery Hale approached
Corning with the challenge of fabricating the required optic for his Palomar project. A previous effort to fabricate the optic from
fused quartz
Fused quartz, fused silica or quartz glass is a glass consisting of almost pure silica (silicon dioxide, SiO2) in amorphous (non-crystalline) form. This differs from all other commercial glasses in which other ingredients are added which change ...
had failed. Corning's first attempt was a failure, the cast blank having voids. Using lessons learned, Corning was successful in the casting of the second blank. After a year of cooling, during which it was almost lost to a flood, in 1935 the blank was completed. The first blank now resides in
Corning's Museum of Glass.
In 1935, Corning formed a partnership with bottle maker
Owens-Illinois, which formed the company known today as
Owens Corning. Owens Corning was spun off as a separate company in 1938.
![Corning Conaphore](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Corning_Conaphore.jpg)
The company had a history of science-based innovations following
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
and the strategy by management was research and "disruptive" and "on demand" product innovation.
In 1962 Corning developed Chemcor, a new toughened automobile
windshield
The windshield (North American English) or windscreen (Commonwealth English) of an aircraft, car, bus, motorbike, truck, train, boat or streetcar is the front window, which provides visibility while protecting occupants from the elements. ...
designed to be thinner and lighter than existing windshields, which reduced danger of personal injury by shattering into small granules when smashed. This
toughened glass
Tempered or toughened glass is a type of safety glass processed by controlled thermal or chemical treatments to increase its strength compared with normal glass. Tempering puts the outer surfaces into compression and the interior into tens ...
had a chemically hardened outer layer, and its manufacture incorporated an ion exchange and a "fusion process" in special furnaces that Corning built in its
Blacksburg, Virginia
Blacksburg is an incorporated town in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 44,826 at the 2020 census. Blacksburg, as well as the surrounding county, is dominated economically and demographically by the presence of ...
facility.
Corning developed it as an alternative to
laminated
Lamination is the technique/process of manufacturing a material in multiple layers, so that the composite material achieves improved strength, stability, sound insulation, appearance, or other properties from the use of the differing materia ...
windshields with the intention of becoming an
automotive industry
The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries by revenue (from 16 % such ...
supplier.
After being installed as side glass in a limited run of 1968 Plymouth Barracudas and Dodge Darts, Chemcor windshields debuted on the 1970 model year
Javelins
A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with the ...
and
AMXs built by
American Motors Corporation (AMC).
As there were no mandatory safety standards for motor vehicle windshields, the larger automakers had no financial incentive to change from the cheaper existing products.
Corning terminated its windshield project in 1971, after it turned out to be one of the company's "biggest and most expensive failures."
However, like many Corning innovations, the unique process to manufacture this automotive glass was resurrected and is today the basis of their very profitable LCD glass business.
In the fall of 1970, the company announced that researchers Robert D. Maurer, Donald Keck, Peter C. Schultz, and Frank Zimar had demonstrated an
optical fiber
An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass ( silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a mea ...
with a low optical attenuation of 17 dB per kilometer by
doping silica glass with
titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resista ...
. A few years later they produced a fiber with only 4 dB/km, using
germanium oxide Germanium oxide may refer to:
*Germanium dioxide, GeO2, the best known and most commonly encountered oxide of germanium containing germanium(IV)
*Germanium monoxide
Germanium monoxide, GeO, is a chemical compound of germanium and oxygen
Oxy ...
as the core
dopant
A dopant, also called a doping agent, is a trace of impurity element that is introduced into a chemical material to alter its original electrical or optical properties. The amount of dopant necessary to cause changes is typically very low. When ...
. Such low attenuations made
fiber optics practical for
telecommunications
Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...
and
networking. Corning became the world's leading manufacturer of optical fiber.
In 1977, considerable attention was given to Corning's Z Glass project. Z Glass was a product used in television picture tubes. Due to a number of factors, the exact nature of which are subject to dispute, this project was considered a steep loss in profit and productivity. The following year the project made a partial recovery. This incident has been cited as a case study by the Harvard School of Business.
Company profits soared in the late 1990s during the
dot-com boom, and Corning expanded its fiber operations significantly through the acquisition of telecommunications company
Oak Industries
Oak Industries Inc. was an American electronics company that manufactured a variety of products throughout seven decades in the 20th century. In existence from 1932 to 2000, the company's business lines primarily centered around electronic comp ...
and building several new plants. The company also entered the
photonics
Photonics is a branch of optics that involves the application of generation, detection, and manipulation of light in form of photons through emission, transmission, modulation, signal processing, switching, amplification, and sensing. Though ...
market, investing heavily with the intent of becoming the leading provider of complete fiber-optic systems. Failure to succeed in photonics and the
collapse in 2000 of the dot-com market had a major impact on the company, and Corning stock plummeted to $1 per share. However, the company had posted five straight years of improving financial performance.
Technologies
The turning point for Corning came when Apple approached it to develop a robust display screen for its upcoming
iPhone. Later, other companies also adopted its
Gorilla glass
Gorilla Glass is a brand of chemically strengthened glass developed and manufactured by Corning, now in its seventh generation. Designed to be thin, light and damage-resistant, the glass gains its surface strength, ability to contain flaws, and ...
screen. In 2011 Corning announced the expansion of existing facilities and the construction of a Gen 10 facility co-located with the
Sharp Corporation
is a Japanese multinational corporation that designs and manufactures electronic products, headquartered in Sakai-ku, Sakai, Osaka Prefecture. Since 2016 it has been majority owned by the Taiwan-based Foxconn Group. Sharp employs more than 5 ...
manufacturing complex in
Sakai, Osaka, Japan. The LCD glass substrate is produced without heavy metals. Corning is a leading manufacturer of the glass used in
liquid crystal displays.
The company continues to produce optical fiber and cable for the communications industry at its
Wilmington and
Concord
Concord may refer to:
Meaning "agreement"
* Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony)
* Harmony, in music
* Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...
plants in North Carolina. It is also a major manufacturer of ceramic emission control devices for
catalytic converter
A catalytic converter is an vehicle emissions control, exhaust emission control device that converts toxic gases and pollutants in exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine into less-toxic pollutants by catalysis, catalyzing a redox chemic ...
s in cars and light trucks that use gasoline engines. The company is also investing in the production of ceramic emission control products for diesel engines as a result of tighter emission standards for those engines both in the U.S. and abroad.
In 2007 Corning introduced an optic fiber,
ClearCurve, which uses nanostructure technology to facilitate the small radius bending found in
FTTX
Fiber to the ''x'' (FTTX; also spelled "fibre") or fiber in the loop is a generic term for any broadband network architecture using optical fiber to provide all or part of the local loop used for last mile telecommunications. As fiber op ...
installations.
![Nokia N8 gorilla glass screen (5083750412)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Nokia_N8_gorilla_glass_screen_%285083750412%29.jpg)
Gorilla Glass, an outgrowth of the 1960s Chemcor project, is a high-strength alkali-
aluminosilicate
Aluminosilicate minerals ( IMA symbol: Als) are minerals composed of aluminium, silicon, and oxygen, plus countercations. They are a major component of kaolin and other clay minerals.
Andalusite, kyanite, and sillimanite are naturall ...
thin
sheet glass used as a protective cover glass offering scratch resistance and durability in many touchscreens. According to the book ''Steve Jobs'' by Walter Isaacson, Gorilla Glass was used in the first iPhone released in 2007.
On October 25, 2011 Corning unveiled
Lotus Glass, an environmentally friendly and high-performance glass developed for
OLED
An organic light-emitting diode (OLED or organic LED), also known as organic electroluminescent (organic EL) diode, is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compound that emits light i ...
and
LCD displays.
Corning invests about 10% of revenue in
research and development, and has allocated
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
300 million towards further expansion of its Sullivan Park research facility near headquarters in Corning, New York.
Corning Incorporated manufactures a high-purity fused silica employed in microlithography systems, a low expansion glass utilized in the construction of reflective mirror blanks, windows for U.S.
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program ...
s, and
Steuben art glass. The number of Corning facilities employing the traditional tanks of molten glass has declined over the years, but it maintains the capacity to supply bulk or finished glass of many types.
Corning is engaged in research and development on green
lasers
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...
, mercury abatement,
microreactors, photovoltaics, and silicon on glass. Through its Life Sciences division, the company offers products to support life science research, including
stem-cell culture products.
In September 2019, Apple announced that it would invest $250 million in Corning, in an effort to develop and manufacture the glass needed for many of its products, including the iPhone, Apple Watch, and iPad. Though not confirmed by either company, the investment could be used to develop new products in the future. Apple had already invested $200 million in Corning in 2017.
Other activities
Corning employs roughly 61,200 people worldwide and had sales of $14.08 billion in 2021.
The company has been listed for many years among
''Fortune'' magazine's 500 largest companies, and was ranked #297 in 2015.
Although the company has long been publicly owned,
James R. Houghton, great-great-grandson of the founder, served as chairman of the board of directors from 2001 to 2007. Over the years Houghton family ownership has declined to about 2%.
Wendell P. Weeks has been with the company since 1983 and was chairman, chief executive officer, and president.
Over its 160-year history Corning invented a process for rapid and inexpensive production of
light bulbs, including developing the glass for
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventi ...
's light bulb. Corning was the glass supplier for lightbulbs for
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable en ...
after
Edison General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable ener ...
merged with
Thomson-Houston Electric Company
The Thomson-Houston Electric Company was a manufacturing company which was one of the precursors of the General Electric company.
History
The Thomson-Houston Electric Company was formed in 1882 in the United States when a group of Lynn, Massa ...
in 1892. It was an early major manufacturer of glass panels and funnels for television tubes, invented and produced
Vycor (high temperature glass with high thermal shock resistance). Corning invented and produced
Pyrex
Pyrex (trademarked as ''PYREX'' and ''pyrex'') is a brand introduced by Corning Inc. in 1915 for a line of clear, low-thermal-expansion borosilicate glass used for laboratory glassware and kitchenware. It was later expanded to include kitchenwa ...
,
CorningWare
Corning Ware, also written CorningWare, was originally a brand name for a unique glass-ceramic ( Pyroceram) cookware resistant to thermal shock. It was first introduced in 1958 by Corning Glass Works (later Corning Inc.) in the United States. The ...
and
Visions Pyroceram Pyroceram is the original glass-ceramic material developed and trademarked by Corning Glass in the 1950s.
Pyroceram is an opaque, white, glass material, commonly used in kitchenware, glass stove tops, wood stove doors, etc.. It has high heat toleran ...
glass-ceramic cookware, and
Corelle
Corelle is a brand of glassware and dishware. It is made of Vitrelle, a tempered glass product consisting of two types of glass laminated into three layers. It was introduced by Corning Glass Works in 1970, but is now manufactured and sold by Co ...
durable glass dinnerware. Corning manufactured the windows for US manned
space vehicle
A space vehicle is the combination of a spacecraft and its launch vehicle which carries it into space. The earliest space vehicles were expendable launch systems, using a single or multistage rocket to carry a relatively small spacecraft in pr ...
s, and supplied the glass blank for the primary mirror in the
Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most vers ...
.
In July 2008 Corning announced the sale of
Steuben Glass Works
Steuben Glass is an American art glass manufacturer, founded in the summer of 1903 by Frederick Carder and Thomas G. Hawkes in Corning, New York, which is in Steuben County, from which the company name was derived. Hawkes was the owner of the la ...
to Steuben Glass LLC, an affiliate of the
private equity firm
A private equity firm is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of startup or operating companies through a variety of loosely affiliated investment strategies including lev ...
Schottenstein Stores Corporation. Steuben Glass had been unprofitable for more than a decade, losing 30 million dollars over the previous five years.
In February 2011, Corning acquired MobileAccess Networks, an
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i company that develops
Distributed antenna system
A distributed antenna system, or DAS, is a network of spatially separated antenna nodes connected to a common source via a transport medium that provides wireless service within a geographic area or structure. DAS antenna elevations are general ...
s, which are often used by universities, stadiums and airports to ensure seamless wireless coverage throughout a facility. MobileAccess Networks became part of Corning's telecommunications business unit. In July 2017, Corning acquired
SpiderCloud Wireless.
In December 2017, Corning acquired All of 3M Communication Market Division, in a cash transaction approximately $900 million. Acquisition will be close during 2018, 3M Communication Market Division became part of Corning Optical Communications business unit.
Board of directors
:
* Donald W. Blair: retired executive vice president and chief financial officer, NIKE, Inc.
* Stephanie A. Burns: retired chairman and chief executive officer, Dow Corning Corporation
* John A. Canning, Jr.: chairman, Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC
* Richard T. Clark: retired chairman, president and chief executive officer, Merck & Co., Inc.
* Robert F. Cummings, Jr.: retired vice chairman of investment banking, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
* Deborah A. Henretta: retired group president of global e-business, Procter & Gamble Company
* Daniel P. Huttenlocher: dean and professor, MIT
* Kurt M. Landgraf: retired president and chief executive officer, Educational Testing Service
* Kevin Martin: vice president, mobile and global access policy, Facebook, Inc.
* Deborah D. Rieman: executive chairman, MetaMarkets Group
* Hansel E. Tookes II: retired chairman and chief executive officer, Raytheon Aircraft Company
*
Wendell P. Weeks: chairman, chief executive officer, and president, Corning Incorporated
* Mark S. Wrighton: chancellor and professor of chemistry, Washington University in St. Louis
See also
*
Corning Museum of Glass
The Corning Museum of Glass is a museum in Corning, New York in the United States, dedicated to the art, history, and science of glass. It was founded in 1951 by Corning Glass Works and currently has a collection of more than 50,000 glass obje ...
*
City of Corning, NY
*
Houghton family
The Houghton family is a prominent New England and Upstate New York business family. The Corning Glass Works were founded and run by some members of the family.
Family members and descendants
Their family includes:
* Amory Houghton Sr. (1812–18 ...
*
Macor, a machineable glass-ceramic developed by Corning
*
Overflow downdraw method
The overflow downdraw method or fusion method is a technique for producing ''flat glass''. The key advantage of this technique as compared to the float glass process is that the pristine surfaces are not touched by molten tin. The technique is use ...
, a technology applied by Corning Incorporated for producing
flat panel display
A flat-panel display (FPD) is an electronic display used to display visual content such as text or images. It is present in consumer, medical, transportation, and industrial equipment.
Flat-panel displays are thin, lightweight, provide better l ...
s
*
Corelle Brands LLC, the current name adopted by the Corning Consumer Products Company subsidiary that was sold to
Borden in 1998.
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
*
{{Authority control, state=expanded
1851 establishments in Massachusetts
American brands
American companies established in 1851
Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange
Corning, New York
Glassmaking companies of the United States
Ceramics manufacturers of the United States
Networking hardware companies
Manufacturing companies based in New York (state)
Manufacturing companies established in 1851
Photonics companies
Technology companies established in 1851
Wire and cable manufacturers