Corning plans to establish a factory in India to produce iPhone cover glass
Corning and its Indian manufacturing partners have signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Tamil Nadu to establish a factory reportedly used for producing iPhone cover glass, marking another Apple supplier's investment in the southern state of India.
The government of Tamil Nadu has signed a memorandum of understanding with the joint venture company Bharat Innovative Glass Technology, formed by Corning in the United States and Optimus in India. The latter plans to invest INR 10 billion (USD 120.4 million) to establish a manufacturing plant in the SIPCOT industrial park in Pillaipakkam near Chennai.
According to the joint statement, the company plans to produce a wide range of front cover glass processes in India and supply them to Indian display panel and mobile phone manufacturers to increase output and employment, and introduce precision glass processing technology for the first time in India.
Sources say that the factory may produce front cover glass for smartphones, including iPhones. The factory is expected to hire 840 employees and may expand to meet the growing demand. Corning's factory may supplement Apple's plan to increase iPhone production in India, which accounts for approximately 10% of global iPhone production.
Initially, Corning discussed investment matters with the government of Trengana. However, according to sources, Corning chose Tamil Nadu over Trengana because the electronic ecosystem has been established and it is close to other Apple suppliers. According to Apple's 2022 supplier list, 7 out of 14 suppliers in India have manufacturing factories in Tamil Nadu, including Flextronic, Foxconn, Onsemi, Asus, and Zengding Technology.
At an investor event held in Tamil Nadu in mid January this year, Asus signed a memorandum of understanding with the state government, planning to invest 10 billion rupees to build a second factory in the state. Tata Electronics has been increasing its investment since acquiring Wistron's assets in India, promising to invest INR 120.8 billion to assemble mobile phones in Tamil Nadu.
According to the joint statement, the company plans to produce a wide range of front cover glass processes in India and supply them to Indian display panel and mobile phone manufacturers to increase output and employment, and introduce precision glass processing technology for the first time in India.
Sources say that the factory may produce front cover glass for smartphones, including iPhones. The factory is expected to hire 840 employees and may expand to meet the growing demand. Corning's factory may supplement Apple's plan to increase iPhone production in India, which accounts for approximately 10% of global iPhone production.
Initially, Corning discussed investment matters with the government of Trengana. However, according to sources, Corning chose Tamil Nadu over Trengana because the electronic ecosystem has been established and it is close to other Apple suppliers. According to Apple's 2022 supplier list, 7 out of 14 suppliers in India have manufacturing factories in Tamil Nadu, including Flextronic, Foxconn, Onsemi, Asus, and Zengding Technology.
At an investor event held in Tamil Nadu in mid January this year, Asus signed a memorandum of understanding with the state government, planning to invest 10 billion rupees to build a second factory in the state. Tata Electronics has been increasing its investment since acquiring Wistron's assets in India, promising to invest INR 120.8 billion to assemble mobile phones in Tamil Nadu.