INTERNATIONAL – Apple on Tuesday said it is awarding $250 million from a manufacturing fund to Corning Incorporated, a top glass supplier of iPhones and other Apple products, to support Corning's research and development of making more advanced products for future devices.
The award, presented as part of Apple's 5-billion-dollar Advanced Manufacturing Fund, built on the $200 million that Corning received from the fund in 2017, which brought the total amount to $450 million that Corning has received from Apple's fund.
Corning has supplied scratch-resistant glass manufactured at its Harrodsburg, Kentucky plant for every generation of iPhones, including the newest iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro, since the first iPhone hit the market in 2007, Apple said.
"Apple and Corning's rich history dates back more than a decade, and our partnership revolutionized glass and transformed the technology industry with the first iPhone," said Jeff Williams, Apple's chief operating officer.
The Harrodsburg facility serves as Corning's global glass technology center, and Apple's investment helped support nearly 1,000 Corning jobs, including 400 highly skilled employees in Harrodsburg, Apple said.
Wendell Weeks, Corning's chairman, chief and president, said the Advanced Manufacturing Fund award will help its company to develop groundbreaking new glass innovations and expand manufacturing capabilities.
"Our ongoing collaboration allows us to create vital new capabilities for end users and continue pushing the boundaries of what is possible well into the future," he added.
Apple said it invested a total of $60 billion in supporting 9,000 American suppliers last year, creating 450,000 jobs in all 50 U.S. states.
Apart from Corning, Apple also awarded 390 million dollars to Finisar Corp, a Texas-based chip manufacturer, and $10 million to the Elysis aluminum partnership.