Kentucky plant to become exclusive producer of glass for Apple phones

Apple is putting its trust in a Kentucky plant singled out to become the exclusive producer of the cover glass meant to safeguard every iPhone and Apple Watch sold worldwide by the tech giant.

Specialty glass maker Corning Inc. said Friday it plans to triple production capacity at its plant in Harrodsburg and increase the workforce there by 50%, deepening its relationship with Apple that began when the original iPhone launched in 2007. The Harrodsburg plant made the glass for those first iPhones.

The Harrodsburg plant currently has nearly 350 employees, and the workforce is expected to rise to at least 500 as a result of the Apple announcement.

Apple has put its vast financial muscle behind the project, announcing recently it was making a $2.5 billion commitment to enable Corning to produce all the cover glass for the iPhone and Apple Watch at Corning’s plant in Harrodsburg, a central Kentucky town of more than 9,000 residents.

It is part of a massive commitment announced by the tech company last month to increase its investment in American manufacturing and which won bipartisan praise from Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.

Corning executives and selected employees spoke to reporters at the plant on Friday. Apple CEO Tim Cook visited the Harrodsburg factory earlier in the day but did not participate in the media event.

Cook said last month in a news release that the teamwork between Apple and Corning will result in “the largest and most advanced production line ever created for smartphone glass.”

“Thanks to the power of American manufacturing, any customer anywhere in the world who buys a new iPhone or Apple Watch will be holding precision glass made right here in Kentucky,” he said.

By the end of 2026, all of the cover glass for the iPhone and the Apple Watch will be manufactured at the Harrodsburg plant, Nelson said Friday. Corning’s Kentucky plant will be totally devoted to manufacturing for Apple, Corning said.

Regarding Apple’s $2.5 billion commitment for the production, Corning said the details are “proprietary” to the two companies. The commitment will include revenue, technology and development teams and “new advanced manufacturing process development,” Corning said.

Corning, based in Corning, New York, says its markets include optical communications, mobile consumer electronics, display, automotive, solar, semiconductors and life sciences.

With an eye toward the future, the two companies will open an innovation center at the Kentucky plant, bringing together scientists and engineers for world-class research and development, Nelson said.





(AP Photos Jon Cherry)