In a landmark announcement, Apple and long-time partner Corning revealed a major expansion of their collaboration to manufacture cover glass for iPhone and Apple Watch from Harrodsburg, Kentucky. The Cupertino-based company’s $2.5 billion investment in Corning’s operations marks a major milestone: manufacturers in the United States will now produce all the cover glass for every iPhone and Apple Watch sold worldwide.
This latest investment makes way for the world’s largest and most advanced smartphone glass production line, fully dedicated to Apple at Corning’s Kentucky facility. The Harrodsburg plant, which has produced Apple glass since the very first iPhone in 2007, will now expand its workforce by 50% and become the central hub for Apple’s high-performance Ceramic Shield glass, which is currently the toughest glass in any smartphone. “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. We’re grateful to the President and his administration for their support for American manufacturing, and we’re excited for the innovation this investment will unlock,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook.
As part of the expansion, Apple and Corning are also launching a new Innovation Center at the Harrodsburg facility. This center will play a critical role in developing advanced materials and next-generation manufacturing technologies for future Apple products. “Apple is an amazing partner for American manufacturers like us, and together, we’ve innovated and pushed the boundaries of what’s possible. We developed and made the glass for the very first iPhone in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, 18 years ago. With this new multibillion-dollar commitment from Apple and the lighting of our most advanced manufacturing platform, we are hiring more people and bringing 100 percent of Apple’s cover glass needs for iPhone and Apple Watch to the original home of the innovation,” said Wendell Weeks, CEO of Corning.
This partnership anchors Apple’s newly launched American Manufacturing Program (AMP), an initiative that brings production onshore, strengthens the U.S. supply chain, and spurs global companies to build more components domestically. Under AMP, Apple plans to invest over $600 billion in the U.S. economy in the next four years. This includes investments in silicon engineering, software development, AI and machine learning, and support for 20,000 new American jobs.
