Business Segments | About Us | Corning

Corning is organized around business segments that represent some of the most exciting, most influential innovations in the world. For decades, we have collaborated closely with leaders in these businesses and shared our vision for how advanced glass and ceramics can help them solve tough problems.

We strategically develop our research, development, and manufacturing capabilities around what our customers need now, as well as what they’ll need in the future. We are patient, always exploring new material and process innovations ahead of the curve. But we also move quickly to help our customers capitalize on market opportunities and succeed in highly competitive global markets.

In the process, we help shape the very nature of the markets we serve.

Corning’s Display Technologies segment manufactures glass substrates for active matrix liquid crystal displays (“LCDs”) that are used primarily in LCD televisions, notebook computers and flat panel desktop monitors.

This segment develops, manufactures and supplies high-quality glass substrates using technology expertise and a proprietary fusion manufacturing process, which Corning invented and is the cornerstone of the company’s technology leadership in the LCD industry. The automated process yields high-quality glass substrates with excellent dimensional stability and uniformity – essential attributes for the production of large, high-performance active matrix LCDs. Corning’s fusion process is scalable and is thought to be the most effective process in producing large-size substrates.

We are recognized for providing product innovations that help our customers produce larger, lighter, thinner and higher-resolution displays more affordably.

Corning’s Environmental Technologies segment manufactures ceramic substrates and filter products for emissions control in mobile and stationary applications around the world.

In the early 1970s, Corning developed an economical, high-performance cellular ceramic substrate that is now the standard for catalytic converters in vehicles worldwide. As global emissions control regulations tighten, Corning has continued to develop more effective and durable ceramic substrate and filter products for gasoline and diesel applications.

Corning manufactures substrate and filter products in New York, Virginia, China, Germany, and South Africa. Corning sells its ceramic substrate and filter products worldwide to catalyzers and manufacturers of emission control systems who then sell to automotive and diesel vehicle or engine manufacturers. Although most sales are made to the emission control systems manufacturers, the use of Corning substrates and filters is generally required by the specifications of the automotive and diesel vehicle or engine manufacturers.

Corning invented the world’s first low-loss optical fiber in 1970. Since that milestone, we have continued to pioneer optical fiber, cable and connectivity solutions.

As global bandwidth demand driven by video usage grows exponentially, networks continue to migrate from copper to optical-based systems that can deliver the required cost-effective bandwidth-carrying capacity. Our unrivaled experience puts us in a unique position to design and deliver optical solutions that reach every edge of the communications network.

Our Optical Communications segment has recently evolved from being a manufacturer of optical fiber and cable, hardware and equipment to being a comprehensive provider of industry-leading optical solutions across the broader communications industry.

This segment is classified into two main product groupings – carrier network and enterprise network. The carrier network product group consists primarily of products and solutions for optical-based communications infrastructure for services such as video, data and voice communications. The enterprise network product group consists primarily of optical-based communication networks sold to businesses, governments and individuals for their own use.

As a leading developer, manufacturer, and global supplier of scientific laboratory products for 100 years, Corning’s Life Sciences segment collaborates with researchers seeking new approaches to increase efficiencies, reduce costs and compress timelines in the drug discovery process. Using unique expertise in the fields of materials science, surface science, optics, biochemistry and biology, the segment provides innovative solutions that improve productivity and enable breakthrough discoveries.

Life Sciences laboratory products include general labware and equipment, as well as specialty surfaces, media, and reagents that are used for cell culture research, bioprocessing, genomics, drug discovery, microbiology, and chemistry. Corning sells life science products under these primary brands: Corning, Falcon, PYREX, and Axygen. The products are marketed worldwide, primarily through distributors to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic institutions, hospitals, government entities, and other research facilities. Corning manufactures these products in the United States in Maine, New York, New Jersey, California, Utah, Virginia, Massachusetts and North Carolina, and outside of the U.S. in Mexico, France, Poland, and China.

In addition to being a global leader in consumable glass and plastic laboratory tools for life science research, Corning continues to develop and produce unique technologies aimed at simplifying customer lab processes, or “workflows”, through three key categories:

Vessels — Corning^® HYPER platform of vessels for increased cell yields; Corning^® Microcarriers for cell scale-up, therapy and vaccine applications

Surfaces — Corning^® CellBIND^® Surface; Corning®Matrigel^®; Corning®BioCoat™; Corning Synthemax^® II Surface

Media — Corning^® stemgro^®

The Specialty Materials segment manufactures products that provide more than 150 material formulations for glass, glass ceramics and fluoride crystals to meet demand for unique customer needs. Consequently, this segment operates in a wide variety of commercial and industrial markets that include display optics and components, semiconductor optics components, aerospace and defense, astronomy, ophthalmic products, telecommunications components and cover glass that is optimized for portable display devices.

Our cover glass, known as Corning® Gorilla® Glass, is a thin sheet glass designed specifically to function as a cover glass for display devices such as tablets, notebook PCs and mobile phones.  Elegant and lightweight, Corning Gorilla Glass is durable enough to resist many real-world events that commonly cause glass failure, enabling exciting new applications in technology and design. Early in 2012, Corning launched Corning® Gorilla® Glass 2, the next generation in our Corning Gorilla Glass suite of products.  Corning Gorilla Glass 2 enables up to a 20% reduction in glass thickness, while maintaining the industry-leading damage resistance, toughness and scratch-resistance. In 2013, we introduced Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 with Native Damage Resistance and Corning® Gorilla® Glass NBT™, designed to help protect touch notebook displays from scratches and other forms of damage that come from everyday handling and use.  And in the fourth quarter of 2014, Corning announced its latest breakthrough innovation in consumer electronics material design, Corning® Gorilla® Glass 4, which delivers the highest damage resistance performance versus all alternative compositions, and has the capability to significantly improve device drop performance.

Corning Gorilla Glass is manufactured in Kentucky, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

Semiconductor optics manufactured by Corning includes high-performance optical material products, optical-based metrology instruments, and optical assemblies for applications in the global semiconductor industry. Corning’s semiconductor optics products are manufactured in New York.

Other specialty glass products include glass lens and window components and assemblies and are made in New York, New Hampshire, Kentucky and France or sourced from China.