Corning plans glass production expansion 4th January 2011

Glassmaker Corning is planning to expand its production capacity at its facilities in Harrodsburg, Kentucky and in Asia as a response to rising demand, an executive at the company has revealed.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, president of Corning Display Technologies James Clappin said the expansion was prompted by the popularity of Gorilla glass, which is used in LCD televisions, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The company is currently in talks with television manufacturers in Asia to supply them with the scratch-resistant glass, and is building a new manufacturing facility within Beijing which is expected to be operational during the first half of next year.

"We don't expect significant growth in the US and Europe," Mr Clappin told the publication.

"(TV) penetration is already high and economies are damaged. In the emerging world, penetration still has ways to go and this will be the primary driver."

In November, Corning broke ground on its $125 million (£80 million) expansion of the Corning Shanghai Company facility in China.