Corning Projects Growth in 2010

Consumer demand for LCD televisions, notebook computers and other personal communication devices has lead Corning Inc., to project an increase in sales and earnings for 2010. According to the company, Corning is also increasing its focus on “adjacent innovation,” which could create new annualized revenue opportunities worth as much as several billion dollars within the next few years.

“We are broadening our innovation strategy to take advantage of adjacent opportunities to create more near-term revenue growth,” Wendell P. Weeks, chairman and chief executive officer, said. “While we remain committed to maintaining both our market and technology leadership positions in our existing businesses, we plan to leverage the attributes and capabilities in two of Corning’s core technology platforms -- fusion-formed flat glass and bendable optical fiber -- to build opportunities in new markets. The rapid growth of intuitive touch-display for consumer electronic devices, advanced glass for thin-film photovoltaics and optical fiber for consumer electronics and wireless networks are providing us with such opportunities.”

Weeks said that the company will continue investing approximately 10 percent of its revenue into its innovation portfolio “as we develop keystone components that enable high-technology systems for consumer electronics, emissions control, telecommunications, and life sciences.”

“Extending our original technologies into new markets has been a Corning hallmark for more than 150 years,” said Peter F. Volanakis, president and chief operating officer. “For example, the fusion-forming process that we invented in 1964 was originally used to produce glass for sunglasses. Twenty years later we extended and modified these technologies and processes and established our LCD glass business. This adjacent innovation opportunity became a home run for Corning.

“Our highly scratch-resistant and damage-resistant Gorilla glass is the latest example of extending technologies into new markets. We took our fusion process and chemical strengthening capabilities and established Gorilla glass for display devices,” he said.

Introduced only 18 months ago, Gorilla glass already accounts for $80 million in revenue and has the opportunity to be a $300 million business within the next few years.

“Additionally, we plan to extend our fusion-formed flat glass into other markets that could create as much as $1 billion in future revenue opportunity,” Volanakis continued.

Volanakis explained that the company is also using its flat-glass capabilities to develop a thin-film photovoltaic glass for solar panels, which has already been successfully demonstrated in laboratory test conditions, and extending its expertise in optical fiber to develop fiber-based systems for indoor distributed antenna systems (IDAS) and very-short-distance networks (VSDN) such as in-home high-bandwidth personal networks.

Total capital spending for Corning is planned to be in the $600 million to $700 million range but could climb if adjacent opportunities are successful. Corning’s tax rate is expected to be about 10%.

For more information, visit: www.corning.com