Corning to set up Rs 1,000 crore plant in Tamil Nadu

American Gorilla Glass maker and key supplier of Apple, Corning Inc, is looking to set up a Rs 1,000 crore manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu, Tuesday citing multiple sources. The factory will be set up at Pillaipakkam near Sriperumbudur and will employ 300 people.

This will be the first time the company will enter the Indian market. Earlier this year, the Telangana government said that the company would set up a factory there. However, ET reported that the company has picked Tamil Nadu over Telangana due to its proximity to other Apple suppliers like Foxconn and Pegatron.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) is likely to be signed at the Global Investor Meet (GIM) in January. The report did not mention the specific timeline. However, it said that the factory would take one year to be built.

In October, Business Standard reported that India’s first high-quality finished smartphone cover glass factory, co-owned by domestic electronics manufacturer Optiemus Infracom and Corning, is likely to come up in Telangana or Tamil Nadu and start operations by the end of 2024.

Initially, the smartphone cover glasses will be given premium finishing in the new facility to be built as part of the 70:30 joint venture between Optiemus and Corning. The new entity has been named Bharat Innovation Glass (BIG).

The facility may begin operations in 2024 with a production capacity of 30 million pieces for the first phase. Cover glasses for the front and back panels of smartphones will be processed in the Indian factory.

The joint venture has sought support from the central government. It has already applied for incentives under the Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS).

SPECS provides a financial incentive of 25 per cent on capital expenditure for the identified list of electronic goods that comprise the downstream value chain of electronic products. Business Standard