Corning Eyes Expansive Growth in India's Tech and Life Sciences Sectors

Corning is bullish on growth from its mobile consumer electronics and life sciences businesses in India. The company’s automotive and optical fibre businesses currently drive revenue, but Corning's investments in new ventures, including a joint venture in Tamil Nadu and a glass unit in Hyderabad, aim to capitalize on India's expanding market.

High-tech glass company Corning is bullish on growth from mobile consumer electronics and life sciences businesses in India, a senior company official said on Thursday.

The automotive and optical fibre business is the biggest revenue contributor to the company in the country, at present.

Corning, which started business by providing glass covers for bulbs invented by Thomas Alva Edison, has expanded into several verticals, offering glass technology ranging from electronics display protection covers for mobiles, television displays, and semiconductor manufacturing to space telescopes and glass-based packaging for labs and vaccines.

''We waited for the ecosystem to be established in India, where we now see global players establishing footprints to manufacture smartphones, and we just want to be a part of the supply chain. India is now becoming a rising star. We want to be part of the story,'' Corning International division vice president and general manager Gokhan Doran told PTI.

The company is committed to investing over Rs 1,000 crore to set up a joint venture with Optiemus Infracom, Bharat Innovative Glass (BIG) Technologies, in Tamil Nadu to make finished cover-glass parts for mobile consumer electronics.

Corning is also setting up a borosilicate glass unit to produce vials and tubes for the life sciences sector with an initial investment of Rs 500 crore in Hyderabad.

Corning's managing director and president for India, Middle East, and Africa, Sudhir N Pillai, said that the company's Hyderabad plant will become operational in the first half of 2025 and BIG Technologies will be functional in the second half.

''The BIG Tech plant is for Gorilla Glass finishing. This plant will create 500-1,000 jobs. The SGD Corning facility for making Velocity Vials will employ around 500 people,'' Pillai said.

He added that the company has started its Global Capability Centre in Pune, which has a capacity of 100 people. ''The GCC Pune should have around 50 people this year and full capacity by the end of next year,'' Pillai said. He noted that all the businesses of Corning in India are at different stages of maturity.

Pillai said that the automotive and optical fibre verticals are the biggest contributors to Corning's business in India, while mobile consumer electronics and life sciences are set to be the fastest-growing verticals for the company in the country.

(With inputs from agencies.)