Apple deepens its ties to a Kentucky plant that produces cover glass for iPhone and Apple Watch

HARRODSBURG, Ky. (AP) — Apple is putting its trust in a Kentucky plant singled out to become the exclusive producer of the cover glass meant to safeguard every iPhone and Apple Watch sold worldwide by the tech giant.

Specialty glass maker Corning Inc. said Friday it plans to triple production capacity at its plant in Harrodsburg and increase the workforce there by 50%, deepening its relationship with Apple that began when the original iPhone launched in 2007. The Harrodsburg plant made the glass for those first iPhones.

Apple has put its vast financial muscle behind the project, announcing recently it was making a $2.5 billion commitment to enable Corning to produce all the cover glass for the iPhone and Apple Watch at Corning’s plant in Harrodsburg, a central Kentucky town of more than 9,000 residents.

It is part of a massive commitment announced by the tech company last month to increase its investment in American manufacturing and which won bipartisan praise from Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.

Corning executives and selected employees spoke to reporters at the plant on Friday. Apple CEO Tim Cook visited the Harrodsburg factory earlier in the day but did not participate in the media event.

“We are transforming the plant once again, by combining Corning and Apple’s expertise to enable production of 100% of the cover glass for the iPhone and the Apple Watch,” Corning Chief Operating Officer Hal Nelson said Friday. “Together, we are building a next-generation U.S. manufacturing platform to deliver … high-performance materials for Apple’s iconic products.”

Cook said last month in a news release that the teamwork between Apple and Corning will result in “the largest and most advanced production line ever created for smartphone glass.”

“Thanks to the power of American manufacturing, any customer anywhere in the world who buys a new iPhone or Apple Watch will be holding precision glass made right here in Kentucky,” he said.

By the end of 2026, all of the cover glass for the iPhone and the Apple Watch will be manufactured at the Harrodsburg plant, Nelson said Friday. Corning’s Kentucky plant will be totally devoted to manufacturing for Apple, Corning said.

Regarding Apple’s $2.5 billion commitment for the production, Corning said the details are “proprietary” to the two companies. The commitment will include revenue, technology and development teams and “new advanced manufacturing process development,” Corning said.

Corning, based in Corning, New York, says its markets include optical communications, mobile consumer electronics, display, automotive, solar, semiconductors and life sciences.

As to whether it will back up Apple’s financial commitment with its own investment, Corning said it continually invests in its facilities and will “continue to invest what we need to support Apple.”

With an eye toward the future, the two companies will open an innovation center at the Kentucky plant, bringing together scientists and engineers for world-class research and development, Nelson said.

The Harrodsburg plant currently has nearly 350 employees, and the workforce is expected to rise to at least 500 as a result of the Apple announcement, Corning said.

Longtime plant employee Tommy Shirley said the factory had “ups and downs” through the years, but the deepening ties with Apple will be a “huge shot in the arm” for plant workers and the community.

“We’ve prayed for this,” he told reporters. “We wanted stability for our employees. We wanted expansion.”

Shirley, a maintenance worker, has deep family ties to the plant. His grandfather helped build the factory in 1952. His father started working there in 1964, and Tommy Shirley followed in his footsteps starting in 1989. He brimmed with pride Friday while talking about the Harrodsburg plant’s connection to Apple.

“The products that we make, they impact people’s lives all over the world,” he said. “Nobody can get by without a phone anymore. … We’re going to make devices right here in my hometown that’s going to affect people’s lives all over the world.”