Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook recently announced a new $1 billion U.S. Manufacturing Fund, and today, it revealed the name of its first recipient. The glass supplier Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) will get $200 million from Apple’s new fund to invest in U.S. companies that do advanced manufacturing.
Why Apple choose Corning
Apple’s $200 million investment in the glass maker will “support Corning’s R&D, capital equipment needs, and state-of-the-art glass processing.” Pushing its commitment to extending its 100% renewable energy goal to its suppliers, the iPhone maker said Corning will adhere to renewables when making products for Apple, notes 9to5mac.
In a statement, Apple’s COO Jeff Williams said, “Corning is a great example of a supplier that has continued to innovate and they are one of Apple’s long-standing suppliers.”
Corning is popular for its Gorilla Glass displays which power many high-end smartphones, including the iPhone.
Apple’s selection of Corning as the recipient of an investment aimed at promoting increased U.S. manufacturing does not come as a surprise.
“Given that Corning is a longtime Apple partner that’s both headquartered out of New York and has a major production plant in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, it’s an easy win for Apple in both furthering technology for a major supplier and fostering local manufacturing,” says The Verge.
Corning CEO Wendell Weeks notes that their partnership with the iPhone maker has already created about 1,000 jobs in the U.S. in the last ten years.
“This investment will ensure our plant in Harrodsburg remains a global center of excellence for glass technology,” Weeks said in a statement.
Corning has supplied the glass for every iPhone since 2007. The partnership between the two companies has always been smooth, except for once in 2014. At that time, the smartphone maker planned to work with a synthetic sapphire crystal screen maker, but that partnership fell apart. Thereafter, Corning returned as supplier of Gorilla Glass for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, notes Business Insider.
Focusing more on U.S. manufacturing
Apple currently supports about 2 million jobs in the U.S., and this number includes about 450,000 jobs through Apple’s spending and investments in its U.S. suppliers. In 2016, the iPhone maker spent more than $50 billion on its 9,000 domestic suppliers and manufacturers, notes Fox Business.
Apple is already practicing U.S.-based manufacturing with the Mac Pro, and it is believed to be exploring more options to boost its domestic production as well, notes The Verge. These likely changes in Apple’s production plan, including the creation of the $1 billion Advanced Manufacturing Fund, are believed to have been inspired in some way by President Donald Trump. On several occasions, Trump has expressed his intentions of having iPhones produced in the U.S.
And it’s not just Apple, but many other big U.S. companies, including Ford and Boeing, have also received sharp criticism for producing products outside the U.S. As a result, Carrier, a unit of United Technologies, was among the first to decide on creating U.S. jobs under the new administration, notes Fox Business.
At 11:30 a.m. Eastern, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock was up 1.49% at $156.29. Year to date, the stock is up almost 35%, while in the last year, it is up almost 73%.
