The fusion process, one of our key manufacturing and engineering platforms, creates high-quality flat glass used in today's consumer electronics. The vapor deposition process is used to create preforms that are then drawn to create optical fiber.
Wendell P. We are successfully capturing a compelling set of long-term growth opportunities by innovating, extending commercial relationships, and scaling operations to meet robust demand.
We are advancing our market leadership and expect to grow again in Our commitment to corporate governance goes beyond compliance with accounting rules, government regulations, and SEC requirements.
We share information frequently and candidly through a variety of tools from news releases to social media. We meet regularly with investors to understand their concerns. We tie executive compensation strongly to financial performance. And we are governed by a Board consisting of twelve independent directors. Starting from the creation of a glass encasement for Thomas Edison's light bulb, Corning has a long legacy of scientific advancements.
Materials science is a broad field of study exploring the vast potential of solid matter in a boundless array of applications. A Glass of Its Own Discover how the most technology-rich automotive interiors on the road are made possible through Corning glass innovations. Advanced Optics Advanced Optics Advanced optical products and solutions for state-of-the-art technologies.
Optical Communications Optical Communications Optical fiber, cable, and hardware that keep the world connected. Environmental Technology Environmental Technologies Environmental technologies and products making cleaner, healthier air possible. Research and development continued, with expenditures of about 5 percent of sales, above the U.
Sales volumes fell in for some consumer products, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex, and Corelle dinnerware. In , Corning halted production of light bulbs. That year leadership changed from president to joint management by group presidents and chairman of the board, James Houghton. Corelle products designs had not changed in more than a decade, and Corning had not advertised, until , that its products had always been suitable for the microwave oven. The company did not begin market research until As a result Corning modernized designs of older products and introduced Visions cookware, combining the transparency of glass with the heat-resistant qualities of ceramics.
Corning's experience with fiber optics illustrated the problems and the benefits of a company based on research and technology. As a result of Corning's work, glass-fibers, or fiber optics, replaced copper wire in traditional telephone lines. A hair-thin glass fiber could carry as many telephone calls as a four-inch copper wire, using pulses of light to transfer sound. The difficulty was that light could lose its intensity as it moves through the cable.
When Corning began working on fiber optics in the middle s, researchers decided that a 99 percent loss over a kilometer was economically viable because it could be boosted at that point. After four years of work, and numerous failed experiments, the research team developed a working product.
Physicist Donald Keck recorded the event in his laboratory notebook with the notation "Eureka. At the time there was no apparent demand for the product. Telephone companies said that they would produce their own fiber when demand made such a step imperative. Although lacking sales, Corning continued improving the product, making the original product obsolete even before it was sold.
By , the fiber wire could be extended 20 kilometers without a repeater, five times longer than standard copper wire. Eventually the distance grew to kilometers. Corning reacted to the lack of early demand by entering into several joint ventures with European cable companies, believing that local partners would eventually lead to sales to the state-owned telephone monopolies.
At the same time, Corning built its own factory in the United States. This move proved successful when deregulation of the telephone industry in the United States led MCI Communications Corporation to order , kilometers of cable in By the s, U. These suits too were settled in Corning's favor, in and respectively.
Corning's work on laboratory glass instruments led it into laboratory-related services, through the acquisition of other firms. MetPath, a leading clinical testing service in the United States, was purchased in Hazelton Laboratories, purchased in , became one of the world's leading independent suppliers of services for biological and chemical research. Enseco, acquired in , specialized in environmental testing.
During the s, Corning entered into more joint ventures--over two-thirds with foreign firms--than most other U. More than half of its profits came from joint ventures. The international alliances covered the globe, and included more than 15 joint ventures with companies in Europe, Asia, and Australia, producing such products as optical fiber, specialty glass, ceramics, and cookware. Acquisition of joint-venture partners continued in and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Petrochemical, and Corning became partners in Cormetech, a pollution-control company.
Corning entered such relationships to provide instant market penetration and to bring new technologies to the company. In , Corning acknowledged the diversification of its products by changing the company name to Corning Incorporated. By this time, Corning served as a prototypical "knowledge" firm. While it had always depended on research for new products, it moved even more actively into new products, quality of production, and training.
For example, Corning's Total Quality program cut irregularities on a new coating process in fiber optics from parts-per-million in to none in By , workers spent five percent of their time in paid training. While many U. While operating as a leading technology firm and eventually the top manufacturer of fiber optic cable, Corning was forced overcome many obstacles during the s. In , subsidiary Dow Corning stopped manufacture of its silicon breast implants after controversy erupted over the possible dangers of this product.
Hundreds of women filed suit against the firm, claiming Dow Corning hid health risks associated with the breast implants. In , Houghton retired naming Roger Ackerman his successor. John W. Loose was elected president of Corning Inc. Under new management, the firm began divesting unprofitable businesses as part of its focus on growth in new business and technology. In , the firm's consumer products division was sold to Borden Inc.
By this time, its clinical lab-testing unit had been spun off and over half of the firm's other businesses were scheduled to be divested or sold, signaling Corning's commitment to its communications, environmental, and advanced materials business segments. About Us Our Company.
Who We Are. What We Do. Where is Corning? Our Businesses and Markets Constantly Evolve. Keeping the World Connected Keeping the World Connected Optical fiber, wireless technologies, and connectivity solutions for high-speed communications networks. Learn More. Our Businesses and Markets Evolve Constantly. Solving the Toughest Problems in Optics Solving the Toughest Problems in Optics Cutting-edge solutions for consumer electronics, advanced optics materials for the semiconductor industry, and many applications in between.
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