China market presents large opportunity for Corning

CORNING, USA: The greater China market represents a $2 billion opportunity for Corning Inc., Eric Musser, chief executive officer of Corning Greater China region, told participants at the company’s annual investor meeting in New York.

Within the past year Corning announced about $1 billion in new investments in China, including a plan to build the company’s first LCD glass melting facility and expand its light-duty substrate manufacturing operation. “Our total China sales exceeded $800 million last year. We are forecasting sales of at least $1.2 billion this year, and we could reach $2 billion in revenue by 2014,” Musser said.

China’s market trends are creating growth opportunities across Corning’s diverse businesses, he will point out. “We believe that China’s LCD TV end market represents more than 20% of the worldwide total. Consequently, LCD panel manufacturers have been investing in China-based production for the past several years. Corning is making significant investments in its LCD glass manufacturing capabilities to meet this increasing market demand.

“China became the largest consumer market for automobiles in 2009,” he added. “Stricter emissions regulations now being implemented in China are driving increased demand for Corning’s clean-air products, and we have expanded in-country capacity to meet this growing market opportunity.”

China has been Corning’s largest market for optical fiber in recent years. Musser will explain that Corning expects China to continue making significant investments in building out the nation’s wireless, FTTH, and enterprise networks for several additional years. “We anticipate China’s fiber-to-the-home subscriber base could grow at a compound annual rate of more than 150 percent and optical solutions in the data center space may continue at a 20 percent compound growth rate, both through 2014.”

China investments in the pharmaceutical industry are creating opportunities for Corning’s laboratory products as well. Corning recently announced plans to establish a new life sciences manufacturing and distribution facility in China and to expand its consumable labware product offerings.

Additionally, the company is also engaged in discussions with a number of Chinese customers interested in Corning’s thin-film photovoltaic glass for solar-energy applications.

“Corning has invested in China for more than 25 years. We have established leadership positions in each of our major businesses. With increased investments and technology innovation across each business, we should be able to continue growing in China and meeting the needs of the world’s largest consumer market,” Musser concluded.