Corning starts optical connectivity manufacturing in Pune as Chennai glass plant begins trials. Quick summary. * Corning has begun production at a Pune facility making optical connectivity products for data centres and telecom networks. * A separate cover-glass facility near Chennai has entered trial production. * The company says India is becoming more important as manufacturers diversify supply chains and move production closer to customers. Corning has expanded its Indian manufacturing footprint with two developments: an optical connectivity facility in Pune has started operations, while a cover-glass plant near Chennai has entered trial production. The company told Moneycontrol that the Pune site aims to serve demand from data centres and telecommunications networks, while the Chennai operation will strengthen its glass-finishing capacity. The moves add to a presence in India that Corning says dates back around six decades. The two manufacturing developments. Pune targets the links inside modern data centres. The Pune facility will manufacture optical connectivity products used to move data through high-speed networks. These components are important in data centres, where servers and storage systems need to exchange large volumes of information. As operators add more processors and build larger clusters, the links between racks and systems become a key part of overall performance. Optical connections can carry high bandwidth over longer distances than many traditional copper links, while helping operators manage signal loss and power requirements. Corning's expansion is aimed at customers building or upgrading data-centre infrastructure and telecom networks. The company expects to add further capacity at the Pune site in 2027. It has not disclosed every product line or the full investment amount in the report. The development is nevertheless a shift from simply selling imported connectivity products into manufacturing more of the supply locally, which can help shorten providey routes for regional customers. Chennai adds capacity for cover glass. The second development is at a glass-finishing facility near Chennai, which has entered trial production. Corning is best known to smartphone buyers for Gorilla Glass, but its materials business covers several industrial and electronics applications. A local finishing plant can support customers that need glass components processed to specific dimensions and performance requirements before they are integrated into devices. The company did not provide a full production schedule or name every customer expected to use the Chennai facility. Trial production generally precedes full commercial output and gives the manufacturer time to check quality, yield and process stability. The distinction matters because a plant entering trials is not necessarily producing at the same scale as a mature factory. Corning's next update will need to clarify when the facility reaches regular production and what volumes it can supply. India's role in a wider supply-chain shift. Corning's investment reflects a broader effort by multinational manufacturers to diversify supply chains and locate production closer to growing markets. India has become a more prominent destination for electronics assembly and component manufacturing, supported by a large domestic market and government incentives. The move into optical connectivity also links the company's industrial strategy to the expansion of cloud infrastructure, rather than only consumer-device demand. You Might Be Interested In The company has operated in India for around 60 years, according to the Moneycontrol report. Its latest facilities do not mean that all materials or components will be sourced locally, and they do not remove dependence on global suppliers. They do, however, add domestic production capacity in two different parts of the electronics supply chain. Customers will be watching product quality, providey reliability and the speed at which the Pune and Chennai facilities move from launch and trial stages into sustained output. The Pune facility is particularly relevant because optical connectivity is becoming a larger part of data-centre design. Operators need more bandwidth between processors, storage and network switches, and the physical links must work reliably under heavy workloads. Manufacturing closer to customers can shorten lead times and give Corning more direct feedback when a product needs to be adapted for a deployment. The company still depends on a global supply chain for materials and equipment, so local production does not mean complete localisation. The next proof point is whether the new site can scale output while meeting customer qualification requirements. Local production can shorten supply routes, but optical components and cover glass still need to pass customer qualification tests. Corning's next milestone will be the scale-up of the Pune facility and the transition of the Chennai plant from trial production to regular output. The company has not disclosed a full production schedule for either site. You Might Be Interested In

Corning, known for its protective glass covers found on various smartphones, has announced that its new manufacturing facility in Pune is now operational. At its new manufacturing plant in India, the US-based firm will produce optical connectivity products. The company claims that this will help it better serve its customers in the region, building on its existing presence in the country. The manufacturing facility is co-located with Corning's optical fibre plant, which was established in 2012. The company has been present in India for more than six decades. The latest development is also claimed to help Corning achieve its sales growth targets. Corning's Pune facility will supply Optical Connectivity products to data centres. In a press release on Tuesday, the US-based company announced that its new manufacturing facility in Maharashtra's Pune is now operational. Corning said that it is producing optical connectivity products at the facility. Further, the firm revealed that the new Optical Connectivity manufacturing plant is co-located with its existing optical fiber plant, which was established in 2012. Corning has been present in India for over 60 years The company will be supplying connectivity solutions such as optical fibre, outdoor and indoor cables, fibre optic closures, indoor and outdoor fibre cable assemblies, open rack frames, closed indoor and outdoor cabinets, housings, splitters, connectors, and fibre optic accessories for data centres and telecommunication network applications. These products will be used for server racks at data centres and broadband connections by internet service providers in India. As part of the announcement, Corning highlighted that the company has been present in India for more than 60 years. On top of this, the firm plans to increase the manufacturing capacity of the facility in 2027. Corning's Managing Director, India, Middle East, and Africa, Sudhir Pillai, said, "This announcement reflects our long-term commitment to India and to supporting the continued development of its digital infrastructure." Corning also claims that the now-operational Optical Connectivity manufacturing facility in India will help it serve regional customers better, while also helping the company achieve its sales growth targets. The firm plans to grow its sales to an annualized run rate of $20 billion (roughly Rs. 1,89,463 crore) by the end of 2026, $30 billion (about Rs. 2,84,193 crore) by the end of 2028, and $40 billion (roughly Rs. 3,78,918 crore) by the end of 2030. Get your daily dose of tech news, reviews, and insights, in under 80 characters on Gadgets 360 Turbo. Connect with fellow tech lovers on our Forum. Follow us on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News for instant updates. Catch all the action on our YouTube channel. Dhruv Raghav is currently working as a Senior Sub Editor at Gadgets360. He has previously covered the North American financial markets as a Headline News Correspondent for a major news agency. After taking a sabbati... more"

US-based Corning to expand optical connectivity production in India. The US-based company plans to add capacity at its Pune facility by 2027 as demand for optical fibre and connectivity products rises from AI data centres and telecom networks. Corning plans to expand its optical connectivity manufacturing capacity in India to meet rising demand from AI data centres and telecom networks, with its new Pune facility expected to come online in 2027. Photo: Bloomberg Corning Inc, the New York-headquartered optical fibre maker more popular for making Gorilla glass for smart devices, intends to expand its optical connectivity manufacturing capacities in India to cater to growing artificial intelligence (AI) data centre demand. With its second manufacturing facility in Pune ready to cater to global clients, more than a decade after it set up the first one in the southern city, Corning is preparing to add an adjacent facility. "The newer capacity that we are going to lay the foundation for on Tuesday, is much larger. The additional capacity is expected to come online in 2027," said Sudhir Pillai, managing director and president, India, Middle East, and Africa, in an interaction. The second facility will make optical connectivity products for data centre and telecommunications (telecom) network apps, which will complement the 2012 facility, which makes optical fibre. The company did not share the investments it has made or plans to make or the production capacity of the facilities.