Corning Announces Plan to Build New LCD Glass Manufacturing Facility in Taichung, Taiwan.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers CORNING, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 28, 2004 Corning Incorporated Corning Incorporated NYSE: GLW is an American manufacturer of glass, ceramics and related materials, primarily for industrial and scientific applications. The company was known until 1989 as Corning Glass Works. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :GLW GLW Glasgow Airport (UK) GLW Gross Laden Weight GLW Good Lady Wife (Australia) ) -- Board of Directors approves preliminary funding for facility plans -- McNaughton provides overview of Corning's LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) A display technology that uses rod-shaped molecules (liquid crystals) that flow like liquid and bend light. Unenergized, the crystals direct light through two polarizing filters, allowing a natural background color to show. glass business at Annual Shareholders Meeting Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) announced today that its board of directors has approved preliminary funding for the development of a new liquid crystal display liquid crystal display (LCD) Optoelectronic device used in displays for watches, calculators, notebook computers, and other electronic devices. Current passed through specific portions of the liquid crystal solution causes the crystals to align, blocking the passage of light. (LCD) glass substrate The base layer of a structure such as a chip, multichip module (MCM), printed circuit board or disk platter. Silicon is the most widely used substrate for chips. Fiberglass (FR4) is mostly used for printed circuit boards, and ceramic is used for MCMs. manufacturing facility, to be located in the Central Taiwan Science Park, Taichung, Taiwan. Authorized au·thor·ize tr.v. au·thor·ized, au·thor·iz·ing, au·thor·iz·es 1. To grant authority or power to. 2. To give permission for; sanction: design and engineering planning, site preparation and other initial project needs for the new facility are intended to begin immediately. Funding required for this new site plan is included in Corning's previously announced capital spending capital spending Spending for long-term assets such as factories, equipment, machinery, and buildings that permits the production of more goods and services in future years. plans for 2004. Implementation and construction are pending full funding approval from the company's board of directors later this year. "This new facility in Taichung, combined with the multiple expansions to our current facilities that we have announced over the past several months, will enable us to significantly grow our LCD glass substrate capacity to keep pace with rapid industry growth and increased migration to larger-generation glass substrates, particularly in Taiwan," said Donald B. McNaughton, senior vice president of Corning's display group. McNaughton to address shareholders In his LCD glass business overview at the company's annual shareholder meeting Thursday, April 29, McNaughton will note that this new facility plan follows a series of previously announced Corning LCD glass expansions coming on line throughout 2004 and 2005 at the company's Tainan, Taiwan and Shizuoka, Japan facilities. These expansions, with investments totaling more than $780 million, are currently on track to supply customers' growing needs. As previously stated, Corning expects LCD glass market volume to grow 30 percent to 50 percent annually over the next several years. McNaughton will detail for shareholders some of the key drivers of this growth, including the popularity of notebook computers A laptop computer that weighs in a range from five to seven pounds. The term originated when laptops were routinely more than 10 pounds, and those that became lighter were placed in a special "notebook" category. In practice, notebook computer and laptop computer are synonymous. , the continued penetration of LCD desktop monitors and the emergence of LCD television. He will also explain the company's leadership position in the LCD glass market, and how its proprietary fusion technology is enabling both Corning and its equity venture in Korea, Samsung Corning Precision, to produce the leading shares of Generation 5 and 6 glass substrates, and to supply Generation 7 later this year. In addition, Corning has started to develop Generation 8 substrates for future industry demand. Webcast Information The company will host a live audio webcast of the 2004 annual meeting of shareholders in Corning, N.Y., available from 11:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. ET, April 29, 2004. To access the webcast, go to http://www.corning.com and click on the webcast icon. No password or registration is required. The webcast will be archived on the Web site for one year after the broadcast. About Corning Incorporated Corning Incorporated (www.corning.com) is a diversified technology company that concentrates its efforts on high-impact growth opportunities. Corning combines its expertise in specialty glass, ceramic materials, polymers and the manipulation of the properties of light, with strong process and manufacturing capabilities to develop, engineer and commercialize significant innovative products for the telecommunications, flat panel display A thin display screen for computer and TV usage. The first flat panels appeared on laptop computers in the mid-1980s, and the LCD technology became the standard. Stand-alone LCD screens became available for desktop computers in the mid-1990s and exceeded sales of CRTs for the first time , environmental, semiconductor, and life sciences industries. Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. that involve a variety of business risks and other uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include the possibility of changes or fluctuations in global economic and political conditions; tariffs, import duties and currency fluctuations; product demand and industry capacity; competitive products and pricing; manufacturing efficiencies; cost reductions; availability and costs of critical components and materials; new product development and commercialization; order activity and demand from major customers; capital spending by larger customers in the liquid crystal display industry and other businesses; changes in the mix of sales between premium and non-premium products; facility expansions and new plant start-up costs; possible disruption in commercial activities due to terrorist activity, armed conflict, political instability or major health concerns; ability to obtain financing and capital on commercially reasonable terms; adequacy and availability of insurance; capital resource and cash flow activities; capital spending; equity company activities; interest costs; acquisition and divestiture The breakup of AT&T. By federal court order, AT&T divested itself on January 1, 1984 of its 23 operating companies, which became known as the Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs). activities; the level of excess or obsolete inventory Obsolete Inventory Term that refers to inventory that is at the end of its product life cycle and has not seen any sales or usage for a set period of time usually determined by the industry. This type of inventory has to be written down and can cause large losses for a company. ; the rate of technology change; the ability to enforce patents; product and components performance issues; changes in key personnel; stock price fluctuations; and adverse litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. or regulatory developments. These and other risk factors are identified in Corning's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the day that they are made, and Corning undertakes no obligation to update them in light of new information or future events. |
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