Corning To Expand Production Of Photonic Devices At Corning Optical Technologies Italia; $150 million expansion consistent with acquisition growth plans.

Business & Technology Editors

CORNING, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 8, 2001

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) today announced that its board of directors approved a $150 million capital investment plan to enhance and expand the recently acquired Corning Optical Technologies Italia (Corning OTI) operations, formerly owned by Pirelli.

The investment will allow the company to significantly increase its capacity in lithium niobate modulators, pump lasers, certain specialty fibers, and fiber gratings, all key elements of Corning's expanding portfolio of optical networking products.

The Corning OTI optical component device manufacturing operations affected by this investment are being relocated to San Donato near Milan, Italy from their current location in Bicocca, Italy. The new facility is expected to be fully operational and its employment level doubled by the end of 2001. The new location will be equipped with state of the art manufacturing equipment and technologies in order to meet the explosive market demand for Corning's new lines of photonic products.

Corning OTI's products and technologies provide an important addition to Corning's optical layer strategy, particularly as it pertains to long-haul applications. With superior performance lithium niobate modulators, Corning now presents a complete line of high-data-rate, long reach transmission components, including modulators with integrated attenuators. The capabilities in 980 nm pump lasers for submarine use complement Corning Lasertron's terrestrial 980 nm pump competencies. Corning OTI's specialty fiber and fiber gratings used in amplification and dispersion compensation further Corning's capabilities.

"Providing our customers with continually enhanced value propositions for high-speed next generation systems is essential to Corning's growth strategy as a leading optical communications company," noted Corning Incorporated's Chief Executive Officer, John Loose. "Our expansion of manufacturing capabilities at Corning OTI is yet another demonstration of this commitment to the needs of our optical communications customer base."

Established in 1851, Corning Incorporated (www.corning.com) creates leading-edge technologies for the fastest-growing markets of the world's economy. Corning manufactures optical fiber, cable and photonic products for the telecommunications industry; and high-performance displays and components for television and other communications-related industries. The company also uses advanced materials to manufacture products for scientific, semiconductor and environmental markets. Corning's revenues in 2000 were $7.1 billion.

Forward-Looking Cautionary Statements

Except for historical information and discussions contained herein, statements included in this release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause results to differ materially, as discussed in the company's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.