Corning Opens Optical Cable Manufacturing Campus in North
Corning has formally opened its newest optical cable manufacturing campus in Hickory, North Carolina. The new manufacturing centre will help accelerate US buildouts of high-speed fibre broadband networks and connect the unconnected. The advanced manufacturing facilities will add hundreds of jobs to Corning’s existing North Carolina workforce of more than 5,000. The new campus is part of a series of investments totalling more than $500 million since 2020.
US Commerce Secretary Gina M. Raimondo, whose agency is spearheading the national “Internet for All” initiative, joined the facilities’ opening ceremonies along with North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and Stephen Milner, CEO of Planters Broadband Cooperative, on behalf of NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association.
"It is past time that every American be connected with affordable internet no matter where they live," said Secretary Raimondo. "We could not do it without the folks at Corning. We wouldn’t have the fibre, the innovation, the cable. We wouldn’t be able to connect rural America – all of America."
“With this new manufacturing campus, we’re creating local jobs, we’re helping our workforce build important skills, we’re cultivating our next generation of talent right here in North Carolina, and we’re thrilled to continue addressing demand for the fibre and cable that are so vital to moving the world forward,” said Corning Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Wendell P. Weeks. “We appreciate the support of federal, state, local officials, and industry organizations as we come together to help connect the unconnected.”
