Corning Inc. operations unaffected by quake

In a prepared statement, the company said no injuries or damages occurred at any of its facilities or offices in Japan as a result of Friday's earthquake, which measured 8.9 on the Richter scale and was the biggest to hit Japan since record-keeping began in the 1800s. The earthquake occurred at 3:14 p.m. local time Friday, striking the northeast coast.



Corning operates a glass-making plant in Shizuoka and a newer facility in Sakai City. All glass-making operations in Japan were running normally, and there was no effect on Corning's ability to supply customers as a result of the quake, the company stated.



Corning's Gen 10 LCD glass facility in Sakai City broke ground in 2007 and began shipments two years later. Sakai City is located more than 600 miles from the earthquake's epicenter.



Corning's facility in Shizuoka, located more than 400 miles from the epicenter, has been operating for more than 20 years. In August 2009, production there was disrupted by an earthquake that occurred in Honshu.



The Shizuoka facility, the manufacturing site of Corning Inc.'s Gen 8 LCD glass substrates, has undergone many upgrades and enhancements and parts of it are less than a year old. In July, Corning announced it was ramping up idled capacity there to manufacture Gorilla glass.