Corning Inc. has announced that its board of directors recently approved a capital expenditure of approximately $180 million to expand the company’s Harrodsburg, Ky., manufacturing facility. The expansion will provide additional capacity for Corning’s Gorilla® glass business and entry into the growing thin-film photovoltaic glass market.

“Growing demand for Gorilla glass is quickly consuming our available capacity,” said James P. Clappin, president of Corning’s Precision Glass businesses. “We are on track to reach sales in excess of $250 million this year, and sales could approach the $1 billion mark in 2011. We are making Gorilla glass manufacturing and technology investments today to meet the growing market need of the future.”

Corning also will build capacity in its Harrodsburg facility to begin producing specialty glass for thin-film photovoltaics. The company will use its proprietary fusion manufacturing process to produce the thin-film photovoltaic glass. Corning’s new specialty thin glass can greatly improve the solar module’s energy conversion efficiency and reduce weight while maintaining product strength and long-term reliability.

For more information, visit www.corning.com.