Corning To Spend $750 Million On Plant Expansions

Corning, N.Y.-based Corning Inc., a leading supplier of optical fiber, will spend $750 million to increase capacity at three plants in response to "insatiable" demand for networking products. Plants to be improved include two in North Carolina at Wilimgton and Concord, and one in Victoria, Australia. "The primary drivers behind our expansion plans are the strong, worldwide demand for Corning fiber, particularly our new, advanced products, and projections for significant network growth in Europe, the Far East, and other regions of the world," says Corning CEO John Loose. "It is the rapid absorption of bandwidth, and the world's seemingly insatiable demand for more, that is creating (this) opportunity." Analysts predict the worldwide demand for fiber to grow at about 20% annually, reaching 100 million km by 2002.