Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) has been manufacturing glass and ceramic products for more than 150 years. This has meant everything from the white casserole dish your momma used to bake with to lab beakers and flasks. But Corning has a brand new bag; well … it’s actually a 48-year old patent that has been sitting dormant until now.
If you look around your house and in your pocket at your mobile phone, you may notice that glass is a prominent material used. Corning’s “Gorilla Glass” is up to three times as strong as chemically strengthened versions of ordinary soda-lime glass that is double the thickness (in other words, it’s wicked strong). This makes Gorilla Glass perfect for cell phones, TVs, touch-screen monitors, etc., all of which are prone to scratching, breaking, and weight sensitivities. Because of the strength of the glass, designers of many electronics products would have more flexibility and thus an increase in possible form factors to attract consumers.
The best part about this is that the research and development is already done and the costs absorbed, which is a positive for Corning (although I am not sure about patent protection). If you have cracked or scratched your cell phone (iPhones are especially prone to this), you understand the need for a much more scratch- and shatter-resistant glass. Obviously, these benefits come with a cost – literally. Gorilla Glass is pricey and might add $30-$60 to the average flat-screen TV price, according to DisplaySearch Analyst Paul Gagnon.