Apple Will Open Sapphire Glass Manufacturing Facility In The U.S.
Since most of Apple’s device manufacturing happens in Asia, Apple decided to bring it back to the United States and the first step towards this goal is to build a new manufacturing plant in Mesa, Arizona. Gov. Jan Brewer announced at the beginning of this month that this new manufacturing plant will be producing sapphire glass materials for the Apple’s upcoming devices.
Gov. Jan Brewer says in a State of Arizona report that the upcoming new manufacturing plant from the Cupertino based giant will drive growth in the state of Arizona as it means there will be over 700 new jobs in the first year; Brewer also said that the new manufacturing facility will create important capital investment. Apple’s new manufacturing facility will also generate around 1,300 more jobs related to the construction of the facility.
In a statement, Gov. Jan Brewer said: “Apple is indisputably one of the world’s most innovative companies and I’m thrilled to welcome them to Arizona […] Apple will have an incredibly positive economic impact for Arizona and its decision to locate here speaks volumes about the friendly, pro-business climate we have been creating these past four years. Their investment in renewable energy will also be greening our power grid, and creating significant new solar and geothermal power sources for the state“.
It seems that Apple bought the vacant manufacturing facility from First Solar, a company based in Tempe, Arizona. Apple also employed GT Advanced Technologies to manufacture sapphire glass materials on the site. Apple told Pocket-Lint: “We are proud to expand our domestic manufacturing initiative with a new facility in Arizona, creating more than 2,000 jobs in engineering, manufacturing and construction, […] This new plant will make components for Apple products and it will run on 100% renewable energy from day one”.
GT Advanced Technologies from Hong Kong, whose United States HQ is in New Hampshire, recently announced that it had entered “into a multiyear supply agreement with Apple Inc. to provide sapphire material“. GT Advanced Technologies also mentioned that the Cupertino based giant will give it a prepayment of $578 million that is expected to be reimbursed in 2012 (starting in 2015). The company also said that its revenue for the next year is expected to be from $600 million to $800 million with the “sapphire segment comprising up to approximately 80% of the year’s total revenue”.
Apple makes use of sapphire glass in camera lenses but also on the Home button of the iPhone 5S (that comes equipped with a fingerprint sensor), as sapphire glass is more durable and scratch resistant than other forms of glass. The new manufacturing facility in Arizona suggests that Apple intends to expand the tech across its product series.
Earlier this year, in March, a report hinted that future smartphones could include sapphire, which is a crystalline form of aluminum oxide, instead of normal glass. It was also suggested recently that Apple prototyped smartphones with a sapphire display. Apple’s new sapphire plant means that Apple’s upcoming products will be very interesting; we will keep you updated when we have more news, so stay tuned.
