Video gamers learn about Wii accidents involving TV glass, and now there’s a business that thinks they have an option. The Associated Press reports that mega-strong Gorilla glass, which was initially invented in 1962 and known as Chemcor, could become a multibillion-dollar boon for Corning, Inc. Within the next 12 months, Corning will start using Gorilla glass in television sets and touch screens.
Gorilla glass became a $ 170 million annual business after 2008
After decades of languishing in a Corning laboratory trying to find a commercial application, Gorilla glass started to appear in cell phones in 2008. Using the product for cell phone screens began a $ 170 million per year business, but that’s small compared to what Corning could make within the flat screen TV and touch screen gadget market. Also appealing to the high-end flat screen TV clientele would be the possibilities of a Gorilla glass frameless flat screen. It would be tough enough to stay together, yet look more like art than an appliance. The strength of the product would protect against such things as Wii accidents, yet the products would nevertheless appear elegant.
Strength times 3, thickness divided by half
AP reports that Gorilla glass beats ordinary LCD display glass hands down. It is 3 times stronger at half the thickness. A Gorilla glass flat screen can be thinner than a dime, which greatly decreases shipping costs. Thus, Corning hopes to get its Asian manufacturers to get Gorilla glass into the TV market by early next year. Share prices of Corning have already increased in anticipation of increased business. Considering that high-end LCD glass generated the bulk of Corning’s sales in 2009 ($ 5.4 billion), there would likely be demand. An increase of only $ 30 to $ 60 per unit is expected during the Gorilla glass transition, which shouldn’t deter buyers.
And what about other products?
Corning has a number of possible uses prepared for Gorilla glass. Refrigerator doors, automobile sunroofs and even touch-screen advertising in businesses like hotels are all possibilities. Yet with the television market alone, Corning would likely make a killing with Gorilla glass.
Further reading
Associated Press
cbsnews.com/stories/2010/08/01/ap/tech/main6734387.shtml
