Corning Inc. said 26 September 2007 that it will move its laboratory glassware business from its plant at Big Flats, New York State to Monterrey, Mexico.
The move will allow Corning to concentrate on…
Corning Inc. said 26 September 2007 that it will move its laboratory glassware business from its plant at Big Flats, New York State to Monterrey, Mexico. The move will allow Corning to concentrate on more lucrative drug discovery products at Big Flats, said Mark A. Beck, vice president and general manager of Corning Life Sciences. Mr. Beck declined to say how many employees will be affected by the change, which will take place over two years. Mike Walker, president of Local 1000 of the United Steelworkers of America, said about 50 of the 70 union employees at Big Flats will be affected. Mr. Beck said many of those whose jobs are being moved to Mexico will be eligible to apply for jobs in other Corning Inc. facilities in the region. Others will be able to retire, said Corning spokesman Dan Collins. About half those at the Big Flats plant are involved in glass fabrication or glass procurement. The other half work on the production of microplates for Corning“s growing Epic drug discovery system. Mr. Beck said the procurement business will be kept in the Corning area at a location yet to be decided. Manufacturing capacity for the microplates used in the Epic system, which sell for about USD 300 each, has tripled at Big Flats since January 2007, Mr. Beck said. Since unveiling the Epic system in September 2006, Corning Inc. has sold 11 systems to pharmaceutical companies, biotech companies and academic institutions, including Johns Hopkins University. “Our confidence in the future of Epic technology has never been greater than it is today”, Mr. Beck said. “I don“t want to imply that everything is perfect or rosy. Customers are demanding a higher burden of proof than anticipated”. Demand for laboratory glassware is declining by 1% to 2% each year, Mr. Beck said, because of the popularity of plastics. But the Epic system has the potential to become profitable and to generate annual revenue of USD 100 million to USD 200 million by the end of the decade, he said. Corning“s Life Sciences business had USD 287 million in revenue in 2006.