Construction is now underway in Hickory on a major expansion that could reshape the future of AI infrastructure. According to Business North Carolina, Corning Inc. and Meta Platforms broke ground Tuesday (March 31) on a $267 million project to expand Corning’s optical cable manufacturing capacity. The investment is part of a larger $6 billion agreement between the two companies announced earlier this year.
The Hickory expansion is expected to create 132 new jobs, with average salaries around $65,000 a year—well above the current county average.
Meta will serve as the anchor customer, with Corning producing next-generation optical fiber and cable critical for powering advanced data centers and artificial intelligence technologies.
Once complete, the site is projected to become the largest fiber-optic manufacturing plant in the world.
Corning has operated in Catawba County for nearly 50 years and already employs more than 5,000 people statewide. This expansion could push that number closer to 6,000 as demand for fiber surges.
That demand is being driven largely by AI, which requires significantly more fiber capacity than traditional cloud computing.
Corning, a company with roots dating back to the invention of the lightbulb, now finds itself at the center of the next technological revolution—helping power the infrastructure behind today’s rapidly growing digital world.
Story: Rob Eastwood-WHKY