Corning has launched a major Hickory fiber plant expansion in North Carolina, breaking ground on a new facility designed to meet rising demand from AI-driven data centers. The project follows a strategic supply agreement with Meta for high-density optical fiber, cable, and connectivity solutions.
Expansion Increases Fiber Manufacturing Capacity
Corning is building the new facility at the Trivium Corporate Center in Hickory. The site will exceed 275,000 square feet, significantly increasing optical fiber and cable production capacity. Project leaders estimate the investment will range between $170 million and $268 million and create more than 125 new jobs in the region.
Meta Partnership Drives Long-Term Growth
Meta will serve as the anchor customer for the expansion. The company will rely on Corning to supply high-fiber-count cable systems for hyperscale and AI-focused data centers. As a result, Corning expects the agreement to support a 15–20% increase in North Carolina employment, where it already employs more than 5,000 workers in fiber and cable operations.
Facility Built for AI-Era Infrastructure
Corning is designing the Hickory expansion to produce high-density optical cable systems that support rapidly increasing data workloads. Both Corning and Meta expect AI infrastructure growth to require millions of miles of fiber as cloud computing and data center capacity continue to scale.
Hickory Campus Becomes Global Fiber Hub
This expansion builds on Corning’s long-term investment strategy in Hickory. The company first established operations at the Trivium site in 2018 and expanded production again in 2021. With this latest project, the Hickory campus is set to become one of the world’s largest optical cable manufacturing hubs, reinforcing Corning’s commitment to U.S.-based manufacturing and advanced optical infrastructure.
