Corning opens catalytic converter substrate plant in South Africa

12 June 2000

Corning Incorporated has opened a new, US$30 million environmental technologies production facility in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The new plant will help meet growing global demand for automobile catalytic converter substrates.

The facility, located in the Perserverance Industrial Park site, includes manufacturing and distribution operations for Corning’s cellular ceramic substrate products used at the core of catalytic converters. Product shipments are expected to begin in July of this year.

“Tighter environmental standards and a heightened consumer awareness of cleaner vehicles are driving increased worldwide demand for catalytic converter substrates,” said Roger G. Ackerman, Corning’s chairman and chief executive officer. “South Africa is rapidly becoming a significant manufacturing center for the catalytic converters used by global automobile manufacturers. We are especially pleased to be the first substrate manufacturer to join South Africa’s expanding automobile components industry.”

Corning currently manufactures catalytic converter substrates in Erwin, New York (USA); Blacksburg, Virginia (USA); and Kaiserslautern, Germany. The company is also completing an engineering and manufacturing facility in Shanghai, China that will begin operations later this year. The company operates catalytic converter substrate sales and customer service offices in Tokyo, Japan; Seoul, South Korea; New Delhi, India; Sydney, Australia; Singapore; Taipei, Taiwan; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Wiesbaden, Germany; Troy Michigan; and Corning, New York.

Contact: Robert Jones

Source: Corning