CORNING, N.Y. -- The fourth quarter and full year reports are in, and 2016 was a successful year for Corning Incorporated.
The company, focused on glass, ceramics and specialty material, released its reports showing growth in all departments. It plans to keep that momentum going into the new year.
"The fourth quarter was the strongest for the company of the year, and it really set us up going into 2017," said Corning Inc. Corporate Communications VP Dan Collins. "And we think the first quarter will be very similar."
Officials say fourth quarter core sales increased by 6 percent from the same time last year. Looking at the year as a whole, the company's net sales also increased by 3 percent.
"Overall, Corning had $9.4 billion in sales, which is a growth over last year, so that was very helpful," he says.
Collins says a major factor behind that rise in sales is the company's Gorilla Glass. It's not only being used for the screen on your phone, but has now been adapted for your vehicle.
"At the CES show in Las Vegas this past month, we did show a prototype vehicle that used Gorilla Glass in a number of applications on the car," said Collins. "We received an extraordinary response from the auto industry."
Corning's LCD glass is also flying off shelves.
"Flat panel televisions are getting larger and larger, and that's helping to grow our volume in our LCD glass business," Collins said.
Looking ahead, Corning also expects a new gasoline filter, aimed at reducing emissions, to be a major addition to the company's future earnings.
"New emissions standards are coming into place that will impact that business, and we think we'll see a strong pick-up," said Collins.
Although the company has seen world-wide success, it says it can't imagine being located anywhere else.
"We've been here for over 160 years," said Collins. "We consider the area of Corning and the business of Corning to be one in the same. We're all in this together."