In an address to Corning shareholders immediately after the AGM, 26 April 2007, James R. Steiner, senior vice president & general manager, Specialty Materials, outlined a number of growth opportunities for the US$ 400M division. He told shareholders that the division has been focusing on applying existing technologies & capabilities to several new market opportunities. He noted that over the years Corning has found new product applications for several technologies adding that the company is applying its glass ceramic technology, first developed in 1952, for producing missile nose cones, to a research project intended to produce transparent armor windows for military vehicles. "We are working on a glass solution that will be able to deliver superior ballistic performance at a reduced weight", he said. Finally, he said that his division is using an original glass composition created in the 1960s for automotive windshields to develop a highly protective glass for cell phones and other handheld smaller devices. This glass would withstand scratching and surface marring.
