“Apple and sapphire manufacturing partner GT Advanced Technologies are looking to expand operations at the companies’ Mesa, Ariz., facility, possibly to accommodate higher yields for an as-yet-unknown component,” Mikey Campbell reports for AppleInsider.
“While construction of the joint Apple-GT Advanced sapphire manufacturing facility is not yet complete, multiple companies are already posting bids to build out a proposed expansion, according to people close to the project,” Campbell reports. “The plant and its grounds, collectively dubbed “Project Cascade,” occupies an 83-acre plot of land in the City of Mesa’s designated foreign trade zone.”
“According to the most recent public records published by the U.S. International Trade Administration, adjacent parcels of land appear to be vacant and are large enough to replicate the size of Apple’s existing facility,” Campbell reports. “Despite being under construction, the plant is powered by a massive array of temporary generators and is already churning out product… Maximum output is largely unknown, but the site will be equipped with some 1,700 furnaces to make sapphire boules in bulk, sources said. Previous reports citing import/export records claimed the number of furnaces in use would be capped at around 950.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dan K.” for the heads up.]
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