Apple's Arizona-Based Sapphire Glass Manufacturing Partner Goes On Hiring Spree
GT Advanced Technologies, the Arizona-based manufacturer Apple teamed up with to produce shed loads of sapphire glass, has sent a postcard out to residents living in the local Mesa, Ariz. area advertising a selection of new positions. The news comes as Apple is said to have started mass producing sapphire glass for future iDevices using GT Advanced’s “state-of-the-art” industrial techniques.
The postcard, pictured above, reached us from MacRumors, which explains that the jobs advertised are for positions including Manufacturing Operators and Technicians, Process Engineering Manager, and Metrology Manager; a full selection of new positions with GT Advanced can be found online at the company’s website.
On its postcard, GT Advanced explains:
Right now we’re looking for people to join the team behind our new state-of-the-art sapphire material manufacturing facility in Mesa, Arizona. If you can bring excellent technical skills and a collaborative approach, we’ll welcome you into a high-performing professional environment where talent and commitment are always well rewarded.
Back in November 2013, we explained that Apple’s deal with GT Advanced would create around 2,000 new jobs in the local Mesa, Ariz. region. In a separate press release Arizona Governor Janice Brewer noted that 700 of these would be quality positions, while the remaining 1,300 would be construction jobs. Apple payed GT Advanced more than half a billion dollars, and the manufacturer will supply sapphire glass over a minimum of five years.
So far, the super durable sapphire glass has made an appearance on the iPhone 5s handset’s Home button, and here it protects the surface of Apple’s fingerprint-scanning Touch ID sensor. It’s also used to protect the built-in cameras which appear on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
However, more recent analysis has speculated that the Cupertino, Calif. company could be planning on expanding its use of sapphire glass, and its deal with GT Advance indeed backs up this theory; all round sapphire glass protection would make for an ultra scratch resistant smartphone or tablet, and this is something countless users - including myself - would really appreciate.
Though whether sapphire glass makes its expanded debut in Apple’s next-generation iDevices remains to be seen. We’ll keep you updated with further information as we receive it.
In the meantime, see: China’s 3G Market Is Continuing To Boom, Apple Expected To Benefit In 2014, Adobe Reader Updated With New iOS 7-Style Design Plus New Features, and Apple’s iOS 7 Beta 4 Patched An Essential Evasi0n7 Jailbreak Exploit.