Apple says to keep evaluating distressed sapphire company GT Advanced

By Christina Farr SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc said on Thursday it would keep evaluating its former supplier GT Advanced Technologies' progress on developing sapphire production and also consider other options for its plant in Mesa, Arizona. "Apple put a lot of effort into an ambitious new sapphire manufacturing process with GTAT which is not ready for production," Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said. "We’re going to continue evaluating GTAT's progress on larger sapphire boule development, as well as consider other options for the facility." (Reporting by Noel Randewich, Editing by Franklin Paul)