The 3M Company (originally the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company) is an American multinational conglomerate operating in the fields of industry, worker safety, and consumer goods.[5] Based in the Saint Paul suburb of Maplewood,[6] the company produces over 60,000 products,[7] including adhesives, abrasives, laminates, passive fire protection, personal protective equipment, window films, paint protection film, electrical, electronic connecting, insulating materials, car-care products,[8] electronic circuits, and optical films.[9] Among its best-known consumer brands are Scotch Tape, Scotchgard surface protectants, Post-it notes, and Nexcare adhesive bandages. 3M's stock ticker symbol is MMM and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. (NYSE), and the SIX Swiss Exchange.
3M made $35.4 billion in total sales in 2021 and ranked number 102 in the Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.[10] As of 2021, the company had approximately 95,000 employees and operations in more than 70 countries.[11] There are a few international subsidiaries, such as 3M India, 3M Japan, and 3M Canada.[12]
History
Five businessmen founded the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company as a mining venture in Two Harbors, Minnesota, making their first sale on June 13, 1902.[1] The goal was to mine corundum, a crystalline form of aluminium oxide, which failed because the mine's mineral holdings were anorthosite, a feldspar which had no commercial value. Co-founder John Dwan solicited funds in exchange for stock and Edgar Ober and Lucius Ordway took over the company in 1905. The company moved to Duluth and began researching and producing sandpaper products. William L. McKnight, later a key executive, joined the company in 1907, and A. G. Bush joined in 1909. 3M finally became financially stable in 1916 and was able to pay dividends.[13]
The company moved to Saint Paul in 1910, where it remained for 52 years before outgrowing the campus and moving to its current headquarters at 3M Center in Maplewood, Minnesota, in 1962.[14]
Products and patents
As of 2019, 3M produces approximately 60,000 products,[68] and has four business groups focused on safety and industrial, transportation and electronics, health care, and consumer products.[69] 3M obtained its first patent in 1924 and acquires approximately 3,000 new patents annually. The company surpassed the 100,000-patent threshold in 2014.[70]
Environmental record
3M's Pollution Prevention Pays (3P) program was established in 1975. The program initially focused on pollution reduction at the plant level and was expanded to promote recycling and reduce waste across all divisions in 1989. By the early 1990s, approximately 2,500 3P projects decreased the company's total global pollutant generation by 50 percent and saved 3M $500–600 million by eliminating the production of waste requiring subsequent treatment.[72][73]
In 1983, the Oakdale Dump in Oakdale, Minnesota, was listed as an EPA Superfund site after significant groundwater and soil contamination by VOCs and heavy metals was uncovered.[74] The Oakdale Dump was a 3M dumping site utilized through the 1940s and 1950s.
During the 1990s and 2000s, 3M reduced releases of toxic pollutants by 99 percent and greenhouse gas emissions by 72 percent[75]
Earplug controversy
The Combat Arms Earplugs, Version 2 (CAEv2), was developed by Aearo Technologies for U.S. military and civilian use. The CAEv2 was a double ended earplug that 3M claimed would offer users different levels of protection.[105] Between 2003 and 2015, these earplugs were standard issue to members of the U.S. military.[106] 3M acquired Aearo Technologies in 2008.[107]
In May 2016, Moldex-Metric, Inc., a 3M competitor, filed a whistleblower complaint against 3M under the False Claims Act. Moldex-Metric claimed that 3M made false claims to the U.S. government about the safety of its earplugs and that it knew the earplugs had an inherently defective design.[108] In 2018, 3M agreed to pay $9.1 million to the U.S. government to resolve the allegations, without admitting liability.[109]
N95 respirators and the COVID-19 pandemic
The N95 respirator mask was developed by 3M and approved in 1972.[113] Due to its ability to filter viral particulates, its use was recommended during the COVID-19 pandemic but supply soon became short.[113] Much of the company's supply had already been sold prior to the outbreak.[114]
The shortages led to the U.S. government asking 3M to stop exporting US-made N95 respirator masks to Canada and to Latin American countries,[115] and President Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to require 3M to prioritize orders from the federal government.[116] The dispute was resolved when 3M agreed to import more respirators, mostly from its factories in China.[116]
Operating facilities
3M's general offices, corporate research laboratories, and some division laboratories in the U.S. are in St. Paul, Minnesota. In the United States, 3M operates 80 manufacturing facilities in 29 states, and 125 manufacturing and converting facilities in 37 countries outside the U.S. (in 2017).[118]
During March 2016, 3M completed a 400000 ft2 research-and-development building on its Maplewood campus that cost $150 million. Seven hundred scientists from various divisions occupy the building. They were previously scattered across the campus. 3M hopes concentrating its research and development in this manner will improve collaboration. 3M received $9.6 million in local tax increment financing and relief from state sales taxes in order to assist with development of the building.[119]
Selected factory detail information:
- Cynthiana, Kentucky, U.S. factory producing Post-it Notes (672 SKU) and Scotch Tape (147 SKU). It has 539 employees and was established in 1969.[120]
Leadership
See also
- Oakdale Dump
Further reading
- V. Huck, Brand of the Tartan: The 3M Story, Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1955. Early history of 3M and challenges, includes employee profiles.
- C. Rimington, From Minnesota mining and manufacturing to 3M Australia Pty Ltd (3M Australia: the Story of an Innovative Company), Sid Harta Publishers, 2013. Recollections from 3M Australia employees in context of broader organisational history.
- Sharon Lerner "How 3M Discovered, Then Concealed, the Dangers of Forever Chemicals[168]", New Yorker Magazine
External links
- Historical records of the 3M Company are available for research use at the Minnesota Historical Society
References
- "3M Birthplace Museum", Lake County Historical Society^
- It all started with a rock 3M Australia, June 11, 2021, retrieved March 9, 2022^
- 3M appoints new CEO Manufacturing Dive, March 12, 2024