3M

3M is an American multinational technology and manufacturing company headquartered in Maplewood, Minnesota. Founded in 1902 as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, it began as a small mining venture seeking commercially useful corundum in northern Minnesota. The mineral deposit proved unsuitable for the intended business, and the company gradually redirected its effort toward abrasives, surface-treatment materials, adhesives, tapes, coatings, and other manufactured products. That transition established the pattern that has defined 3M for much of its history: applying research in materials science across multiple industries rather than relying on a single product category. The company is best known for combining a broad corporate identity with specialist brands and technologies. Scotch includes adhesive tapes, films, and related products; Post-it covers repositionable notes and organization products; Scotchgard is associated with surface and fabric protection; and Nexcare is used for consumer healthcare products such as adhesive bandages. Other important activities include abrasive systems, filtration, electrical and electronic materials, optical films, automotive and paint-protection films, passive fire protection, personal protective equipment, medical supplies, and industrial bonding products. Respirators, including N95 products in relevant markets, became especially visible during periods of heightened public-health demand, although the company’s safety portfolio also serves construction, manufacturing, transportation, and other workplaces. Historically, 3M expanded through internal research, technology transfer between divisions, international operations, and acquisitions. Its products have served both business customers and consumers, ranging from factory-floor abrasives and medical adhesives to office supplies and household tapes. The company has also entered and exited businesses as technologies matured or strategic priorities changed. Pharmaceutical activities were divested in the 2000s, data-storage and imaging operations were separated into Imation in the 1990s, and the healthcare portfolio was subsequently prepared for separation into Solventum. Acquisitions such as Meguiar’s, Cogent Systems, Scott Safety, M*Modal, and Acelity strengthened selected automotive-care, security, worker-safety, healthcare, and clinical-technology positions. 3M’s reputation for innovation has been accompanied by substantial environmental and legal challenges. Its historic manufacture and use of PFAS-related chemicals led to contamination disputes in the United States, Belgium, and elsewhere, as well as litigation involving public water systems. The company phased out certain PFOS- and PFOA-related production in 2000 and later announced plans to exit PFAS manufacturing and use, subject to applicable regulatory and customer requirements. Product-liability and public-health issues, including litigation concerning combat earplugs, have also affected the company’s risk profile and portfolio decisions. Today, 3M remains a diversified industrial technology brand organized around major markets such as safety and industrial, transportation and electronics, healthcare, and consumer products. Its competitive identity rests on adhesive and coating expertise, filtration, abrasives, polymer and film technologies, electronics materials, and the ability to adapt technical platforms to different applications. It is listed under the ticker MMM and continues to operate internationally, while managing portfolio separations, litigation, environmental remediation, and the continuing need to convert research capabilities into commercially durable products.

3M was established in 1902 in Two Harbors, Minnesota, as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company. Its founders intended to mine corundum, a hard mineral useful for abrasives, but the deposit was largely anorthosite and did not support the original commercial plan. The company therefore shifted toward manufacturing abrasive products. It moved to Duluth and later to Saint Paul, where William L. McKnight joined in 1907 and became an influential figure in the development of the company’s management and innovation culture. By 1916, 3M had become financially stable enough to pay dividends. During the early twentieth century, the company broadened its materials expertise into sandpaper, coatings, adhesives, and tapes. Its masking tape and transparent cellophane tape helped establish a durable consumer and industrial business outside mining. The company relocated its headquarters to the 3M Center in Maplewood in 1962 after outgrowing its Saint Paul facilities. Research was increasingly organized around technologies that could be adapted to multiple markets, including pressure-sensitive adhesives, abrasives, films, laminates, and filtration. 3M expanded into healthcare and pharmaceuticals during the postwar period. It produced an early asthma inhaler in the late 1950s and entered pharmaceuticals more formally through the acquisition of Riker Laboratories in the 1960s. It later developed a CFC-free inhaler and other drug-delivery technologies, but divested its pharmaceutical operations through transactions completed in 2006. The company also developed Scotchgard after chemists Patsy Sherman and Samuel Smith discovered a water-repellent formulation by accident in 1952. Separately, 3M participated in digital audio recording, imaging, data storage, library systems, automotive care, security, and other specialized activities. Post-it Notes became one of the company’s most successful examples of experimentation and market learning. An earlier product called Press ’n Peel performed poorly in initial testing in 1977. Free sampling in Boise, Idaho, demonstrated strong consumer interest, and the product was relaunched as Post-it Notes in 1979 before broader United States distribution in 1980. The brand subsequently became a globally recognized office and household product. From the 1980s onward, 3M used acquisitions and portfolio restructuring to reinforce selected technologies while leaving mature or less strategic sectors. Comtal strengthened digital imaging, while the data-storage and imaging businesses were separated into Imation in 1996. In the twenty-first century, acquisitions included Meguiar’s, Cogent Systems, Scott Safety, M*Modal, and Acelity. The company also merged its food-safety business with Neogen and prepared its healthcare operations for separation into Solventum. Environmental and legal issues form an important part of the modern history of 3M. Its former production and use of PFOS, PFOA, and other PFAS-related substances led to groundwater, river, and community contamination disputes. The company announced a phase-out of certain PFAS-related production in 2000 and later announced a broader exit from PFAS manufacturing and use. Litigation and remediation have involved Minnesota, public water systems across the United States, and facilities in other countries. Other significant legal matters have included claims relating to military earplugs and product liability. 3M’s history therefore combines a long record of applied innovation and diversification with continuing scrutiny of the environmental and social consequences of its technologies.

1. 2024William Brown becomes CEO

   William Brown takes over as chief executive officer, with Michael Roman becoming executive chairman.

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2. 2023Public-water-system PFAS agreement

   3M announces a proposed settlement framework intended to resolve numerous United States public-water-system PFAS lawsuits.

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3. 2022Healthcare separation announced

   3M announces plans to separate its healthcare assets into an independent publicly traded company, later named Solventum.

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4. 2022PFAS exit announced

   3M announces plans to discontinue PFAS manufacturing and use across its portfolio.

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5. 2019Acelity acquired

   3M completes its acquisition of Acelity and KCI, adding wound-care and related healthcare technologies.

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6. 2018Minnesota PFAS settlement

   3M reaches an $850 million settlement with Minnesota over PFAS-related natural-resource and water-contamination claims.

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7. 2017Scott Safety acquired

   3M acquires Johnson Controls’ Scott Safety business, expanding its worker-safety portfolio.

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8. 2006Pharmaceutical business divested

   3M exits most of its pharmaceutical operations through several transactions.

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9. 2002Legal name changes to 3M Company

   On the company’s centennial, the legal name changes from Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company to 3M Company.

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10. 1996Imation separation

    3M spins off its data-storage and imaging businesses into Imation Corporation.

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11. 1980Post-it Notes launch nationally in the United States

    Post-it Notes begin broad United States distribution and subsequently expand into Canada and Europe.

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12. 1979Post-it Notes introduced

    After successful consumer sampling, 3M introduces the repositionable note product under the Post-it name.

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13. 1977Press ’n Peel test launch

    3M tests a repositionable adhesive bookmark product in several United States cities; the initial retail response is weak.

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14. 1975Pollution Prevention Pays program begins

    3M launches its pollution-prevention program to reduce waste and emissions at manufacturing sites.

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15. 1962Move to 3M Center in Maplewood

    3M moves its headquarters from Saint Paul to its expanding Maplewood campus.

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16. 1952Scotchgard formulation discovered

    Chemists Patsy Sherman and Samuel Smith discover the formulation that becomes Scotchgard fabric and surface protection.

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17. 1920Expansion into tapes and adhesives

    3M develops adhesive and tape products, accelerating its transformation into a diversified materials manufacturer.

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18. 1910Headquarters move to Saint Paul

    The company relocates to Saint Paul as it develops beyond its initial mining venture.

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19. 1902Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing is founded

    Five founders establish the company in Two Harbors, Minnesota, initially intending to mine corundum.

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A research-led materials-science and industrial technology company that transfers adhesive, abrasive, filtration, film, polymer, and surface-engineering capabilities across professional and consumer markets.

• ScotchAdhesive tapes and bonding products

  3M’s Scotch portfolio includes transparent, masking, packaging, mounting, electrical, and specialty tapes, along with related adhesive products. It serves household, office, construction, manufacturing, automotive, and other professional applications. The brand illustrates 3M’s long-standing expertise in pressure-sensitive adhesives, films, coatings, and engineered substrates.

• Post-it NotesOffice and organization products1980

  Post-it Notes are repositionable paper notes using a low-tack adhesive that allows users to attach, remove, and often reposition them without conventional permanent bonding. The range has expanded from classic notes into flags, tabs, dispensers, large-format sheets, and digital or organizational products. It remains one of 3M’s most recognizable consumer-facing innovations.

• ScotchgardSurface and fabric protection1956

  Scotchgard products are designed to protect selected fabrics, carpets, upholstery, and surfaces from staining, moisture, or soil, depending on the formulation and market. The brand originated from an accidental discovery by 3M chemists in 1952. Product formulations and permitted uses have changed over time in response to environmental, regulatory, and performance considerations.

• NexcareConsumer healthcare

  Nexcare is 3M’s consumer healthcare brand for products such as adhesive bandages, wound-care items, tapes, supports, and related first-aid supplies. Its offerings are intended for home, travel, sports, and everyday personal care, with product ranges and regulatory classifications varying by market.

• N95 particulate respiratorsPersonal protective equipment

  3M manufactures particulate respirators designed to reduce inhalation of airborne particles in occupational, healthcare, emergency-response, and public-health settings. N95 designations apply to products meeting relevant United States performance and certification requirements; equivalent products and approvals differ internationally. The portfolio includes disposable and specialized respiratory-protection formats.

• Industrial abrasivesIndustrial materials

  3M’s abrasive systems include coated abrasives, discs, belts, wheels, nonwoven products, and precision-finishing materials. They are used for cutting, grinding, deburring, polishing, surface preparation, and finishing in metalworking, automotive, aerospace, woodworking, and general manufacturing. Abrasives connect the company’s original mining-related activity with its modern engineered-materials portfolio.

• Healthcare and medical productsHealthcare technology and supplies

  Historically, 3M’s healthcare portfolio has included medical tapes, dressings, wound-care products, sterilization assurance, infection-prevention materials, dental products, surgical products, and clinical information technologies. Some healthcare operations were transferred to Solventum as part of the separation completed in 2024, so the ownership and availability of individual products depend on the product line and market.

• 1978Post-it consumer sampling

  United States

  After weak initial retail results for Press ’n Peel, 3M distributed free samples of the repositionable notes in Boise, Idaho. Sampling allowed consumers to experience the adhesive and helped demonstrate demand for the product.

  Outcome. The test supported a relaunch under the Post-it name and preceded national United States distribution.

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• 1975Pollution Prevention Pays

  Global

  3M launched Pollution Prevention Pays, commonly known as 3P, to prevent pollution at source by changing processes, materials, and product designs. The program later expanded beyond plant-level pollution reduction to include waste prevention, recycling, and resource efficiency across the company.

  Outcome. The program became a long-running environmental-management initiative and was credited by 3M with reducing waste and emissions while lowering treatment and disposal costs.

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• 2022Decision to exit PFAS manufacturing and useStrategy

  3M faced increasing regulatory, environmental, remediation, and litigation pressure concerning PFAS and related persistent chemicals.

  What changed. The company announced plans to discontinue PFAS manufacturing and use across its portfolio, with the transition expected to continue through the end of 2025.

  Aftermath. The announcement represented a major change to 3M’s chemical and materials portfolio, while PFAS liabilities and regulatory obligations continued separately.

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• 2022Plan to separate healthcare assetsM&A

  3M concluded that its healthcare activities could operate with a more focused structure separate from the remaining industrial and consumer businesses.

  What changed. The company announced a tax-efficient spin-off of its healthcare assets into a new public company, later named Solventum, while retaining a minority stake initially.

  Aftermath. The separation was completed in 2024 and changed the scope of the 3M brand’s direct healthcare operations.

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• 2020Divestiture of drug-delivery businessM&A

  3M decided to separate substantially all of its drug-delivery operations as part of a longer-term effort to focus its healthcare portfolio.

  What changed. The business was transferred to an Altaris Capital Partners affiliate and became Kindeva Drug Delivery; 3M retained a minority interest in the new company.

  Aftermath. The transaction narrowed 3M’s direct pharmaceutical exposure while preserving an investment relationship with the separated business.

  Transaction consideration. Approximately $650 million, including a 17% interest in the new operating company (2020)

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• 2012Cancelation of Avery Dennison office-products acquisitionOther

  3M announced a proposed acquisition of Avery Dennison’s Office and Consumer Products Division for $550 million, but antitrust concerns arose during the review process.

  What changed. 3M terminated the transaction in September 2012.

  Aftermath. The decision preserved 3M’s existing portfolio while illustrating the regulatory limits on consolidation in office and consumer products.

  Proposed transaction value. $550 million (2012)

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• 2023PFAS claims by United States public water systemsControversy

  3M announced a proposed settlement framework valued at up to approximately $10.3 billion over time to resolve claims from numerous United States public water systems alleging PFAS contamination. The agreement did not resolve every PFAS-related claim or regulatory matter.

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• 2021PFOS contamination concerns near Zwijndrecht facilityControversy

  Investigations in Belgium linked PFOS contamination in the area around 3M’s Zwijndrecht facility to historical industrial activity. Authorities issued measures concerning exposure and food consumption while remediation and accountability questions remained active.

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• 2018Minnesota PFAS water-pollution settlementControversy

  3M agreed to pay $850 million to resolve Minnesota’s claims concerning alleged contamination of drinking water and natural resources by PFAS-related chemicals.

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• 2000Phase-out of PFOS and PFOA-related productionControversy

  Following regulatory scrutiny and scientific concern regarding persistent perfluorinated chemicals, 3M announced that it would phase out production of PFOS, PFOA, and related products. Later litigation and contamination investigations continued to examine the company’s historical production and environmental practices.

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• 1983Oakdale Dump Superfund contaminationControversy

  The Oakdale Dump in Minnesota, a former 3M disposal site, was listed as an EPA Superfund site after investigations found groundwater and soil contamination involving volatile organic compounds and heavy metals.

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• 20243M appoints William Brown as chief executive officer

  3M announced that William Brown would become chief executive officer on May 1, 2024, while Michael Roman would become executive chairman.

  Leadership change
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• 20203M separates its pharmaceutical drug-delivery business

  3M divested substantially all of its drug-delivery business to an affiliate of Altaris Capital Partners, creating the independent Kindeva Drug Delivery business.

  M&A
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• 20193M agrees to acquire Acelity and KCI businesses

  3M announced the acquisition of Acelity and its KCI subsidiaries, expanding its healthcare portfolio in wound care and related technologies.

  M&A
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• 20173M completes acquisition of Scott Safety

  3M completed its acquisition of Johnson Controls’ Scott Safety business, adding respiratory, protective, and emergency-response equipment.

  M&A
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1. 3M
2. 3M corporate leadership
3. 3M sustainability: Pollution Prevention Pays
4. EPA PFAS overview
5. 3M announcement on PFAS litigation agreement
6. 3M announcement on PFAS exit
7. 3M announcement on William Brown
8. Minnesota Attorney General: 3M settlement
9. Scotchgard formulation discovered
10. Press ’n Peel test launch
11. Imation separation
12. Scott Safety acquired
13. Acelity acquired
14. Healthcare separation announced
15. Divestiture of drug-delivery business
16. Oakdale Dump Superfund contamination
17. PFOS contamination concerns near Zwijndrecht facility