3M

3M is a multinational technology and manufacturing company based in St. Paul, Minnesota. It is best known for turning materials science and applied research into products used in factories, hospitals, vehicles, offices, schools, homes, and public infrastructure. Its portfolio has included adhesives and tapes, abrasives, filtration and separation media, protective equipment, medical products, electronic materials, reflective films, automotive components, and consumer brands such as Post-it, Scotch, Command, Nexcare, and Filtrete. The company began in 1902 as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, a small mining venture established to extract corundum in northern Minnesota. The mining project did not produce the expected commercial results, and the business moved toward abrasives and coated materials. That change set the pattern for 3M's later development: rather than remaining tied to one raw material or product category, it repeatedly used technical capabilities developed in one field to enter adjacent markets. Among its early innovations were coated abrasive products, including the Three-M-ite abrasive line. In the twentieth century, 3M expanded from abrasives into pressure-sensitive adhesives, masking tapes, transparent films, medical products, and office supplies. Scotch Tape became one of its most recognizable products, while Post-it Notes transformed a low-tack adhesive technology into a mass-market stationery category. The company also developed extensive business-to-business offerings for automotive manufacturers, electronics producers, construction companies, healthcare providers, laboratories, and government customers. 3M's operating model has historically emphasized decentralized research, technical collaboration, and the commercialization of products that can cross industry boundaries. The company has organized its activities into broad business areas covering safety and industrial applications, transportation and electronics, consumer products, and healthcare. It reaches customers through direct sales, distributors, retailers, original-equipment manufacturers, professional channels, and online commerce. Its brands often stand independently in the marketplace, but they are supported by 3M's reputation for engineering, testing, and applied science. In the 2000s and 2010s, acquisitions expanded the company in areas such as filtration, security, medical technology, fall protection, wound care, and industrial materials. Notable transactions included CUNO, Cogent, Capital Safety, the Separations Media business of Polypore, Scott Safety, and Acelity. At the same time, 3M divested or separated activities that no longer fit its long-term portfolio. Its food-safety business was separated and combined with Neogen in 2022, and its healthcare business was spun off as Solventum in 2024. 3M remains an active global brand, although its reputation has also been affected by litigation and regulatory scrutiny concerning PFAS chemicals and Combat Arms earplugs. These matters have influenced its financial planning, product portfolio, environmental commitments, and public communications. The modern 3M brand therefore combines a strong legacy of invention and recognizable consumer products with a continuing focus on industrial technology, healthcare-related materials, workplace safety, and risk management.

3M was founded in 1902 as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company by five investors who intended to mine corundum, an abrasive mineral, near Two Harbors, Minnesota. The mining venture struggled, and the company shifted its attention to importing and developing abrasive materials. Its relocation to Duluth and later expansion into St. Paul helped it build the manufacturing, sales, and research capabilities that would define the business. During the early twentieth century, 3M developed coated abrasives and improved methods for applying abrasive grains to flexible backing materials. These products gave the company a foothold in industrial manufacturing and repair. The business later broadened its materials expertise into adhesives, coatings, films, and laminates. The name 3M became increasingly associated with technical problem-solving rather than with a single mineral or product category. The company entered the pressure-sensitive tape market in the 1920s. Masking tape, created to support two-tone automotive painting, became an important early example of 3M adapting a technical solution to a clear customer problem. Scotch Tape followed and became a major consumer and office product. In later decades, the company expanded into transparent films, medical tapes, electronic materials, traffic-safety products, and industrial bonding systems. A defining feature of 3M's growth was the transfer of technologies between divisions. Low-tack adhesive research eventually supported the development of Post-it Notes, introduced commercially in the early 1980s after experiments showed that a removable adhesive could be useful for temporary notes and markers. Other innovations in films, fibers, coatings, ceramics, and nonwoven materials similarly created applications in transportation, electronics, healthcare, construction, and consumer goods. 3M became a large international manufacturer during the second half of the twentieth century, establishing operations and sales networks outside the United States and building a broad portfolio of professional and household brands. It was added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1976. Its portfolio later included personal protective equipment, medical and dental products, food-safety testing, filtration, optical films, data-storage and electronics materials, automotive components, and industrial safety equipment. The company used acquisitions to add specialized technologies and market access. Transactions during the 2000s and 2010s included CUNO, Cogent, Capital Safety, the Separations Media business of Polypore, Scott Safety, and Acelity. The Acelity transaction strengthened wound-care and surgical products and was described at the time as 3M's largest acquisition. 3M also pursued portfolio simplification. Its food-safety business was separated and combined with Neogen in 2022, while its healthcare operations were separated into Solventum in 2024. 3M's recent history has been shaped both by innovation and by legal and environmental challenges. PFAS-related controversies have involved allegations about chemical contamination, disclosure, and product liabilities. The Combat Arms earplug litigation raised questions about the design, performance, and marketing of hearing-protection products supplied to military personnel. These matters have required settlements, provisions, operational changes, and a stated exit from PFAS manufacturing and use. Despite those pressures, 3M continues to operate as a diversified materials and technology company with global industrial, consumer, safety, electronics, and transportation businesses.

1. 2024Solventum is spun off

   3M completed the planned separation of its healthcare business into Solventum.

   Source
2. 2022Food-safety business combines with Neogen

   3M completed the separation of its food-safety business and its merger with Neogen.

   Source
3. 2019Acelity acquisition announced

   3M announced its agreement to acquire Acelity and its KCI wound-care business.

   Source
4. 2015Capital Safety acquisition

   3M completed the acquisition of Capital Safety, expanding its fall-protection and workplace-safety portfolio.

   Source
5. 1980Post-it Notes are introduced

   3M launched removable adhesive notes, which became one of its most recognizable consumer products.

   Source
6. 19763M joins the Dow Jones Industrial Average

   3M was added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average on August 9, 1976.

   Source
7. 1930Scotch Tape is introduced

   The company commercialized transparent adhesive tape under the Scotch brand.

   Source
8. 1925Masking tape enters the market

   3M introduced masking tape for automotive painting, creating an important pressure-sensitive tape business.

   Source
9. 1921First coated abrasive patent

   3M developed an early coated abrasive product, helping establish its manufacturing and materials-science foundation.

   Source
10. 1902Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing is established

    The company was founded in Minnesota as a mining enterprise focused on corundum, an abrasive mineral.

    Source

A science-led, diversified technology brand positioned around practical innovation, dependable performance, and materials expertise across professional and consumer settings.

• ScotchAdhesive tapes and office supplies1930

  Scotch covers 3M's widely distributed consumer and professional tape products, including transparent office tape, masking tape, packaging solutions, mounting products, and specialized adhesive systems. The brand grew from 3M's early pressure-sensitive tape expertise and remains associated with everyday repair, labeling, packaging, crafting, painting, and office tasks.

• Post-itStationery and visual communication1980

  Post-it products use removable, repositionable adhesive technology for notes, reminders, brainstorming, indexing, teaching, planning, and visual collaboration. The line includes paper notes, flags, pads, dispensers, and related productivity formats. It has expanded from a simple office product into a recognizable creative and organizational platform.

• CommandRemovable home-organization products1996

  Command products are removable hooks, strips, clips, and related mounting systems designed to attach objects without conventional nails or screws. The brand applies 3M adhesive and materials technologies to household organization, decoration, seasonal displays, and light-duty mounting.

• NexcareConsumer healthcare

  Nexcare is a consumer healthcare brand covering adhesive bandages, wound-care products, athletic-support items, first-aid supplies, and related personal-care products. It extends 3M's medical-materials expertise into retail and household use.

• FiltreteAir-filtration products

  Filtrete provides residential air-filtration products, especially furnace and HVAC filters. The brand is built around engineered filter media intended to capture airborne particles and support household air-quality management.

• 3M personal protective equipmentIndustrial and workplace safety

  3M's safety portfolio includes disposable and reusable respirators, hearing protection, protective eyewear, head and face protection, fall protection, welding products, and related workplace-safety systems. These products are sold to industrial, construction, healthcare, emergency-response, and government customers.

• 2013Go Ahead, Make Something of It

  United States

  A Post-it campaign portrayed the notes as a medium for creativity and self-expression rather than only as reminder paper. Advertising showed unusual uses such as collaborative window displays and office-based Post-it art, supported by television, online, social, and brand-site activity.

  Outcome. The campaign broadened the product story from office utility toward creativity and community participation.

  Source

• 2024Spin off healthcare operations as SolventumStrategy

  3M determined that its healthcare activities and its remaining industrial and consumer businesses could pursue more focused strategies as separate companies.

  What changed. 3M completed the separation of its healthcare business into Solventum on April 1, 2024.

  Aftermath. 3M became more concentrated on industrial, safety, transportation, electronics, and consumer activities, while Solventum operated as an independent healthcare company.

  Source
• 2022Separate food-safety business and combine it with NeogenM&A

  3M pursued portfolio simplification by separating a food-safety operation from its remaining businesses.

  What changed. The food-safety business was placed into a subsidiary and combined with Neogen; participating 3M shareholders received Neogen shares through an exchange offer.

  Aftermath. The transaction removed the food-safety operation from 3M and created a standalone public-company combination with Neogen.

  Source
• 2019Acquire AcelityM&A

  3M sought to expand its healthcare portfolio, particularly in advanced wound care and surgical products.

  What changed. 3M agreed to acquire Acelity, including the KCI business, in a transaction valued at approximately $6.7 billion including debt.

  Aftermath. The transaction strengthened 3M's wound-care and healthcare offering, although the healthcare portfolio was later separated into Solventum.

  Transaction value including assumed debt. Approximately $6.7 billion (2019)

  Source

• 2023PFAS contamination and liability controversyControversy

  3M faced regulatory action and lawsuits concerning PFAS chemicals historically manufactured or used by the company and alleged contamination of water and the environment. The company announced an exit from PFAS manufacturing and use.

  Source
• 2018Combat Arms earplug litigationControversy

  Military service members alleged that 3M's Combat Arms earplugs did not provide the protection represented and contributed to hearing injuries. The litigation became one of the largest product-liability matters associated with the company.

  Source

• 20243M approves the spin-off of Solventum

  The board approved the separation of 3M's healthcare business into Solventum, with the distribution set for April 1, 2024.

  M&A
  Source
• 20223M completes separation of food-safety business

  3M completed the split-off of its food-safety business and its combination with Neogen.

  M&A
  Source
• 20193M agrees to acquire Acelity

  3M announced an agreement to acquire wound-care company Acelity, including the KCI business, in a transaction valued at approximately $6.7 billion including assumed debt.

  M&A
  Source
• 20133M launches the Go Ahead, Make Something of It Post-it campaign

  The campaign presented Post-it Notes as tools for creativity and self-expression, using examples of unusual consumer and community uses across television, digital media, social platforms, and the brand website.

  Campaign
  Source

1. 3M
2. 3M Board of Directors Approves Spin-off of Solventum
3. 3M Finalizes Separation of its Food Safety Business
4. 3M Says, Go Ahead, Make Something of It
5. 3M PFAS Stewardship
6. 3M Company Agrees to Resolve Combat Arms Earplug Allegations
7. Post-it Notes are introduced
8. Capital Safety acquisition
9. Acelity acquisition announced