Although 3M’s most famous products are Scotch tape and Post-it Notes, the company has many other innovative new ideas. Some came by accident, as when lab workers invented Wetordry sandpaper, which is waterproof and dust-free.
The company focuses on producing innovative products that fill customer needs. As a result, it has a steady profit and dividend growth history.
Company Overview
As one of the largest industrial conglomerates in the world, 3M Company has a vast array of products and businesses. Its manufacturing operations, which include several plants in Minnesota and abroad, make products that are used in virtually every aspect of life, from medical treatment to car safety. The company has a history of heavy research and development into new technologies, and it is well known for the innovation of its products. The company’s diversified business model has helped it to become one of the country’s most successful companies.
The 3M company is a Fortune 500 corporation with employees in more than 200 countries worldwide. Its headquarters are located in St. Paul, Minnesota, near its extensive production plants. The company produces many consumer and professional products, and it has a reputation for innovation in its product line.
3M has a long tradition of producing innovative products, and many of its inventions occurred by accident. In 1923, a 3M salesman visited an auto paint shop and noticed that the process for painting cars in two tones did not work well. The salesman promised the painter that 3M would develop a tape to prevent the colors from running together, and the result was Scotch tape.
In the years that followed, 3M continued to produce innovative products for a wide variety of markets. Their inventions held automobile parts in place; gave dentists new filling materials; helped keep buildings clean; provided backup security for computers; and made insulated clothing less bulky. They also developed health care products and household cleaning items, including the Post-it Notes and Scotch-Brite scrubbing pads.
More recent innovations have included the manufacture of a high-strength overhead electrical conductor that is twice as strong as conventional lines but weighs only half as much. This new technology allows 3M to reduce the weight of its power transmission systems, which can help to lower energy costs.
3M has an excellent environmental policy and participates in numerous community development programs. The company also donates money, products and services to educational institutions. The 3M Foundation supports educational initiatives, such as MATHCOUNTS, and the company sponsors science programs on PBS.
Company History
With a workforce of more than 36,000 and annual sales of $15.1 billion, Minnesota-based company 3m usa ranks as one of the largest manufacturers in the United States. Its products, which run the gamut from Post-it Notes to transdermal patches of nitroglycerin, are sold in more than 200 countries and territories. 3M is widely considered a blue-chip company. Its stock is a member of the Dow Jones industrial average and it has a reputation for strong corporate governance.
The story of 3M begins in 1907 when William L. McKnight, a former farmhand, joined the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co. as an assistant bookkeeper and began laying the foundation for the company that would become 3M. Despite the economic setbacks of World War I, the company continued to grow by focusing on understanding its markets and developing new product lines that could meet changing customer needs.
In the decades that followed, 3M grew from a company producing sandpaper and spackling compound into a multibillion-dollar enterprise. During this period, the company diversified into pressure-sensitive tapes, sandpaper, microflex circuits, protective chemicals and reflective materials. 3M also entered the health care market in the 1950s with a special adhesive for surgical drapes and continued to develop products for dental, medical and pharmaceutical applications. In the entertainment industry, 3M produced magnetic tapes that allowed music and television shows to be pre-recorded rather than live. The company even developed the backdrops that were used in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, which won an Academy Award.
A decline in both earnings and revenues in 1998 prompted a major restructuring of the company, including a workforce reduction that ended in 1999, closing of some plants and jettisoning of several underperforming product lines. By 1999, the company had reorganized into three main sectors: Consumer and Office; Display and Graphics; and Transportation, Safety and Chemicals.
3M’s corporate structure reflects the broad range of products that are now in its arsenal. The divisions are divided into a number of operating groups, each overseeing a specific group of product areas such as the Electronic Market Center, which handles marketing for all 18 of the company’s electronics-related divisions. Each of these operating groups is structured to serve different branches of the company’s customer base. The goal is to simplify the way that the company serves customers, reducing the amount of time and effort that is required for each product line.
Company Products
Although 3M is best known for its consumer products, such as Post-it Notes and Scotch Tape, the company is also a leader in product development. Its innovations have revolutionized the entertainment and office supply industries. In addition, the company has pioneered a variety of environmental technologies that cut air pollution. These efforts have earned the company a spot on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, which measures a company’s performance in areas such as environment, social and governance.
The company’s product lines include safety and industrial, transportation and electronics, health care and consumer. Its safety and industrial products include metalworking abrasives, autobody repair solutions, closure and masking systems, electrical products and materials, roofing granules and more. Transportation and electronic products include adhesives, films, light management and electronics assembly, packaging and interconnection. The health care segment includes healthcare software and medical and surgical supplies. The consumer segment consists of retail abrasives, paint accessories and other items.
3M’s corporate culture encourages risk-taking and rewards those who can create new products. In fact, some of the company’s most successful inventions came about by accident. For example, a lab technician named Patsy Sherman invented Post-it Notes after she dropped a beaker of rubber particles on her shoes and found that the sticky substance stuck to her shoe.
Another innovative product developed by the company was fluorochemical rubber, a material that resists corrosion and stains. This product was used in the construction of highly reflective highway signs and lap-top computer screens. Other breakthroughs in technology include micro replication, which involves covering surfaces with millions of perfectly made miniature shapes such as cubes and pyramids. This process is used in many products such as the coating on automobile reflectors and some abrasives.
In 1999, 3M began a major restructuring to increase its focus on high growth markets. The company separated into six business units, and its research and development operations were reorganized. This effort was designed to make the company more responsive to customers and change its image as a slightly ossified manufacturer.
In 2000, the company introduced a new name and logo, reflecting its emphasis on innovation. The company’s brand name is now “Solving Momentum,” with the “Solving” referring to the company’s dedication to finding breakthrough solutions and the “Momentum” indicating a swifter, nimbler approach to innovation.
Company Management
The company’s unusual corporate culture comfortably fosters innovation and interdepartmental cooperation. The result is an astounding array of products that address many human needs, including pressure-sensitive tapes, sandpaper, microflex circuits and reflective materials. Its huge research and development budget typically exceeds $1 billion annually, and the company ranks as a leader in — or in some cases, a founder of — several important technologies.
In addition to the company’s long-standing environmental policy, 3M has invested in educational initiatives through its Foundation and Corporate Contributions program. It sponsors science programs on PBS and provides employees with the opportunity to take part in community development projects such as Meals-On-Wheels and Habitat for Humanity.
It also invests heavily in technology, with a focus on high-growth markets and in the areas of healthcare, electronics and transportation. Its transportation business is the largest of its seven major businesses, generating more than 40 percent of revenue in 2008.
A variety of factors can affect 3M’s future performance and results. For example, its acquisitions and divestitures or strategic alliances may not be completed or successful, and the company’s business could be harmed by competition, regulatory actions or legal proceedings. The company’s future results might also be affected by its ability to maintain current financial levels, or its ability to access debt and equity capital.
Company 3m usa has a unique culture that drives continuous improvement. This culture is the result of the efforts of a diverse group of employees with different backgrounds, skills and perspectives working together to develop innovative solutions. The company’s mission is to create and deliver technologies that improve people’s lives and the world around them. Its products are used by consumers, businesses and organizations across a wide range of industries. The company also works closely with its customers to help them solve problems and achieve success.
In the early 1980s, price cuts and other competitive challenges threatened the company’s growth. At that time, Lewis Lehr became president of 3M, and he began to overhaul the company’s structure. He reorganized the company from six divisions into four, with the goal of having 25 percent of each division’s earnings come from products that did not exist five years before.
