3M

Type: Public
Founded: Two Harbors, Minnesota, USA (1902)
Headquarters: Maplewood, Minnesota, USA
Key people: George W. Buckley, Chairman, President and CEO, Patrick D. Campbell, Senior VP/CFO
Industry: Conglomerate
Products: Adhesives, Abrasives, Pharmaceuticals
Website: 3M.com

General Information

3M Company (NYSE: MMM), formerly Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company until 2002, is an American corporation with a worldwide presence.

It produces over 55,000 products, including: adhesives, abrasives, laminates, passive fire protection, dental products, electrical materials, electronic circuits, optical films, and supply chain management software. 3M has operations in more than 60 countries – 29 international companies with manufacturing operations, and 35 with laboratories. 3M products are available for purchase through distributors and retailers in more than 200 countries, and many 3M products are available online directly from the company.

History

Starting out on the North Shore of Lake Superior at Two Harbors, Minnesota in 1902, the company moved to Duluth, Minnesota, and moved to its current headquarters in Maplewood (a St. Paul suburb) in 1906. The company began by mining stone from quarries for use in grinding wheels. Struggling with quality and marketing of its products, top management supported its workers to innovate and develop new products, which eventually would develop into its core business. Twelve years after being founded, 3M was able to develop its first exclusive product: 3M Three-M-ite cloth. Other innovations around this time by 3M included the waterproof sandpaper and the masking tape. After this point, the famous Scotch brand tape was born. By 1929 3M made its first moves in to an international expansion by forming 'Durex' in order to conduct business in Europe. This same year, the company’s stocks were first traded over the counter and in 1946 the stocks were listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The company is currently a component of the Dow Jones 30 Industrials stock index and a component of the S & P 500.