History

Starting out on the North Shore of Lake Superior at Two Harbors, Minnesota in 1902, the company moved to Duluth, Minnesota, and finally moved to its current headquarters in Maplewood (a St. Paul suburb) in 1910.

Founding

The five men who incorporated 3M on the North Shore of Lake Superior at Two Harbors, Minnesota in 1902, did so hoping to sell a valuable mineral corundum. Manufacturers in the East used corundum for the grinding wheels they needed to finish their products. After selling only one load, on 13 June 1902 the five men walked into the Two Harbors office of company secretary John Dwan - now part of the 3M Museum. They signed the papers making Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing a corporation. But Dwan and his associates weren't selling what they thought they were selling: the mineral was anorthosite, and it was worthless ^[1]

After failing to make sandpaper with the anorthosit, they decided to import minerals like Spanish garnet, and sandpaper sales grew strong. Then in 1914, customers started to complain that the garnet was falling off the paper. They found the stones, had travelled across the rough Atlantic Ocean with olive oil, and the oil had penetrated the stone. Unable to take the loss of selling expensive inventory, the company found that if the garnet was washed and then dried, the olive oil would come out.

The company's early misadventures taught 3M employees an important lesson:

Ingenuity and perseverance can overcome even potentially ruinous mistakes

In 1916, company general manager William L. McKnight applied the same measured scientific methods to production that he had used to save the company from bankruptcy, and bought the company's first lab for $500. From then on, science would be 3M's guide.

The Expansion

The company's early innovations include waterproof sandpaper (early 1920s) and masking tape (1925), as well as cellophane "Scotch tape" and sound deadening materials for metal-frame cars in the years that followed. 3M's corporate image is built on its innovative and unique products; up to 25% of sales is devoted to newly introduced products.

During the early 1940s, the 3M worked primarily on defense materials, and this led to the release of several new products, such as reflective sheeting, magnetic sound recording tape, and offset printing plates. Scotchguard Fabric Protector and videotape were released in the 1950s, and the 1960s brought photographic and health care products. And in 1980, the company introduced Post-it notes.

During the 1970s, 3M introduced its first and only traffic signal, the M-131. Labeled a "programmable visibility" signal, the signal had the unique ability to be 'programmed' so it could only be seen from certain angles. It was the first signal of its type and is still being produced today. 3M was able to sell these signals for special-use applications; usually left turn signals, skewed intersections, or dangerous intersections where a very bright indication is needed. The signals are very heavy however and expensive to maintain. Removal is quite frequent in some areas of the country.

3M was involved in some of the first digital audio recordings of the late 1970s to see commercial release when a prototype machine was brought to the Sound 80 studios in neighboring Minneapolis. In 1996, the company's data storage and imaging divisions were spun off as Imation Corporation; Imation has since sold its imaging and photographic film businesses to concentrate on storage.

Today, 3M is one of the 30 companies included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (added on August 9, 1976), and is ranked number 105 on the 2004 Fortune 500 listing. The company has 132 plants and over 67,000 employees around the world, with sales offices in more than 200 countries. The vast majority of the company's employees are local nationals – that is, very few employees reside outside their home country. Its worldwide sales amount to over $20 billion, with its international sales reaching 58% of that total.

On 20 December 2005, 3M announced a major partnership with Roush Racing, one of NASCAR's premier organizations. In 2006, the company will sponsor Todd Kluever in the NASCAR Busch Series as he drives the #06 Ford Fusion. 3M will also be an associate sponsor of Mark Martin's #6 Ford in the Nextel Cup Series. In addition, on 19 February, 2006, 3M announced that it would become the title sponsor of the 3M Performance 400 at Michigan International Speedway for at least the next three years.

On 4 April 2006, 3M announced the will to sell pharmaceutical non-core business. Another division of the Health Care business, Drug Delivery Systems will remain under the control of 3M. The Drug Delivery System division contract manufactures inhalants and transdermal drug delivery systems.^[2]