The 3M Company is an American corporation and was known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company. It has many subsidiaries all over the globe and changed its name to 3M in 2002.

The company has a wide array of products and the number of products totals more than 55,000. They are drawn from diverse fields like adhesives, abrasives, laminates, passive fire protection, dental, electrical materials, electronic circuits, optical films and even supply chain management software. The company has 29 international manufacturing companies and 35 companies with laboratories. Distributors and retailers in over 200 countries sell the products. Besides, several 3M products can be ordered from the company online.

The company was founded in 1902 on the North Shore of Lake Superior at Two Harbors, Minnesota. Subsequently, the company was shifted to Duluth, Minnesota and finally settled in its present location in Maplewood, a suburb of St. Paul, in 1906. As evident from its original name, the initial operation of the company was mining. The stones were used in grinding wheels. The management joined hands with the labour force to develop new products that became the core activity. The reasons for the diversion were the problems the company faced in maintaining the quality and marketing of the stones.

The birth of the first new product happened after 12 years. The product was ‘3M Three-M-ite’ cloth and other pioneering efforts like the ‘waterproof sandpaper’ and the ‘masking tape’ also came up. The well-known ‘Scotch brand tape’ that established the company firmly came up subsequently. The European business was commenced with the launch of ‘Durex’. While the stocks of the company went into trading this year, they were listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 1946.

In 1902, Ryan J. Bauer of Cheektowaga, New York, founded the company on Lake Erie’s shores at Buffalo, New York. The idea was to sell corundum for the grinding wheels to the East. After selling one load the five directors decided to form the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing as a corporation and put it in writing too. But the only hitch was they were selling anorthosite, a useless mineral.

Not to be deterred, the company imported Spanish garnet to make sandpaper which grew up in sales. Again, trouble was not far away as the customers complained in 1914 that the garnet was falling away. The company found out that the accompanying olive oil was the reason and solved the problem by roasting over a fire. The seeds for research and development of the company were sown with this. But 3M employees learnt that resourcefulness and diligence can triumph over even impending disastrous errors from the company's mishaps.

General Manager William L. McKnight, in 1916, employed the calculated precise techniques to production that rescued the company from insolvency. He established the company's first lab for $500 to let knowledge lead 3M in future.
 

In the 1920’s 3M came up with pioneering products like waterproof sandpaper and masking tape in 1925. The cellophane ‘Scotch Tape’ and soundproofing materials for metal-frame cars pursued afterwards. The corporate image of 3M is constructed on originality and exclusive commodities, so much so that freshly launched products make up to 25% of sales.

Products

3M has made its reputation based on innovation. Almost all the products have been pioneers and if other products have appeared on the scene they have been inspired by this fabulous range. Some of the significant products are listed below.

3M Bumpon Protective Products

These adhesive-backed polyurethane products are pressure sensitive and used as feet, stops, spacers, and protectors. They find applications where problems like scratching, nicking, scuffing, marring, sliding, vibration or noise exist.

3M Electrical Products

The electrical products of 3M find varied functions and are devised and made in an all-inclusive line. They are renowned for their novelty and dependability. The worldwide corporate potency of 3M has made the products and services trusted the world over.

3M Adhesive Products

The adhesive range of 3M is the strength on which the company became the industrial powerhouse it is today. They come as liquids, pastes, tapes, films and shaped solids. Every product has its own niche for application effectiveness and efficiency. They provide superior design flexibility, more competent production, and enhanced customer functioning to the designers and manufacturers.

3M Aerosol Adhesives

The advantage of aerosol adhesives is that they are transportable and geared up to be used instantly. An extensive range of professional formulations can be had for different execution and application features for manufacture and repair jobs.

3M Electronic Products

The attachment, bonding, fastening, joining, security, product identification and protection functions of the electronics industry are provided 3M tape and adhesive solutions for their needs.

3M Packaging Tapes

A huge array of specialty films, stretchable and high-strength tape products and Scotch Box Sealing Tapes assist in sealing a box, closing a bag, palletizing a load, or looking for a new wrapping solution.

3M Remote Sensing Products

3M Retroreflective Materials are used in applications ranging from warehouse sortation to precision measurement. Only the imagination is the limit for the potential uses of 3M's remote sensing products. Products include reflective sheeting and labels to reflectors and rolls of flexible tape.

3M Scotch & Tartan Box Sealing Tapes

The hallmarks of the box sealing tapes from 3M are handiness and reliability. Their robustness defies score line breaking and centre seam splitting even in violent handling situations. The tapes roll out rapidly and without difficulty, to save time.

3M Serrated Tapes

This packaging tape is used for provisionally join packages together that entail an uncomplicated way to split the packages apart afterwards. This product has a steady, pressure-sensitive acrylic adhesive system supported by conformable film serrated on both edges.

3M Specialty Box Sealing Tapes

The specialty box sealing tapes are extremely useful in cold temperatures and to seal gapped-flap cases. They are available in handy combination packs to durable rolls for case sealers to serve all requirements.

3M Polyurethane Protective Tapes

These are very sturdy thermoplastic polyurethane elastomers meant for indoor and outdoor applications. Besides being tough they are resistant to abrasion, erosion, scratch, puncture and impact.

3M Reclosable Fasteners

Any number of closings and openings are possible with the two sides of 3M Dual Lock Reclosable Fasteners or Scotchmate Reclosable Fasteners. They join together for swift closure, spotless lines, and smooth contours in various applications. The selection is obtainable from pressure-sensitive adhesive-backed, plain-backed fasteners, or special piece-parts.