3M

3M suspends business operations in Russia

MAPLEWOOD, Minn. – 3M is joining the growing list of multinational companies that have suspended business operations in Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. The Maplewood-based company has a corporate office in Moscow and two production plants in Russia. 3M’s announcement comes as companies across a variety of industries have suspended some or all of their Russian operations in recent…

Employee trapped, killed in workplace accident at 3M plant in Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA, Minn. – An investigation is underway into a fatal accident at the 3M plant in Alexandria, Minnesota. Authorities say a female employee got trapped in some machinery Tuesday during an overnight shift. The Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration is trying to determine how the worker became trapped. A statement from company officials at 3M’s headquarters in Maplewood said…

Post-it Notes inventor dies at age 80

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The inventor of the adhesive used on one of 3M’s best-known products, the Post-it Note, has died at his home in Minnesota. Spencer Silver died May 8 at age 80. According to 3M, Silver was working in a company lab in 1968 when he discovered an adhesive formula that allowed notes to be easily attached to…

Judge orders company to take 3M’s trademarks off N95 masks

MINNEAPOLIS – A federal judge has ordered a Florida company accused of selling counterfeit N95 face masks with 3M’s name on them to stop using the Minnesota company’s trademarks and representing itself as a distributor or authorized retailer for 3M. 3M sued Nationwide Source Inc. in late December. The complaint accused the company of selling more than 10,000 of the…

3M files 18 lawsuits over alleged unlawful N95 mask sales

MAPLEWOOD, Minn. (AP)–The leading manufacturer of N95 masks in the U.S. says it has investigated 4,000 reports of fraud, counterfeiting and price gouging in connection with the product and filed 18 lawsuits as a result. 3M, based in Maplewood, is among the largest global producers of the N95 mask, which has been approved by the U.S. National Institute for Occupational…

Trump Orders 3M to Meet FEMA’s Mask Needs

3M is on track to double global production of N95 masks to 2 billion a year in 12 months.

SAINT PAUL, Minn. (AP)–President Donald Trump has ordered Minnesota-based 3M to produce and sell as many medical-grade masks as the Federal Emergency Management Agency says it needs. Trump invoked the Defense Production Act in an effort to speed up the distribution of desperately needed hospital masks. 3M CEO Mike Roman said earlier this week that the company is working closely…

Vice President Pence Thanks 3M, Says U.S. Preparing for More Coronavirus Cases

3M makes millions of the masks every month.

MAPLEWOOD, Minn. (FOX 9)–Vice President Mike Pence toured the 3M Innovation Center on Thursday, thanking company executives for increasing production of face masks as he outlined plans to prepare the U.S. for more cases of the coronavirus. Pence projected confidence about the U.S. response to the virus, which has sickened more than 97,000 worldwide and has alarmed public health officials,…

3M to Cut 1,500 Jobs as Part of ‘Transformation Journey’

3M reported sales declined nearly two percent last year.

MAPLEWOOD, Minn.–Minnesota-based 3M is eliminating 1,500 jobs in what it says is the next step in its “transformation journey.” The company says it is restructuring as it moves to a new global operating model and streamlined organizational structure. 3M took a pre-tax restructuring charge of 134 million dollars in the fourth quarter of 2019. The company expects eliminating the positions…

3M Avoids Trial, Agrees to Settle with Minnesota For Nearly $1 Billion

The state was looking for $5 billion in damages in court

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — 3M has reached a settlement with Minnesota on the same day its trial was expected to start. 3M will provide a grant of $850 million to the state, with funds used to finance projects involving drinking water and water sustainability in the east metro area. This all stems from alleged contamination in Cottage Grove and Lake Elmo….

Minnesota Attorney General Decides To Run For Re-Election

Lori Swanson Had Considered A Run For Governor

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson says she plans to run for re-election as attorney general instead of running for governor. Swanson was widely expected to launch a bid for governor. But the three-term Democrat told supporters in an email that she is running instead for re-election. In her email, Swanson wrote that the work of her…