3M

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3M, located in St. Paul, Minnesota, has since dropped its original name Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co. It sells its products worldwide with annual revenues of $22.9 billion - 2/3 of sales are outside the US. It makes products such as reflective materials for highway signs and license plates, circuits used in inkjet printers and cell phones, dental and medical supplies, safety products such as respirators, and industrial materials, tapes, and adhesives. More familiar products are Scotch tape, Post-it notes, and Scotch-Brite cleaning products. [1] [2]

Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council

3M has been a corporate funder of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).[3] See ALEC Corporations for more.

About ALEC
ALEC is a corporate bill mill. It is not just a lobby or a front group; it is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, corporations hand state legislators their wishlists to benefit their bottom line. Corporations fund almost all of ALEC's operations. They pay for a seat on ALEC task forces where corporate lobbyists and special interest reps vote with elected officials to approve “model” bills. Learn more at the Center for Media and Democracy's ALECexposed.org, and check out breaking news on our ExposedbyCMD.org site.

History

  • 3M was founded in 1902 in Minnesota, USA with the name Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co. It mined a mineral deposit for making grinding-wheel abrasives.
  • In the early 1920s waterproof sandpaper was developed.
  • In 1925 masking tape was invented.
  • In the 1970s and 1980s it expanded into pharmaceuticals, radiology and energy control.

[4]

Political contributions

3M gave $153,123 to federal candidates in the 05/06 election period through its political action committee - 21% to Democrats, 79% to Republicans. [5]

Board (2020)

Former Personnel (2007)

Selected executives:[7]

Selected board members:[8]

Contact details

3M Center
St. Paul, MN 55144
Phone: 651-733-1110
Fax: 651-733-9973
Web: http://www.mmm.com

Resources and articles

Related Sourcewatch articles

References

  1. Profile, Hoovers, accessed July 2007.
  2. 3M Businesses, 3M, accessed July 2007.
  3. Clearinghouse on Environmental Advocacy and Research, project of the Environmental Working Group, Information on American Legislative Exchange Council, archived organizational profile, archived by Wayback Machine December 2, 2000, accessed August 19, 2011
  4. History, 3M, accessed July 2007.
  5. 2006 PAC Summary Data, Open Secrets, accessed July 2007.
  6. 3M Board, organizational web page, accessed April 5, 2020.
  7. Corporate Officers, accessed July 2007.
  8. Directors, accessed July 2007.

External Articles