3M Company

In the 1950s the Filmsort Company of Pearl River, N. Y., was a division of Miehle-Goss-Dexter, Inc., engaged in the production and sales of microfilm equipment and supplies, especially in the area of microfilm aperture cards. Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing purchased Filmsort on November 1, 1959, and moved its headquarters to St. Paul, Minnesota. The Filmsort executive and management staff was retained and established as a self-contained unit in the 3M Duplicating Products Division.

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company (3M) was founded in 1902 at the Lake Superior town of Two Harbors, Minnesota. Five businessmen agreed to mine a mineral deposit for grinding-wheel abrasives. But the deposits proved to be of little value, and the new company quickly moved to nearby Duluth to focus on sandpaper products. The world's first waterproof sandpaper was developed in the early 1920s, and another major milestone occurred in 1925 when masking tape was invented. Although 3M had been focused on industrial products from the start, masking tape led to the development of a long line of consumer adhesive tape products. It also marked a first innovative step toward product diversification and set the stage for 3M's movement into the consumer market. Scotch cellophane tape was invented 1930 and became the company's most successful consumer product.

The company continued with its development of industrial product lines. Adhesives of all kinds were further introduced and refined. The roofing granules business was launched in response to a need to make asphalt shingles last longer. In the early 1940s, 3M was diverted into defense materials for World War II, which was followed by new ventures, such as Scotchlite reflective sheeting for highway markings, and the start of 3M's involvement in the graphic arts with offset printing plates. Magnetic sound recording tape was developed spurred by singer Bing Crosby's interest and promotion.

In the 1950s, 3M introduced the Thermo-Fax copying process, Scotchgard fabric protector, videotape, Scotch-Brite cleaning pads and several new electro-mechanical products. The decade also saw the entry into the consumer market of the very successful Sasheen ribbon and gift wrap lines. The decorative ribbons had been developed from the innovative non-woven fibers process, which also led to many other successful products including surgical masks and drapes. In the 1960s dry-silver microfilm was introduced, photographic products, overhead projection systems and a rapidly growing health care business of medical and dental products. Markets further expanded in the 1970s and 1980s into pharmaceuticals, radiology, energy control and the office market. In 1980, one of 3M's best-known products was invented, the Post-it note removable adhesive notepads.