Did You Know…?
Little known facts from our industry

3M was founded in 1902 at the Lake Superior town of Two Harbors, Minn. Five businessmen set out to mine a mineral deposit for grinding-wheel abrasives. But the deposits proved to be of little value, and the new Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co. quickly moved to nearby Duluth to focus on sandpaper products.

Years of struggle ensued until the company could master quality production and a supply chain. New investors were attracted to 3M, such as Lucius Ordway, who moved the company to St. Paul in 1910. Early technical and marketing innovations began to produce successes and, in 1916, the company paid its first dividend of 6 cents a share. The world's first waterproof sandpaper, which reduced airborne dusts during automobile manufacturing, was developed in the early 1920s. A second major milestone occurred in 1925 when Richard G. Drew, a young lab assistant, invented masking tape – an innovative step toward diversification and the first of many Scotch® Pressure-Sensitive Tapes. In the following years, technical progress resulted in Scotch® Cellophane Tape for box sealing and soon hundreds of practical uses were discovered.