3M 2008 Annual Report Download - page 5

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Steadfast Amid Uncertainty 3
the bottom—Filtrete™ brand filters are an example—
growth has also been facilitated at the top of the market.
Innovation has been the driving force behind our course
of action over the past three years to strengthen 3M’s
core. This has helped us enormously and will continue
to do so. Every one of our six businesses has expanded
its product offerings either through reinvention or
through acquisition. (Acquisitions bring speed as well
as capability.) We have consciously created products to
better serve the entire range of the market, from lower
cost to premier products. This strategy has resulted in
3M gaining market share in almost all of our markets,
but most notably in Safety, Security and Protection
Services; Consumer and Office; and Industrial and
Transportation.
I am confident that 3M will emerge much stronger from
these challenging times and that we will be successful.
In addition to having a strong culture of innovation, our
confidence derives from several elements unique to
3M: the breadth of our portfolio, and our unequalled
international strength. Clearly, 3M’s diversity continues
to provide us some insulation against economic cycles.
Our diversity may not shield us as effectively as it has
in the past because, today, the world’s economies are
more or less synchronized in a downward contraction
owing to the worldwide banking crisis. Nevertheless, it is
reassuring to have businesses such as Health Care and
Safety, Security and Protection Services in our arsenal.
Over the next economic cycle, markets will recover and
will drift out of phase and the full power of 3M’s diversity
will be evident once again.
3M’s international sales now approach 64 percent of
our total revenue. We have increased investments in
geographies with great potential. In addition, the quality
of our international team is second to none. In fact, at
our top leadership level, more than 65 percent have
extended hands-on international experience.
Overall, I remain optimistic about our prospects for
sustained success. We significantly strengthened our
company strategically in 2008 and we intend to continue
in that direction in 2009 and well beyond. We will do
so by planning conservatively, acting decisively and
innovating aggressively, and then by leveraging our
innovations in every corner of the world. In challenging
times like these, you can be assured that we will
continue to conduct business everywhere in the
upright and honest manner for which 3M is well and
rightly known.
Thank you for your interest and for your confidence
in 3M.
George W. Buckley
Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer
February 10, 2009