3M 2009 Annual Report Download - page 5

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 5 of the 2009 3M annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 132

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • 84
  • 85
  • 86
  • 87
  • 88
  • 89
  • 90
  • 91
  • 92
  • 93
  • 94
  • 95
  • 96
  • 97
  • 98
  • 99
  • 100
  • 101
  • 102
  • 103
  • 104
  • 105
  • 106
  • 107
  • 108
  • 109
  • 110
  • 111
  • 112
  • 113
  • 114
  • 115
  • 116
  • 117
  • 118
  • 119
  • 120
  • 121
  • 122
  • 123
  • 124
  • 125
  • 126
  • 127
  • 128
  • 129
  • 130
  • 131
  • 132

Innovating Toward Faster Growth 3
paid off. And when demand outstripped capacity in the
middle of the crisis, we responded superbly and quickly
with new capacity. With our new line of ultra low-cost
respirators about to hit the market, I’m glad we did it.
We’re going to need that capacity even though H1N1-
related demand will probably fall off.
There’s a similar story in Optical Systems, driven by new
products for eco-friendly LCD displays. Again, despite
some terrible pressure from the commoditization of
our optical business a couple of years ago, our people
created new marketing ideas based on energy saving
and battery life extension and the products to go along
with them. We stuck to our proven recipe of developing
new products, reducing manufacturing costs and
working closely with customers on the value proposition
we had developed, and it paid off. Great results were
certainly not an accident!
We are taking similar approaches in new-generation
abrasives, adhesive labels, renewable energy, adhesives,
superhydrophilic coatings to repel dirt and smudging,
and many others. We recently announced an agreement
to acquire the A-One office and consumer label business
in Japan to underscore our commitment to the new label
initiatives. We look forward to similar successes as these
new products and their derivatives come on stream.
In a company jampacked with so much that’s positive,
it’s perhaps an oversimplification to pick out one or two
areas for special emphasis. But I’m going to do that.
In the midst of so many good things going on, I am
especially pleased with the range of new technologies,
processes and products which 3M is producing. Some
of them are breathtaking. And I’m also pleased to see
the enthusiastic engagement of our subsidiaries outside
the United States in the mission of growth. These
things, among others, continue to differentiate us from
our competition and are important building blocks for a
bright future.
We shall most certainly be doing our best to make 2010
a year in which the previous work and investments
pay off for everyone in this quite wonderful and unique
company. I thank our employees everywhere for their
extraordinary efforts during these challenging times,
and I thank all our investors for their continued
confidence in 3M.
George W. Buckley
Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer
February 16, 2010