By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News
3M — the 112-year-old innovation company that never stops inventing from Post It notes and Scotch Guard to cell phone parts, fiber optics and touch screen hardware — came to Four Points when little else was here.
Now three decades and nearly 900 employees later, Four Points is home to 3M’s global headquarters of the 3M Electronics and Energy Business Group. The group that last week posted $1.5 billion in sales in the third quarter.
The local operations are the only one of 3M’s five business groups headquartered outside of St. Paul. Last year, the local group generated more than $5.4 billion in global sales.
The third quarter report released on Oct. 23 stated that electronics-related sales increased 8 percent year-on-year, with strong growth in display materials and systems and in electronics materials solutions.
A few months ago, local inventors at the 6801 River Place Blvd. campus, helped the Fortune 500 company reach a milestone when it surpassed 100,000 patents.

Jane Kovacs and Matt Fagan of 3M interact with a Platform 46 Table, featuring a 3M multi-touch display in the local 3M Innovation Center. The tabletop touch screen supports up to 60 simultaneous touch points, meaning six people use both hands to work on the screen together.
Products
“In developed countries, any person at any given time is within 100 feet of a 3M product,” said Matthew Fagan, manager at 3M Electronics and Energy Business communications services.