HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016 03-12 3M’s ‘Building 280’: Huge for research PIONEER PRESS 3/14/2016 Main
3M's `Building 280': Huge for research
> 3M facility
Company's new $150 million, 470,000-square-foot facility built for R&D
By Bob Shaw
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It's tough to say where the soul of a company resides.
But 3M's new $150 million research facility is probably the one place that best embodies the spirit of the
company.
Housing 700 scientists in a 470,000-square-foot building, it's a modern temple of scientific advancement.
"This is like eight football fields of science," gushed U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., speaking to
about 200 VIPs and reporters attending open-house ceremonies at 3M's campus Friday in Maplewood.
The building is critical to the future of a company that holds 106,000 patents and wants to add many
more. "This will attract the best brains in the world," said 3M CEO Inge Thulin. It will have the largest
concentration of 3M scientists anywhere in the world.
The building has taken two years to build on the western edge of the 3M complex.
With the decidedly uninspirational name "Building 280," the
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four-story structure is a kind of showplace for 3M construction materials.
About 100 company products were used in the construction, from the adhesives holding the windows in
place, to the flooring, to the LED fixtures as big as hot-tubs hanging from the lobby ceiling. In this way,
the building itself is a 3M product.
The offices and laboratories are in open areas to facilitate collaboration and the exchanges between
people that can lead to breakthrough ideas.
"This is what we do so well," said Chief Technology Officer Ashish Khandpur, after a demonstration of
a new system to prevent falls on construction sites. "We are about applying science and technology to
solve the problems of customers."
Political leaders gathered to rave about the building and the company.
"It is impossible to overstate the importance of 3M to Minnesota," said Gov. Mark Dayton. "3M presents
the very best face of Minnesota every day, all over the world."
One speaker applauded 3M's tradition of forming a Christmas tree with office lights in its headquarters
along Interstate 94.
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To that, CEO Thulin replied: "If you think `Wow!' when you see the Christmas tree, I think `WOW!"
in a louder voice "when I see this building."
Building 280 is one sign of 3M's commitment to research and development, according to Thulin. He has
vowed to raise the percentage of the company's budget allotted for research and development. In 2011, it
was 5.3 percent, and Thulin said Friday he is now approaching his goal of 6 percent.
"Research and development is the heartbeat of 3M," said Thulin.
3M had $30 billion in sales last year 40 percent of that in the U.S. It employs almost 90,000 people
worldwide.
Thulin used the gathering to make a separate announcement: 3M and the Swedish organization that
annually awards the Nobel Prizes will be collaborating 3M will be sponsoring events with that
organization around the world, said Thulin. One event will be a seminar in Dubai March 20-21 featuring
three Nobel laureates.
Thulin would not say how much 3M will be spending on the collaboration.
The arrangement will allow 3M scientists to meet Nobel Prize winners, said 3M official Khandpur.
"For our scientists," he said, "this would be a great inspiration."
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3M's Building 280, a new $150 million research facility on the western edge of the company's
Maplewood campus, will house 700 scientists. IMAGE COURTESY 3M CO.
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