3M factory water tower, ca. 2001. Water towers were a visible part of 3M’s large factory facilities. This water tower was located in Gorseinon, Wales, United Kingdom. Photograph by Wikimedia Commons user Nigel Davies.

3M’s Nexcare bandages, ca. 2001.

Thinsulate sample, 1987. The material, a moveable thermal layer, revolutionized the active outerwear industry.

3M employee at work in New Ulm, 1974. 3M had (and has, as of 2019) a factory in New Ulm that built electrical parts. Public domain.

3M headquarters in Maplewood, ca. 1960. Early in the 1960s, 3M moved their headquarters from St. Paul to nearby Maplewood, where they remain today.

3M’s Sasheen decorative ribbon, ca. 1960. The ribbon was created as a result of failed adhesive tape, and it helped expand the gift wrapping industry.

Thermo-Fax copying machine, 1958. The Thermo-Fax was the first photocopier marketed in the United States. While it has since been made obsolete by more advanced products, it had major impacts on office communication.

A mother and her daughter wrap gifts with Sasheen ribbon in this ca. 1955 advertisement for 3M.

St. Paul Abrasives plant, ca. 1955. Located on a large complex in St. Paul, the plant was one section of 3M’s global manufacturing headquarters.

St. Paul’s 3M plant after an explosion, 1951. On February 8 of that year, a break in a gas line caused an explosion at 3M’s facility in St. Paul, killing thirteen employees and damaging various departments and laboratories throughout the complex.