3M Proves to Engineers It’s More Than Just Post-It-Notes

It's happening at 3M's booth on the showroom floor, where a worker outfitted in safety glasses and working behind a screen is grinding a piece of metal for onlookers.

First, he does it with a conventional disc — a chore that takes about 45 seconds. But when he switches to 3M's Cubitron II grinding wheel, the time is slashed in half.

The demonstration, along with dozens of others at the 3M's so-called "Innovation Lab," is meant to show off the St. Paul, Minn.-based firm's technology for oil and gas workers who may be more familiar with the company's Post-Its than its cement additives and safety harnesses.

"We're really focusing our technology efforts on the oil and gas industry," said Jeff Lavers, vice president for 3M's oil and gas division. Although the company counts more than 10,000 products used at all points in the oil and gas industry, Lavers readily acknowledges that 3M doesn't have a high profile in the sector.

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That's one of the main reasons 3M is at OTC. "We want people to really understand who we are," Lavers said.

Visitors to 3M's Innovation Lab can try dozens of experiments and test the company's products: trying to wrench apart industrial-strength foam tape, yanking on safety harnesses, dropping "floating cement" into vials of water.

"We're trying to illustrate the technologies and how they are used," Lavers said. "Since there are a lot of engineers here at the show, (we want to) let them get their hands on it, since engineers love to feel things and touch things — then have them experience through their eyes, as opposed to us just trying to show them or tell them.

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