3M Charts Strong Growth Forecast for Consumer Business in Middle East

October 2012

Middle East’s consumer business comprises 14 percent of global portfolio

The consumer business division of 3M in the Middle East has presented strong growth forecast for the unit in 2013 during the recent visit of Michael Vale, Executive Vice President, Consumer business to Dubai.

“The Middle East is one of the fastest growing regions for 3M consumer business globally which registered sales of 4.3 billion USD in 2011. The rapid innovation of our products that has kept pace with the evolving needs of our consumers, sustained increase in consumption and our diversified product offering in the Middle East will contribute to a robust growth of 20 percent for consumer business in 2013”, said Michael Vale.

During his maiden visit to Dubai, Michael laid strong emphasis on raising brand awareness about 3M’s consumer business portfolio and highlight the technological innovations that are at the core of the solutions. Supplying an array of innovative products that keep homes cleaner, offices organized and buildings well-maintained, 3M’s consumer business is home to some of the world’s best-known brands, including Post-it®, Scotch®, Scotch-Brite®, Filtrete™, Nexcare™, and Command™.

Research and development has also been identified as a key component of future growth plans for 3M consumer business in the Middle East and a targeted five year investment strategy has been outlined to support the growth of business in the region. Product acquisitions for the consumer business will also be a key component of the growth strategy as 3M will continue to evaluate the inclusion of popular local consumer brands to its product portfolio.

Michael’s visit to Dubai comes soon after 3M’s recent announcement for realigning its major business groups to better serve global markets and customers. The new structure will be comprised of five business groups: Consumer (2011 sales of $4.2 billion), Industrial ($9.6 billion), Health Care ($5.0 billion) and two newly formed business groups: Safety & Graphics ($5.5 billion), and Electronics & Energy ($5.7 billion). Previously, the company operated six major business segments.