3M South Africa: Think globally, act locally

Our achievements are the foundation of a proud past and a bright future of many of innovations to come.

For the past 55 years, 3M South Africa has been a leading player in all the market segments that it has served, both in South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. To commemorate this anniversary and underscore its presence in the market, now and in the future, 3M will host its first Technology Expo in April 2008.

Thinking globally

The Expo serves as a showcase of all that 3M has to offer. Essentially a science-based company, with a culture of innovation at its core, 3M has taken its cues from its customers to provide ingenious solutions to their real-world problems. Therein lies the company's incredible success.

A global technology giant, 3M prides itself on its ability to align its technologies across all business areas to meet customers' needs. Where it sees an opportunity to add further value to its offerings or reinforce its position in the market, it diversifies and expands into adjacent markets through strategic acquisitions.

3M has made 23 such acquisitions during the past 15 months. The most significant of those include CUNO Incorporated, a global leader in the liquid filtration market; E Wood (Pty) Ltd, a corrosion protection manufacturer; and Aearo Technologies Inc, which gives 3M a strong presence not only in respiratory protection, but in hearing and visual protection too.

Backed by 3M's many years of global experience, 3M South Africa can use its position to replicate solutions that have proved invaluable in other parts of the world.

"However," says 3M South Africa Managing Director Patrick Rogiers, "The company increasingly drives towards localisation. It is critical for our success and has become our business model. A local presence is key to understanding our customers' needs and allows us to customise solutions and bring technology and market leadership to certain areas. As such, 3M is highly recognised across a broad spectrum of markets as a solution provider."

Acting locally

In making strides toward greater localisation, 3M has had to overhaul the way it does business. Moving away from manufacturing and supply, and enhancing marketing and sales, the company has outsourced most of its manufacturing units to BEE companies.

"Today, we source 35% of our sales from local manufacturers and continue to endorse and look out for the expansion of these types of activities. Driving transformation in South Africa is one of 3M's greatest achievements," says Rogiers.

As part of its dedication to transformation in the country, 3M South Africa has a formal CSI policy that focuses on investing in the upliftment of previously disadvantaged communities. Aligning its programmes with the Government's Reconstruction and Development Plan, the company strives to ease the burden of these communities through initiatives with charity and non-governmental organisations.

3M has also reached a final agreement with SETA and now offers five students the opportunity of gaining experiential learning in a programme that will be considered for replication and possibly even expansion.

"Our greatest achievement, however, has also been one of its greatest challenges," says Rogiers. "Transformation of the market place and its connection with the global company has required 3M South Africa to streamline its processes." To that end, it has adopted Six Sigma, a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects in any process, from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service.

"Six Sigma has transformed 3M South Africa. It has assisted us in improving our processes and enabled us to run projects across the entire company. Most importantly, it has added value to our offering to the client. We are now able to look at customers' processes and advise them on improvements which, in conjunction with our products or solutions, will increase their competitiveness."

Six Sigma also forms part of 3M's skills development plan. As the market, and indeed the country, continues to evolve, it is essential to nurture the leaders of the future. 3M does this through its various training and development programmes.

"My personal goal is to prepare a workforce that is able, capable, and has the right processes in place to address upcoming opportunities as well as challenges," says Rogiers.

Over the long period that 3M has been a part of the business and economic structure of South Africa, the company has remained an integral part of the local reality. It is within that context that Rogiers' personal goal must be seen: It is a goal that will place 3M in an even better position to further develop strategic partnerships that, in many ways, will benefit South African society as a whole. Global, yes, but very local.