Since the Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Co, 3M announced the demise of its Scotch audio and video tape business, of the re- record not fade away fame, in November 1995 (CI No 2,794), the company has been looking for alternative markets. It seems the recording business is not what it was. Scotch has been the brand leader for the past 11 years, but after cutting overheads to a minimum, 3M realises the area is just not going to make a profit, so is getting out while it can. So much for life-long guarentees. By the end of this year the division will have spooled its last reel. With the 1990 Euroean Community directive governing work with display equipment coming in to effect at the end of this year, 3M is keen to make headway in the self-styled ergonomic market. Having dabbled in the area for a few years it now intends to make it a central part of its business. By the year 2000 the company estimates the number of Europeans using computers will have quadrupled. It may be a late starter in the world of ergonomics, but it reckons there will be an ever increasing need for the likes of wrist rests and user-friendly display screens. With legislation in place, employers will be encouraged to consider the physical, psycho-social, emotional and environmental factors relating to the workplace. By this time next year it will be well within any European computer user’s rights to demand a foot or wrist rest at the workstation. Research undertaken by 3M of 1,000 of its own staff suggest huge possible savings. It estimates up to a 90% reduction in short or lost working days through worker strains and stress. In the US, cumulative trauma disorders are the fastest growing category of occupational illness. 3M is offering a high-tech wrist rest to bring Baywatch silicon style comfort to our homes and offices. Instead of placing standard rubber mats under wrists when typing, 3M has used gel based on technology developed by the 3M Health Care department. The gel is already being used to manufacture wheelchairs and hospital beds to avoid bed sores. Admittedly, a sore backside may not be the most common of ailments around the average office, but marketing manager Ian Farthing said it would help make disorders such as repetitive strain injury a thing of the past. The keyboard wrist rest will retail at around 30% above standard rests cuurently on the market, for about #35.00. New name for spin-off company Alongside the wrist device will be adjustable document holders that attach directly to a personal computer. Optional privacy filters mean unless you sit directly in front of the screen it is impossible to see anything more than a black facade. Foot rests complete 3M’s current offering in its ergonomic and organisational product range, but Farthing promises more shortly. Meanwhile back in Minnesota, talks are under way to decide the new name of the Data Storage & Imaging arm. Its spin-off to shareholders was announced last November (CI No 2,794). Bill Moynahan, formerly based at Italy’s 3M operation will head the new firm, to begin trading in July. Marketing and communications manager Lance Quantrill said the spin-off is the result of the unit’s success. Freed from 3M, the firm will be able to make its own decisions independent of other interests. Further announcements will be made in April, but Quantrill said, when the operation’s up and running in the summer, I would not like to be one of our competitors.
