Visit to 3M

16 Nov

This is probably one of the popular companies that we come into contact with in our daily lives. However, I was actually stunned when a question of the company’s full name was being asked. Therefore, there is still a lot of information on the company that we do not actually know. After some research, I found that 3M was known as Minnesota mining and manufacturing company in the past.

  Besides that, I used to think that 3M only produces post it notes and a few other products such as hooks and car wash items. However, to my surprise, when I was on the visit to the factory, I was indeed shocked at the number of products they produce. 55000 is the number. Through the visit, we also learnt about the company’s operations and the process whereby how they produce their products. Perhaps, some chemistry was being used along the way when they developed the products.

  One of the facilities that I was amazed by during my visit to 3M is the clean room. According to the operations manager, the number of dust particles in the clean room is 1000 per metre cube. That is amazingly clean. Also, to ensure that the products are not damaged by the UV light rays, the company has a special lighting which is of orange colour to ensure that no UV light rays are present in the room.

  The operations of 3M worldwide were very organized where there were several areas specialized in research and development while others are responsible for the manufacturing work. The place where I enjoyed the most is the plant tour where we were able to see the products that 3M made over the past few decades, and especially some products that we did not think of before such as library systems, plasters, polarizing light. The three hours spent on the manufacturing plant visit were worthwhile as I am able to learn several new skills, get exposed to new areas in the industry.