3M Promotional Markets Department

3M Co. tumbled the most in almost nine months after reporting lower-than-expected profit margins and sales because of lower demand for products used in LCD televisions.

3M fell $5.14, or 5.4 percent, to $89.93 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, the biggest decline since Oct. 28 and the sixth largest drop yesterda on the S&P 500 Index. Shares of the St. Paul, Minnesota-based company have gained 4.2 percent this year.

Profit margins were 21.6 percent, below an estimate of 22.1 percent from Shannon O'Callaghan, an analyst with Nomura Holdings. Sales excluding acquisitions and foreign-exchange gains rose 4 percent.

A big expansion means good news for the unemployed. One company is bringing hundreds of jobs to the QCA. Monday, 3M broke ground on a new facility at its Cordova site.

Plant managers said the expansion will take a lot of time, money and manpower. The new $$90 million site will manufacture chemicals like the popular Novec product.

"It's used for fire protection. Where you don't want to use water to extinguish a fire, you're protecting high value assets like in a dater center, control rooms, library or museums" 3M specialist Joe Koch said.

3M's Cubitron II abrasives technology platform has won the TechAmerica Foundation's American Technology Award in the manufacturing category at the Foundation's annual awards dinner.

The Foundation's awards—also known as "Termans" in honor of Frederick Terman, the late Stanford University engineering professor who is regarded as the father of Silicon Valley—are presented annually to signify American industry's best technological achievements.

A report aired Sunday night on 5 Eyewitness News in Minnesota, criticizing the state for spending money on promotional products. Watch the video and let us know what you think.

3M, parent company of 3M Promotional Markets, topped the annual Pioneer Press 100, a ranking of Minnesota's largest public companies, coming ahead of companies such as Target and General Mills.

Prom season is here, which means it is time to break out the tiaras, imprinted prom court sashes and themed decorations.

In conjunction with the 50th anniversary of Scotch Magic Tape, 3M is continuing the innovation by launching the first-of-its-kind Scotch Magic Eco-Friendly Tape.

3M, the Minnesota-based company best known for Scotch tape, said Tuesday that it will open a manufacturing plant in Nashville to produce a line of products for the health care and home care markets, hiring up to 40 people.

3M Co., parent of 3M Promotional Markets, is raising a four-year-old bet on rapid smartphone growth by expanding in touch-screen films, which are also used on tablet computers and e-book readers. 

Patrick Campbell's announce­ment that he will retire as CFO from 3M in May has set off new CEO succession scenarios. 3M chief William Buckley is 65 and his contract expires soon; the assumption was that the company was busy looking for his replacement.