3M Co. announced Wednesday that it will move the headquarters of its LCD-filmmaking optical systems business to Asia immediately to foster the company's "overall strategy to accelerate growth by moving closer to customers."
The move marks 3M's first division headquarters move outside the United States, but it solidifies an idea that CFO Patrick Campbell spoke about in October: 3M needs to move into lower-tax areas and closer to its customers and suppliers in an effort to save as much as $1 billion in freight, time, worker and logistical costs.
In a prepared statement, 3M officials said that "in this fast-paced industry, headquartering the business in Asia will further improve customer intimacy and response rates."
Optical systems division head Andy Wong is retiring after 34 years with 3M. He will be succeeded by automobile division head Jim Bauman, who will move to Hong Kong and assume the role of vice president and general manager for 3M optical systems division. He is the only U.S. employee making the move to Asia, where 3M has extensive operations, company spokeswoman Donna Fleming Runyon said. Moving the top optical job to Asia is expected to speed up critical decision-making and enhance customer contact, she said. Beyond that, it is not known what, if any, changes will take place. Bauman "was only named today [Wednesday]. And over the coming weeks, we will learn a lot more about what the priorities willl be," Runyon said.
3M's remaining optical manufacturing and lab operations will remain in North America, she said. The unit, with labs or manufacturing in Maplewood, Ohio and Alabama, has already undergone several changes.
In December, 3M announced that it would cut 141 jobs from its display and graphics unit in Maplewood and in Cincinnati in an effort to reduce expenses, because it was forced to cut prices on LCD films that are used to brighten cell phones, laptops and TVs . Beefed-up competitive pressures in Asia prompted the layoffs and price cuts, officials said. 3M also said that, for the first time, it would enter the low end of the LCD film business. 3M has traditionally catered to the higher end of the business.
Dee DePass • 612-673-7725
