Expansion Driven by Successful Market Response to Sustainable Chemistry
CORDOVA, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--3M today announced that the company is breaking ground on an expansion at its Cordova, Ill., manufacturing facility. The plant manufactures a wide variety of specialty chemicals and adhesives, including 3M’s popular Novec™ brand products designed as a safe, sustainable chemistry to replace ozone depleting substances (ODS) and potent greenhouse gases (GHG). The Novec brand line includes Novec Engineered Fluids used in electronics cleaning and heat transfer and Novec 1230 Fire Protection Fluid used for fire suppression. 3M credits the need for expansion of the Cordova facility to increased market demand for sustainable technology.
Novec fluid technology was developed in the 1990s and balances performance requirements with favorable environmental and worker safety properties. These products are nonflammable and have good materials compatibility, low toxicity, low global warming potential and zero ozone depletion potential. The fluids do not damage sensitive electronics or delicate documents and they do not leave residue behind, making them ideal for use in a number of industries including electronics, data centers, archives and museums, aerospace, military, automotive and transportation, semiconductor, medical device, oil and gas and marine to name a few.
“The Cordova expansion represents a significant investment by 3M into U.S. manufacturing and supports sustainability due to the excellent environmental characteristics of the 3M Novec brand line,” said Joe Koch, business director for 3M Electronics Markets Materials Division. “The added capacity will allow 3M to stay ahead of market demand for sustainable chemistries, and it will help customers manage their environmental footprint by enabling replacement of ODS and GHGs.”
Koch went on to state that there is a lot of confusion and apprehension over the evolving policy and regulation targeting non-sustainable chemistry such as potent greenhouse gasses. Koch added, “Customers are looking for the confidence that Novec fluids provide in knowing their processes are safe for people and the environment now and into the foreseeable future.”
Novec fluids are an ideal replacement for substances with undesirable toxicity or environmental properties, including the ozone-depleting substances being phased out under the Montreal Protocol or those chemistries that have high global warming potentials.
Notable applications of 3M Novec branded products include use as a fire protection fluid for high-value assets such as artifacts, documents, data centers, computers and other critical devices where water cannot be used. Novec 1230 fluid has found its way into the archives of The Pennsylvania State Library to protect invaluable historical assets of the Benjamin Franklin collection and at The Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library at the Alamo protecting the cultural heritage of Texas. Novec technology is also being used in a preservation application helping visitors at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History view a 330-pound, 24-foot giant squid. The wet specimen is being safely preserved by a 3M Novec Engineered Fluid. The Novec fluid provides a clear view of the specimen, unlike alcohol, which can yellow. Novec fluids are used extensively for cleaning and cooling in electronics and semiconductor manufacturing.
Consistent with 3M’s longstanding commitment to sustainable development, 3M Cordova was recently recognized with a 3M Environmental Health and Safety Achievement Award. Since 2005, the plant has instituted 154 Pollution Prevention Pays (3P) projects – preventing nearly 50 million pounds of pollution. The facility is involved with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Superior Energy Performance demonstration project as part of the DOE’s Save Energy Now Program. And, for the seventh consecutive year, 3M received the ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy for its comprehensive worldwide energy conservation efforts.
For more information regarding 3M Novec products log onto www.3M.com/Novec. Also visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/#!/3MNovec1230fluid. For more information about the 3M Cordova facility, visit http://tinyurl.com/3qf3cns.
About 3M
3M captures the spark of new ideas and transforms them into thousands of ingenious products. Our culture of creative collaboration inspires a never-ending stream of powerful technologies that make life better. 3M is the innovation company that never stops inventing. With $27 billion in sales, 3M employs about 80,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 65 countries. For more information, visit www.3M.com or follow @3MNews on Twitter.
Orange CommunicationsStephani Simon, 612-677-2021ssimon@orange77.comor3M Public RelationsColleen Harris, 651-733-1566
