ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--3M is fully committed to fight the spread of COVID-19 by supporting the healthcare workers in the United States and worldwide.
“This pandemic is affecting us all, and we are doing all we can to support public health and especially our first-responders and those impacted by this global health crisis. We are mobilizing all available resources and rapidly increasing output of critical supplies healthcare workers in the United States and around the world need to help protect their lives as they treat others,” said Mike Roman, 3M chairman and chief executive officer.
Supporting Emergency Response
Since the COVID-19 outbreak, 3M has doubled its global output of N95 respirators to an annual rate of over 1.1 billion per year, or nearly 100 million per month.
In the U.S., 3M currently manufactures more than 400 million N95 respirators annually, which is increasingly being directed to support both government and public health response. The company also manufactures respirators at locations in Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America.
In addition, 3M is increasing its investments, primarily in the U.S., to expand its global capacity by over 30 percent in the next 12 months.
The company is also maximizing production of a wide range of other products used in the COVID-19 response globally including hand sanitizers, disinfectants and filtration solutions as the pharmaceutical industry works to find a vaccine to fight the virus.
Global Cooperation
3M is working with governments, medical officials, customers and distributors around the world to help get supplies where they are needed most.
The recently enacted expansion of the U.S. PREP Act helps ensure both surgical and standard N95 respirators will be readily available for use by hospitals and healthcare workers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Congress should now ensure that all critically-needed reusable respirators, including Powered Air Purifying Respirators (PAPRs) and others, are equally available to both conserve the supply of N95s and maintain their availability for healthcare workers who require them for either medical or religious reasons.
3M encourages governments around the world to work together to ensure that supply chains can operate efficiently and effectively so that critical products are able to reach areas where they are most needed. Restrictions that impede the free movement of goods impede that delivery.
3M is receiving increasing reports of fraudulent and counterfeiting activities involving 3M products. The company strongly condemns any unethical actions taken to exploit the global pandemic.
3M has not changed the prices it charges for 3M respirators as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, but the company cannot control the prices dealers or retailers charge for 3M respirators.
People are our Priority
Our highest priority is the safety of our people and the public.
3M is grateful for the efforts of employees around the globe who are working hard to maintain operations and increase production of needed supplies to assist our customers treat and help protect people.
Early on, 3M restricted international travel that was not deemed business critical and supplied employees with information on precautionary steps they could take to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 – as well as the actions they should take if they become ill.
This week 3M instituted a remote working policy and paid pandemic leave policy, giving U.S. employees up to two weeks of paid leave if they are unable to work due to caregiving, childcare or self-quarantining related to the COVID-19 outbreak.
3M has also responded through donations to local and global humanitarian agencies.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking information about 3M's financial results and estimates and business prospects that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by the use of words such as "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "aim," "project," "intend," "plan," "believe," "will," "should," "could," "target," "forecast" and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance or business plans or prospects. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are the following: (1) worldwide economic, political, regulatory, capital markets and other external conditions and other factors beyond the Company's control, including natural and other disasters or climate change affecting the operations of the Company or its customers and suppliers; (2) liabilities related to certain fluorochemicals, including lawsuits concerning various PFAS-related products and chemistries, and claims and governmental regulatory proceedings and inquiries related to PFAS in a variety of jurisdictions; (3) legal proceedings, including significant developments that could occur in the legal and regulatory proceedings described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2019, and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q (the “Reports”); (4) competitive conditions and customer preferences; (5) foreign currency exchange rates and fluctuations in those rates; (6) the timing and market acceptance of new product offerings; (7) the availability and cost of purchased components, compounds, raw materials and energy (including oil and natural gas and their derivatives) due to shortages, increased demand or supply interruptions (including those caused by natural and other disasters and other events); (8) unanticipated problems or delays with the phased implementation of a global enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, or security breaches and other disruptions to the Company's information technology infrastructure; (9) the impact of acquisitions, strategic alliances, divestitures, and other unusual events resulting from portfolio management actions and other evolving business strategies, and possible organizational restructuring; (10) operational execution, including scenarios where the Company generates fewer productivity improvements than estimated; (11) financial market risks that may affect the Company’s funding obligations under defined benefit pension and postretirement plans; and (12) the Company's credit ratings and its cost of capital. Changes in such assumptions or factors could produce significantly different results. A further description of these factors is located in the Reports under "Cautionary Note Concerning Factors That May Affect Future Results" and "Risk Factors" in Part I, Items 1 and 1A (Annual Report) and in Part I, Item 2 and Part II, Item 1A (Quarterly Reports). The information contained in this news release is as of the date indicated. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this news release as a result of new information or future events or developments.
About 3M
At 3M, we apply science in collaborative ways to improve lives daily. With $32 billion in sales, our 96,000 employees connect with customers all around the world. Learn more about 3M’s creative solutions to the world’s problems at www.3M.com or on Twitter @3M or @3MNews.
Contact:
Jennifer Ehrlich
(651) 736-9430
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