American multinational conglomerate 3M, which was earlier known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, announced on Friday the launch of its second research and development facility in the country, in Bangalore, by its Indian subsidiary 3M India.
Ajay Nanavati, Managing Director, 3M India, said, “We plan to increase our sales in India from Rs.1,175 crore to Rs.5,000 crore within the next five years”. He said the R&D centre, established with an investment of Rs.100 crore, would help the company reach its target of earning 40 per cent of its revenues in the country from “In India, for India” products within the next five years.
Fred Palensky, Executive Vice-President, R&D, and Chief Technology Officer, 3M, said the company worked on the principle of a networked R&D, using a worldwide group of 85 centres. “The network is a system of connected research portals, which provide a technology outlook for the company,” he said. The research teams work on 46 core technology platforms and collaborate with each other, Mr. Palensky said. “India important for 3M, as is illustrated by the fact that more than 100 senior scientists in the company are India-born,” he said.
Jay Ihlenfeld, Senior Vice-President, Asia-Pacific, 3M, said although the company had a bigger presence in China, revenues in India were growing faster.
