3M - Overview
3M (formerly Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company) is an American multinational conglomerate based out of Saint Paul, Minnesota producing over 60,000 products across multiple brands.
Advantages:
- One of the oldest players still active in the Passive Fire Protection space
- Many government and public money-funded projects still reference 3M as the basis of design due to their legacy in the space
- Positioned at distribution, leveraging their dominance in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Electrical Products, and other lines to keep competing firestop manufactures out or in lesser selling slots.
- Name recognition, 3M is an exceptionally well-known and respected brand in the construction space
Disadvantages:
- Diversity of markets often leaves the Passive Fire Protection unit orphaned as a smaller contributor to the overall business
- In recent years, they have shifted much of their talent and resources into other divisions, leaving the Passive Fire Protection group on auto-pilot with no new meaningful product developments or tests
- Due to neglect in the market, many once loyal 3M partners (General Insulation and iMark) have begun to push back on or drop 3M entirely in favor of alternatives
- 3M continues to lose/shed talent needed to support this market. It is believed that less than 15 people are left at 3M internally to support their firestopping products.
Electrical & DataComm Products
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FB249, FB269, FB369 Fire Barrier Pillows
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FB249SL, FB269SL, FB369SL Fire Barrier Self-Locking Pillows
- PLG2, PLG4 Fire Barrier Plug
- PT4SD Fire Barrier Pass-Thru Device Square
- ES-5A-12 Interam Endothermic Mat (E-Mat)
Plumbing & Mechanical
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FB249, FB269, FB369 Fire Barrier Pillows
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FB249SL, FB269SL, FB369SL, Fire Barrier Self-Locking Pillows
- 2PCID, 3PCID, 4PCID, 6PCID, Fire Barrier Cast-In Device for Plastic Penetrants
- 2MCID, 3MCID, 4MCID, 6MCID, Fire Barrier Cast-In Device for Metallic Penetrants