3M Outlines Latest Actions on COVID-19 Response
- Date
- 2020-04-24
Summary
Exhibit 1, filed April 24, 2020 as Document 14-1 in Case 1:20-cv-02949-JLR-JW, reproduces a 3M news release titled 3M Outlines Latest Actions on COVID-19 Response, dated March 31, 2020. In the release, 3M's chairman and CEO describes N95 respirator production at a rate of 1.1 billion per year globally and 35 million per month in the United States, with a stated goal of 50 million per month in June. The release says more than 90 percent of U.S. N95 respirators go to healthcare and public health, with 20 percent directed to the federal government, largely FEMA. It also describes steps against price gouging and counterfeiting, including a letter to the U.S. Attorney General and state attorneys general, publication of list prices and a hotline. The three-page exhibit closes with forward-looking statements language.
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Case 1:20-cv-02949-JLR-JW Document 14-1 Filed 04/24/20 Page 1 of 3
EXHIBIT 1
Case 1:20-cv-02949-JLR-JW Document 14-1 Filed 04/24/20 Page 2 of 3
Published on 3M News | Unit ed St at es (ht t ps://news.3m.com) on 3/31/20 3:25 pm CDT
3M Outlines Latest Actions on COVID-19 Response
Release Date:
Tuesday, March 31, 2020 3:25 pm CDT
T erms:
Company (English)
Dateline City:
ST. PAUL, Minn.
ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- 3M Chairman and CEO Mike Roman issued t he following updat e announcing addit ional
det ails about 3M’s capacit y increases of N95 respirat ors, st rong measures t o combat price gouging and count erfeit ing, and
new part nerships t o help prot ect our healt hcare workers on t he front lines:
We cont inue t o act wit h urgency t o address t his crisis from every angle, and do all we can t o prot ect our heroic nurses,
doct ors and first responders. As previously communicat ed, beginning in January we ramped up t o maximum product ion of
N95 respirat ors, doubling our global out put t o a rat e of 1.1 billion per year, or 100 million per mont h. This includes 35 million
per mont h in t he Unit ed St at es, and over just t he last seven days we have delivered 10 million N95 respirat ors t o healt hcare
facilit ies in st at es across t he count ry.
We’ve already put int o mot ion addit ional invest ment s and act ions t hat will enable us t o double our capacit y once again, t o 2
billion globally wit hin t he next 12 mont hs – and some of t hat addit ional capacit y will begin t o come online in t he next 60-90
days. In t he Unit ed St at es, we expect t o be producing N95 respirat ors at a rat e of 50 million per mont h in June, a 40 percent
increase from current levels.
It ’s also import ant t o underst and how we are priorit izing and shipping product s t o serve t he most urgent needs in t his
pandemic. In t he U.S., more t han 90 percent of our N95 respirat ors are going t o healt hcare and public healt h, wit h t he
remaining deployed t o ot her crit ical indust ries such as energy, food and pharmaceut icals.
Of our U.S. supply direct ed t oward healt hcare and public healt h, roughly 80 percent is flowing rapidly t hrough our healt hcare
dist ribut ors – primarily consist ing of six large and well-known companies wit h incredible logist ical capabilit ies – which is t he
quickest and most effect ive met hod of get t ing t hose supplies int o t he hands of workers. These N95 respirat ors are moving
direct ly from 3M, t o our healt hcare dist ribut ors, t o healt hcare facilit ies and end-users. We are working closely wit h t hese
part ners t o expedit e delivery even more, which in some cases includes moving pallet s direct ly from our plant s int o crit ical
areas – as we have done over t he last week t o New York Cit y and Seat t le. The remaining 20 percent is being direct ed t o t he
federal government , wit h t he largest port ion going t o FEMA who will allocat e based on t heir det erminat ion of t he most
urgent needs. The priorit izat ion and dist ribut ion of all of our N95 respirat ors are being coordinat ed in close part nership wit h
FEMA, and we are direct ly embedded wit h t hem at t heir headquart ers t o help st reamline decision-making and act ion.
This is not just a 3M challenge; it ’s an indust ry-wide challenge. Even wit h 3M’s accelerat ed product ion combined wit h capacit y
from ot her manufact urers, t he realit y is t hat demand for N95 respirat ors is much higher t han t he indust ries’ abilit y t o deliver.
That is why we cont inue t o explore innovat ive part nerships and solut ions t o help prot ect our healt hcare workers in t his
ext raordinary t ime.
Given t he high use rat e of N95 respirat ors, 3M engineers are right now collaborat ing wit h several st erilizat ion companies t o
find a way for hospit als t o safely clean, reuse and ext end t he life of t hese respirat ors.
Addit ionally, we are part nering wit h Ford t o bolst er product ion of 3M’s powered air purifying respirat ors (PAPRs), which are
highly specialized pieces of equipment used in t he most demanding healt hcare environment s. We’re moving forward quickly
wit h t he goal of increasing PAPR product ion by six-fold wit hin t he next 60 t o 90 days.
Our people are working around t he clock t o accelerat e all of t hese t imelines, and I want t o t hank our 96,000 3Mers for your
t ireless effort s – including t hose in our plant s and dist ribut ion cent ers who are helping make and deliver crit ical supplies t o
where t hey’re desperat ely needed. We cont inue t o priorit ize t he safet y of our people and do all we can t o support t hem –
from remot e work when possible, t o social dist ancing and robust prot ocols for cleaning in our plant s.
We also cont inue t o act on report s of count erfeit ing and price gouging relat ed t o 3M’s respirat ors. This act ivit y is unet hical
and illegal, and we’re doing all we can t o end it . A week ago, I sent a let t er t o t he U.S. At t orney General and t he at t orneys
general of every st at e making clear t hat 3M has not and will not raise it s prices for respirat ors in t his crisis, and offering our
assist ance in t he fight against unconscionable act ivit ies. We’re act ively working wit h law enforcement , our ret ail part ners and
ot hers t o ident ify and punish perpet rat ors. To help our cust omers ident ify and avoid inflat ed prices, t oday we are publicly
publishing t he list prices for our N95 respirat ors, and act ivat ing a hot line t o help cust omers and end-users verify t he
aut hent icit y of 3M product s and report suspect ed fraud. We’ve also made it clear t o our channel part ners t hat 3M will not
t olerat e any such act ivit y, and t hat we will aggressively pursue t hird part ies t hat seek t o t ake advant age of t his crisis.
As disappoint ing as t his unet hical act ivit y is, it is equally heart ening t o see so many st ep up t o help t he world get t hrough
t his crisis – including t he many ret ailers and 3M cust omers t hat have volunt arily cont ribut ed or donat ed t heir excess
st ockpiles of respirat ors and ot her key supplies. We’ll get t hrough t his t oget her, and 3M and our people will cont inue t o do all
we can t o prot ect lives and defeat t his disease.
Fo rward-Lo o king Statements
Case 1:20-cv-02949-JLR-JW Document 14-1 Filed 04/24/20 Page 3 of 3
This news release cont ains forward-looking informat ion about 3M's financial result s and est imat es and business prospect s
t hat involve subst ant ial risks and uncert aint ies. You can ident ify t hese st at ement s by t he use of words such as "ant icipat e,"
"est imat e," "expect ," "aim," "project ," "int end," "plan," "believe," "will," "should," "could," "t arget ," "forecast " and ot her words
and t erms of similar meaning in connect ion wit h any discussion of fut ure operat ing or financial performance or business plans
or prospect s. Among t he fact ors t hat could cause act ual result s t o differ mat erially are t he following: (1) worldwide
economic, polit ical, regulat ory, capit al market s and ot her ext ernal condit ions and ot her fact ors beyond t he Company's
cont rol, including nat ural and ot her disast ers or climat e change affect ing t he operat ions of t he Company or it s cust omers
and suppliers; (2) risks relat ed t o public healt h crises such as t he global pandemic associat ed wit h t he coronavirus (COVID-
19); (3) liabilit ies relat ed t o cert ain fluorochemicals, including lawsuit s concerning various PFAS-relat ed product s and
chemist ries, and claims and government al regulat ory proceedings and inquiries relat ed t o PFAS in a variet y of jurisdict ions; (4)
legal proceedings, including significant development s t hat could occur in t he legal and regulat ory proceedings described in
t he Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for t he year ended Dec. 31, 2019, and any subsequent quart erly report s on Form
10-Q (t he “Report s”); (5) compet it ive condit ions and cust omer preferences; (6) foreign currency exchange rat es and
fluct uat ions in t hose rat es; (7) t he t iming and market accept ance of new product offerings; (8) t he availabilit y and cost of
purchased component s, compounds, raw mat erials and energy (including oil and nat ural gas and t heir derivat ives) due t o
short ages, increased demand or supply int errupt ions (including t hose caused by nat ural and ot her disast ers and ot her
event s); (9) unant icipat ed problems or delays wit h t he phased implement at ion of a global ent erprise resource planning (ERP)
syst em, or securit y breaches and ot her disrupt ions t o t he Company's informat ion t echnology infrast ruct ure; (10) t he impact
of acquisit ions, st rat egic alliances, divest it ures, and ot her unusual event s result ing from port folio management act ions and
ot her evolving business st rat egies, and possible organizat ional rest ruct uring; (11) operat ional execut ion, including scenarios
where t he Company generat es fewer product ivit y improvement s t han est imat ed; (12) financial market risks t hat may affect
t he Company’s funding obligat ions under defined benefit pension and post ret irement plans; and (13) t he Company's credit
rat ings and it s cost of capit al. Changes in such assumpt ions or fact ors could produce significant ly different result s. A furt her
descript ion of t hese fact ors is locat ed in t he Report s under "Caut ionary Not e Concerning Fact ors That May Affect Fut ure
Result s" and "Risk Fact ors" in Part I, It ems 1 and 1A (Annual Report ) and in Part I, It em 2 and Part II, It em 1A (Quart erly
Report s). The informat ion cont ained in t his news release is as of t he dat e indicat ed. The Company assumes no obligat ion t o
updat e any forward-looking st at ement s cont ained in t his news release as a result of new informat ion or fut ure event s or
development s.
Abo ut 3M
At 3M, we apply science in collaborat ive ways t o improve lives daily. Wit h $32 billion in sales, our 96,000 employees connect
wit h cust omers all around t he world. Learn more about 3M’s creat ive solut ions t o t he world’s problems at www.3M.com or on
Twit t er @3M or @3MNews.
Language:
English
Contact:
Jennifer Ehrlich
(651) 736-9430
T icker Slug:
Ticker: MMM
Exchange: NYSE
Source URL: https://news.3m.com/press-release/company-english/3m-outlines-latest-actions-covid-19-response
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