The Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA) announced that 3M has joined the association as a corporate member.
Established in 1902 in Two Harbors, Minn., 3M is an American multinational conglomerate corporation operating in the fields of industry, worker safety, health care and consumer goods. With global headquarters in St. Paul, Minn., 3M has more than 90,000 employees worldwide.
The company’s initial product was the invention of abrasives, and one of the first industries it served was auto body repair. In 1925, while testing abrasive samples at a local body shop, Richard Drew, a 3M lab assistant, noted that painters were having trouble masking car parts. This eventually led to the invention of masking tape. Since then, 3M has amassed over 100,000 patents.
3M has set forth a company-wide strategy to put digital front and center.
“The 120-year-old company is focused on transforming itself to bring digital into its operations, its products and ultimately create greater value for the customers it serves,” said Andy Boyd, digital platform leader, 3M Automotive Aftermarket Division, Safety & Industrial Business Group, United States and Canada. “The 3M Automotive Aftermarket Division is taking a leadership position to use digital to help body shop customers be more efficient, productive and profitable.”
Boyd said that CIECA is well known by numerous people within 3M and the industry for setting data standards and shining a spotlight on the important role that technology can have to enable safer and more efficient repairs.
“We are proud to partner with CIECA that, like 3M, was founded by forward-thinking leaders that have a passion for delivering outcomes that simplify the adoption of digital across the collision repair industry,” said Boyd. “Helping the industry better understand technology and its capabilities is a critical element of transformation.”
Boyd said the role CIECA is playing to bring standardization on a united front gives a consolidated starting point, bringing consistency across industry stakeholders, and leveraging years of experience from industry experts.
