Retooling for sustained business growth

Growth factor

Thulin said he believes that China has an important role to play in the company's long-term and sustained growth as the country accounts for about 10 percent of its global sales. Since its debut in China in 1984, as the first wholly invested foreign company outside of Shenzhen, the industrial giant has grown into a company with 11 manufacturing sites, more than 8,000 employees and five technical centers, including the new one in Chengdu.

"For 3M to remain a global growth company, it needs to grow in China," he said, adding that the best option for this would be to sustain the existing levels of investment in China.

Though the 62-year-old has a proven track record of building successful businesses in both developed and developing economies, it is his extraordinary grasp of societal trends that sets him apart from peers.

"We have a very strong operation in China and we have invested about $1 billion. Out of this more than $100 million has been spent on research and development."

Thulin said that two driving forces of economic growth－technology conversion and demographic changes－are present in China. As a technology and science-based company, 3M is not only providing solutions for its key industrial accounts but also selling consumer products－from respirators to water purifiers, he said.

China's recent focus on the domestic market will benefit 3M due to its "good position in health care, retail and safety products", he said.

"3M never came to China to capitalize on lower labor costs. We came to China for China. We have made our investments for the domestic businesses," he said.

The company already has one of the largest research and development centers outside of the United States in China, and this will continue to fuel innovation. At the same time, 3M will step up manufacturing capacity so that its products can reach and adapt to the local market quickly, he said.

Thulin expects the company's sales in China to grow by 10 to 15 percent each year in the next five years, compared with a global growth rate between 4 and 6 percent. "If we are not growing annually by 10 to 15 percent, then I don't think we are doing our job," he said.