3M to make more PPE with $53M investment in Nebraska plant

3M Co. is expanding its Valley, Neb., plant another 80,000 square feet to increase the firm's production of reusable elastomeric respirators and hearing protection products.

3M said that it will invest about $58 million in the expansion project. The firm is partnering with the state of Nebraska to facilitate the addition through the ImagiNE Nebraska Program, a tax incentive plan aimed at encouraging businesses to invest in Nebraska by creating jobs, thereby aiding the state's growth and economy.

A spokeswoman for the company said that the size of the current Valley facility totals about 288,000 square feet. Once the addition is complete, the factory will cover approximately 368,000 square feet and give the firm ample room to increase production of the respirators and hearing protection devices.

About 50 new jobs will be created after the addition is finished, eventually boosting the company's work force to about 610 at the site.

As part of the expansion project, new production lines, equipment and a warehouse will be added, and the firm will be able to boost manufacturing capacity for reusable elastomeric respirators and Peltor hearing protection products at the facility, 3M said in a press release.

In addition, it said, manufacturing cycle time will be reduced at the Valley factory, which primarily manufactures products for the firm's Personal Safety Division.

Most other details concerning the addition were not disclosed by the company, including when the expansion was launched and when it is expected to be completed. The spokeswoman said all of the information currently available has been released.

"Our colleagues at 3M's Valley plant have played an important role (by) providing critical supplies to frontline workers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic," Matt Huset, plant director at the facility, said in a statement.

He added that 3M's investment in the factory, which the company has operated since 1979 when it acquired the complex, "will allow us to further meet demand for personal safety equipment for the United States."

3M's Personal Safety Division is celebrating its 50th anniversary of the U.S. government-approved 3M filtering face piece respirator (a precursor to what is now known as the N95) and the 3M E-A-R Classic Ear Plug.

The company's addition in Nebraska is the firm's second major expansion project launched this year. In January, 3M said it was investing about $470 million in its plant in Clinton, Tenn., and would add around 600 new jobs at the site by 2025.

As part of the project, the company will invest in its Filtrete air filters and Command brand adhesive strip product lines. Capacity will be increased at the factory, the firm said, and manufacturing cycle time will be more responsive to growing customer demand.

3M said the investment will improve sustainability by replacing plastic packaging with more renewable packaging such as paperboard.