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       The company’s road marking division is looking to gain market share and produces the only tape and paint additives that remain reflective when wet.
       When JC Ojeda and Marlene Lopez Ibarra introduce their products to potential customers, the first thing they talk about is their families and how they can get them home safely.
       “When I see what we do on our roads, when I see how we save the lives of families, when I see our technology… that’s what I want to do,” said Lopez Ibarra, global director of road markings at 3M.
       Maplewood-based 3M, best known for its duct tape, respirators and sticker bookmarks, has long played a key role in traffic safety, pioneering reflective film for road signs and license plates nearly a century ago.
       Today, as road markings must match vehicle cameras and transportation departments continue to strive to reduce road deaths, 3M sees an opportunity to revolutionize highway safety again, this time by illuminating dark and rainy roads.
       Third-party research shows that using 3M’s reflective road tape and ceramic bead “elements” used in road paints can improve safety, and the difference between the company’s yellow and white road markings is clearly visible in an interactive theater on the 3M campus.
       “3M is the only company in the world that can provide continuous reflectivity when wet,” meaning water doesn’t impair visibility, says Ojeda, the applications engineer. “Competitors can’t do that, so our yellows are more yellow and our whites stay white.”
       A federal study found that using 3M reflective road markings on wet pavement reduced crashes on multi-lane roadways by 46 percent and injury crashes by 41 percent.
       A Texas A&M University study found that 3M road marking tape that is three times brighter can cut deaths on rainy nights in half. The study also noted that one type of tape can be used temporarily on construction sites without leaving “dead lines.”
       But in this price-conscious industry, 3M is clearly the leader. Competitors’ road surfaces cost far less than the high-performance tapes. Compared to traditional thermoplastic surfaces, 3M tape costs four times as much per mile.
       A review by the Texas Transportation Institute notes, “While preformed belts are generally the most durable material on the market, they are extremely expensive and time-consuming to install compared to most other materials.”
       3M entered the traffic safety market in the 1930s with the invention of Scotchlite reflective sheeting. Small glass beads reflected light back to drivers, making signs more visible from a distance.
       The first stop sign improved by Scotchlite was installed in Minneapolis in 1939. Today, reflective signs and license plates, often made using 3M technology, are the standard.
       ”We have a significant market share in the markings market,” said Stacy Davis, vice president of transportation safety at 3M.
       Road markings have not yet captured the market to the same extent as they once did, as anyone who has driven on a highway on a rainy night will attest. Much of this is due to price comparisons.
       Part of this is due to cost. But quality comes at a price, and it takes a lot to convince agencies that increasing the initial taxpayer investment will yield long-term savings and safety improvements. According to a study by Texas A&M University, 3M tape lasts four to eight years, while the average lifespan of thermoplastic markers is two years.
       “Having a cost calculator and making sure that customers understand that information clearly is critical,” says Davis. “That way, we can make fewer changes to materials, which increases cost efficiency and allows us to get better results with our materials.”
       Davis added: “This is a huge opportunity for growth” and will continue to place reflective tape and ceramic beads on roads around the world.
       According to Grand View Research, the global road marking market is valued at US$5.8 billion, with about US$1 billion in the US, and is expected to grow at an annual rate of approximately 6%, outpacing inflation, through 2030.
       While 3M CEO Bill Brown focused on innovation early on, he also wanted the company to improve sales of existing products. As part of a larger corporate restructuring in recent years, 3M’s sales force has undergone a complete overhaul.
       3M has about 300 employees working on transportation safety, and Davis said many of them are responsible for promoting the company’s products.
       ”We want to make sure that transportation authorities are actually aware that these materials are out there,” she said.
       Sometimes it only takes a chance encounter, like when a FedEx executive sits down with a 3M employee on an airplane to talk about road safety, to realize that there is broad support for safer roads.