It´s clear: 3M auto film fills lucrative niche

- 3M is taking corporate transparency to a whole new level: with new sales from a product its customers can´t even see. 3M´s clear adhesive films, which first were applied to protect Army helicopter blades during the Vietnam War, fell into the shadows for years. But they have found lucrative new life as a way to protect auto paint jobs for picky motorists. "It´s been hard for us to sell something that is invisible," said Ken Halford, a technician with 3M´s Automotive After Markets Division. "We have had it for a while, but it´s only the last two or three years that we broke into the after-market auto business. Now it just keeps growing and growing." 3M officials will not divulge sales, although analysts estimate that the product easily can generate millions in sales. The company acknowledged that it contributed somewhat to its record second-quarter earnings. "We have experienced double-digit growth in the last few years, and we don´t expect that to change," 3M auto film marketer Steve Stark said. "There is better awareness of the advantages to paint protection. It´s starting to overcome one of the most difficult things - that this product has a real identity crisis because you can´t see it." Quietly working through car dealers, small detail-and-repair shops and some car manufacturers, 3M is marketing the thin urethane films as a way to protect car hoods, fenders, bumpers and door handles from scratches, chips and nicks. The sales have helped 3M´s new stand-alone transportation division, which saw sales volume rise 7.1 percent in the second quarter, up from 1.7 percent in the first quarter. Analysts estimate that the entire transportation unit contributes roughly 10 percent of company earnings, which reached $619 million for the second quarter. Analyst John Roberts said the unit´s sandpaper, adhesives and fasteners sell mainly to after-market auto repair shops. So, a distribution channel for the paint film products already is established. 3M now sells the films to scores of dealerships nationwide. Sales are rising globally, with big upticks in Colorado and Minnesota and in Europe because of winter road chemicals that assault unprotected paint surfaces. 3M´s marketing approach with dealerships, detailers and repair shops differs from those of its competitors, who find the consumer market too fragmented, costly and unwieldy. Competing film maker Soliant in South Carolina, for example, sells its paint films only to car manufacturers, even though there is a big consumer market for such a product, said John Cupstid , Soliant´s sales and marketing director. The thin sheets of film cost about $150 to $500 per car. The film is applied by a professional installer onto typical trouble spots such as fenders and hoods. Boat and motorcycle owners are jumping on the trend, paying around $300 a shot. Recreational-vehicle applications easily can run $800. 3M would not reveal its profits. About 70 percent of high-end RVs secretly sport the film. That compares with only 3 percent of automobiles - leaving lots of room for growth. Protective paint films used to be reserved for expensive racing cars. But the higher prices of everyday sedans and SUVs are forcing many consumers to keep cars longer and to protect them like an investment.