3M Company (NYSE:MMM)

toaoyoda (20.85) Submitted: 2/10/2012 3:10:40 PM : Start Price: $85.71 MMM Score: +0.36

This classical "innovation company" traditionally gets 30% of its sales from products introduced within the past three or four years. Amazingly, when one checks Office Deport, Office Max and Staples, MMM products seem more entrenched than ever even in competition with house/generic brands. Always a superb manufacturing ( and innovation) company, they seem to have revved up their marketing prowess. (It used to be that they let some products fall off the table in an effort to meet a previous goal of 25% of sales from products"new within 5 years".) Their medical products division is growing faster than anything else.