tools. In addition, in February 2011, 3M completed its acquisition of the tape-related assets of Alpha Beta, a leading manufacturer of box sealing tape and masking tape headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan.

 

Investment:

 

In March 2005, 3M’s automotive business completed the purchase of 19 percent of TI&M Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH (TI&M) for approximately $55 million. TI&M is the parent company of I&T Innovation Technology Entwicklungsund Holding Aktiengesellschaft (I&T), an Austrian maker of flat flexible cable and circuitry. Pursuant to a Shareholders Agreement, 3M marketed I&T’s flat flexible wiring systems for automotive interior applications to the global automotive market. I&T filed a petition for bankruptcy protection in August 2006. As part of its agreement to purchase the shares of TI&M, the Company was granted a put option that gave the Company the right to sell back its entire ownership interest in TI&M to the other investors from whom the Company acquired its 19 percent interest. The put option became exercisable January 1, 2007. The Company exercised the put option and recovered approximately $25 million of its investment from one of the investors based in Belgium in February 2007. The other two TI&M investors from whom the Company purchased its shares filed a bankruptcy petition in Austria in January 2007. Through the Austrian bankruptcy process and pursuit of recovery from the bank that held the 3M purchase price paid to the two bankrupt investors, 3M recovered all but an immaterial amount of the remaining investment through October 2013 at which point 3M resolved its remaining claims.



Safety and Graphics Business (18.3% of consolidated sales):

  

The Safety and Graphics segment serves a broad range of markets that increase the safety, security and productivity of people, facilities and systems. Major product offerings include personal protection products; traffic safety and security products, including border and civil security solutions; commercial graphics sheeting and systems; architectural surface and lighting solutions; cleaning and protection products for commercial establishments, and roofing granules for asphalt shingles.

 

Year 2013 results:

 

Sales in Safety and Graphics totaled $5.7 billion, up 3.4 percent in U.S. dollars. Organic local-currency sales increased 4.2 percent, acquisitions added 1.3 percent, and foreign currency translation reduced sales by 2.1 percent. On an organic local-currency basis, sales growth was led by personal safety, commercial graphics, industrial minerals, and building and commercial services. Organic local-currency sales declined in traffic safety and security systems. Acquisition growth related to the September 2012 purchase of net assets that comprised the business of Federal Signal Technologies Group.

 

Organic local-currency sales increased 9 percent in both Latin America/Canada and Asia Pacific, and 2 percent in the United States. Organic local-currency sales were flat in EMEA.

 

Operating income in 2013 totaled $1.2 billion, up 1.8 percent. Operating income margins were 21.9 percent of sales, compared to 22.3 percent in 2012. This decline in margins related to the