Francis Gurney Okie-Colorcon, No-Tox~R Products

摘要

WHAT DO SANDPAPER, PRINTING INK, PHARMACEUTICALS and Relationships have in common? In 1915, when the newly formed National Association of Printing Ink Manufacturers (NA-PIM) held their first annual convention, Francis G. Okie (1880-1975) was in attendance. He was the owner of the F. G. Okie Company, a small-scale manufacturer of printing inks located in Philadelphia, PA. Okie was a textbook example of how vertical and lateral thinking concepts can benefit any business. Francis Okie manufactured his inks in a building which also housed a glass-beveling business. He befriended the owner of that business, who had concerns over the health risks of breathing in the dust that arose from glass grinding. Okie was labeled a "brilliant experimenter" when in 1920 he aroused the excitement of the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company (now the 3M~(TM) Company). He developed a patented waterproof abrasive, or sandpaper, that could be used with water to eliminate the glass dust, which satisfied the concerns of his friend. Okie joined 3M, moved to St. Paul, MN, transferred the rights to his invention in 1921, and 3M trademarked the world's first water-resistant sandpaper, Wetordry~(TM).