Solventum, the massive health care spin-off from Maplewood-based 3M, has its sights set on moving to the former Blue Cross Blue Shield campus in Eagan.

Relocating upwards of 1,100 workers from Maplewood to Eagan could depend upon state assistance and other public approvals, beginning with a discussion before the Eagan City Council next Tuesday evening. Solventum’s workforce — which is more than 10 times as large as its Minnesota roster — is worldwide, but its Twin Cities footprint is focused on the research and design of new health products, an essential and especially sensitive cornerstone of its operations.

A spokesperson for the company declined public comment on Friday.

The agenda for the Eagan City Council’s Oct. 1 meeting includes a resolution to support the company’s potential loan applications to both the Minnesota Investment Fund (MIF) and the state’s Jobs Creation Fund to renovate an existing building into “a high-tech medical research and development facility.” The size of those loan requests was not spelled out in the council documents. The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) would be responsible for reviewing and administering the loans.

The package would include $100,000 in loan forgiveness that would otherwise be paid to the city’s revolving MIF fund. The city’s finance committee discussed the details this month and recommended approval, though the public minutes from the meeting have yet to be published by the city.

“The existing building is already designated for commercial use in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan,” reads the council agenda item, as prepared by city staff. “The intended building is already served by appropriate public infrastructure. The company anticipates 600-800 employees on-site daily. Daytime employees contribute to the overall economic vitality of the city by supporting retail and service businesses within the community.”

A communications director for the city declined further comment on Friday.

Worldwide options

Solventum officials have been tight-lipped to date about where the new health care giant might make its forever home, leading to some speculation over the past two years the new independent company could jump ship from Minnesota and relocate closer to existing operations in Texas or cities that have become hubs for the latest health research, such as Boston, or even sites outside the United States.

Minnesota, however, offers ready connections to 3M — which maintains a 20% stake in Solventum — as well as universities, teaching hospitals and other health care corporations, hallmarks of an integrated health care ecosystem. That lends itself to drawing a relatively healthy stream of educated labor to test and design specialized health products, as well as factory workers to produce them.

The 55-acre Blue Cross Blue Shield site became available last year after many of the insurance company’s roughly 3,000 employees opted for a hybrid work model. The campus, located at 3535 Blue Cross Road, had been eyed by St. Paul-based Johnson Bros. Liquor Company for a potential new distribution facility, but the company withdrew its application in March after tough scrutiny from the Eagan City Council and surrounding residents.

Solventum officially became its own company in March and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on April 1. It could qualify as Minnesota’s latest Fortune 500 company once the new rankings are published in 2025.

Other states courting the company

Most Solventum employees are not based in Minnesota. In fact, they’re not predominantly based anywhere, given the company’s footprint in more than 300 offices across 38 countries. As an independent company, Solventum has some 20,000 professionals worldwide in at least four major business categories — oral care, healthcare information technology, filtration and purification, and “medical solutions” — that resulted in some $8.2 billion in sales last year.

“The company could downsize its workforce currently located at the 3M corporate campus in Minnesota and move employees to any of the company’s … locations outside of Minnesota,” reads a proposed resolution prepared by city staff for the Eagan City Council. “The project, in the opinion of the City Council, would not reasonably be expected to occur solely through private investment within the reasonably foreseeable future. … Other states (and countries) are generously courting the company to move to their jurisdiction and the bulk of the company’s business is in fact not currently located in Minnesota; less than 10% of the company’s employees are currently in Minnesota.”

Solventum is known as a maker of medical equipment, including sterilization devices, wound dressings, medical tapes and other hospital consumables, but also markets health information management technology and consulting related to health records, billing and analytics. About half of Solventum’s $8.2 billion in sales last year came from its medical surgical business, such as wound care.

Before the spin-off, 3M maintained some 85,000 employees worldwide, a decrease of about 7,000 after extensive lay-offs in 2023.

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