year. 3M experienced slower sales growth in the construction and home improvement market in the fourth quarter of 2006, impacted by a housing slowdown in the United States.

 

Safety, Security and Protection Services Business (12.6% of consolidated sales):

 

The Safety, Security and Protection Services segment serves a broad range of markets that increase the safety, security and productivity of workers, facilities and systems. Major product offerings include personal protection products, safety and security products, energy control products, cleaning and protection products for commercial establishments, roofing granules for asphalt shingles, and supply chain execution software solutions. In August 2006, 3M completed the acquisition of Security Printing and Systems Limited, a producer of finished, personalized passports and secure cards, which expands the 3M product line related to border and civil security solutions.  3M’s new emerging business opportunity in its Track and Trace initiative within 3M’s Safety, Security and Protection Services segment resulted in the merging of a number of formerly separate efforts into one concerted effort for future growth. Track and Trace has a growing array of applications — from tracking packages to managing medical and legal records.

 

In 2007, local-currency sales in the Safety, Security and Protection Services segment were up 10.8%. Acquisitions contributed 7.4 percentage points of this growth, including a carry-over benefit from the August 2006 acquisition of Security Printing and Systems Limited. In addition, during 2007 3M closed two small, but strategic, gap-filling acquisitions. These included E. Wood, a U.K.-based provider of corrosion protection products and Rochford Thompson, a manufacturer of optical character recognition passport readers used by airlines and immigration authorities. Sales growth was led by the respiratory protection business, followed by the security systems, corrosion protection and building and commercial services businesses. 2007 sales growth was held back by market softness in the U.S. residential construction market, which negatively impacted the roofing granules business. The decline in the roofing granules business reduced Safety, Security and Protection Services 2007 sales growth by approximately 1.5%. Geographically, sales growth was led by Europe and the combined Latin America and Canada area. This segment recorded a restructuring charge of $29 million in the second quarter of 2007 related to the phase-out of operations at its New Jersey roofing granule facility. This included fixed asset impairments and employee-related restructuring liabilities. Including this charge, operating income margins were approximately 20% for total year 2007.

 

In 2006, local-currency sales in the Safety, Security and Protection Services business were up 13.7%. Growth in the business was driven by strong global demand for personal safety products, especially respiratory protection. Acquisitions contributed 4.1% of growth, primarily due to the Security Printing and Systems Limited acquisition in August 2006. 3M continued to invest in additional respirator capacity, such as a new