Baxter signs an open-ended contract to distribute 3M. (Baxter International Inc. Hospital Supply Division; Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co. 3M Healthcare Division)

The Hospital Supply Division of Baxter International Inc., Deerfield, Ill., will begin in April distributing products for 3M Health Care, St. Paul, Minn. The pact, signed Feb. 16, will become operational once 3M products are transported from 3M warehouses to Baxter's distribution centers.

Neither an end date nor a specific projected dollar value to the contract have been set, according to 3M spokeswoman Dawn McGinley. In 1992 3M sold about $2 billion worth of products to hospitals primarily through its hundreds of distributors. The only time 3M distributes products itself is when the item is a specialty item. Items that are reused daily are sold to hospitals through …