St. PAUL, Minn. — 3M, Siat S.p.A, and Combi America announced that pending final contract approval they will create a new packaging equipment resource through a joint venture called Combi Packaging Systems L.L.C.

The three packaging leaders will be co-owners of the new company. The joint venture is positioned to become a leading North American manufacturer of equipment used in automatic erecting, filling and sealing of corrugated boxes. High-volume corrugated-carton users will be able to access a complete line of packaging equipment, as well as soft goods such as tape and taping heads through established 3M distributor channels.