Avery Dennison expands Pune facility

Our News Bureau – Mumbai

Avery Dennison, a global leader in pressure-sensitive label and packaging materials, has completed a major expansion of its production facility in Pune that will significantly enhance the company’s production capacity to meet the growing demands of the Indian market. The ISO-certified Pune facility produces technically advanced pressure-sensitive materials for labelling and packaging and is one of Avery Dennison’s most advanced operations. The expansion, housed in a 100,000 square-foot site adjacent to its current facility, includes a new state-of-the-art, high-speed materials coating machine, the widest and fastest in India, which together with finishing equipment and coater comprise a full production line.

“With this latest expansion, we continue with the next big chapter in our development in India,” said Anil Sharma, Managing Director, Avery Dennison Label and Packaging Materials in India. “Our customers across India and South Asia have been our primary focus since we first established operations here in 1997. By expanding in Pune, we will be able to better serve the increasingly discerning requirements of this fast-growing market,” Sharma further said.

Speaking about Avery Dennison’s approach towards the pharma industry, Sharma said, “Pharma is the key target segment for us in India. With the help of our solutions we want to help the pharma industry to find new opportunities to reach their target customers. We will continue to work to provide high quality self-adhesive labels to the pharma industry.”

The move further underlines Avery Dennison’s commitment to India, bringing the company’s total investment to date in the country to approximately $55 million. The plant has undergone three phases of capacity expansion since it opened in 1998. This fourth expansion puts the facility at 130,000 square feet – four times its original size. The investment is in response to the rapidly growing Indian market demands for label materials as retailers increasingly recognise the importance of packaging and branding to differentiate products and drive consumer choices.

Dean A Scarborough, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Avery Dennison said, “We are delighted to officially open this new production line to contribute to the growth of India. The speed, quality and timeliness of the installation demonstrate Avery Dennison’s world-class execution capabilities and reflects the talent and drive of our India team. Through our investments in technology and people, we are committed to delivering world-class support to our growing Indian and South Asia customer base.”

During the opening ceremony, Avery Dennison also announced two more significant developments in India: the establishment of a new innovation centre in Pune and a knowledge centre in Bangalore.

The innovation centre will be the third of its kind for Avery Dennison, which has existing centres in the US and China. It will provide dedicated research and innovation development services for Indian converters and original equipment manufacturers, while simultaneously providing growth opportunities for India’s pressure-sensitive labelling industry. The Pune innovation centre will be operational by mid-2012 and is expected to grow significantly in terms of dedicated resources over the next two years.

To help nurture and grow the industry in India and South Asia, Avery Dennison is creating a label and packaging knowledge centre in partnership with original equipment manufacturers. Expected to commence its operation in second quarter of 2012, the centre is intended to provide training and knowledge transfer on all major aspects of labelling technology from label production materials to pre-press, printing and converting. It will also address the business dimension such as coating and inventory management to deliver an effective and highly comprehensive means of knowledge sharing that will help foster the growth of the industry across South Asia.