Avery Dennison acquires Smartrac

Purchase broadens our Intelligent Label Portfolio, helps converters grow with RFID

Earlier this year, Avery Dennison acquired the RFID business of Smartrac. The purchase dramatically broadens the Avery Dennison Intelligent Label portfolio, including a range of new capabilities to help converters capitalize on opportunities with RFID applications.

A global player, recognized for quality

Founded in 2000, Smartrac billed itself as an RFID and IoT pacesetter with offerings for a wide range of applications. Its global footprint — including highcapacity manufacturing facilities in Germany, Malaysia, China, and the U.S. — produced 2.5 billion RFID transponders annually.

Like Avery Dennison, Smartrac held a number of patents in the RFID space. And Smartrac and Avery Dennison have both received ARC Certification from the RFID Lab at Auburn University — the only two companies to do so. This comprehensive quality certification is an industry benchmark.

Among Smartrac’s many innovations: A strong high frequency product line. Technical innovations for difficult to tag items or surfaces, such as metallic objects. Smartrac also developed technology allowing a temperature and moisture sensor to be integrated into an RFID inlay, bypassing the need for a battery-powered sensor.

An unmatched, combined portfolio

Our combined Intelligent Labels business now offers an unparalleled product portfolio and global capabilities to deliver at high scale across multiple production facilities in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. We’ll also leverage the expansive technology and innovation expertise, and comprehensive offering, to help converters find new ways to grow their business with Intelligent Labels.

More than the sum of the parts

The Smartrac acquisition means Avery Dennison can better serve the Intelligent Label needs of our converters with the following:

- The most experienced RFID team in the industry

- Unbeatable R&D capabilities

- The broadest product portfolio in the industry

- Unparalleled global channel and customer reach

- 1,750+ patents

- Only company with ARC certification for quality

- 10B global capacity per year

- 7 manufacturing facilities

From a practical and more immediate standpoint, converters now have access to the combined Smartrac and Avery Dennison RFID / Intelligent Label product portfolios. The combined portfolio, along with our pressure-sensitive materials, offers more product choices with the same high quality, service, and technical support standards you’ve come to expect.

We believe in a future where every physical item will have a unique digital identity and digital life, which will transform the visibility of products throughout the supply chain, all the way to the consumer, helping to improve efficiencies, increase sustainability, and enhance consumer experience,” said Francisco Melo, vice president and general manager, intelligent labels for Avery Dennison. “The capabilities of Smartrac will enable us to continue delivering on this vision across multiple verticals.

This seems like the perfect time. RFID is approaching a tipping point, enabling transformation across multiple market segments. RFID is playing a role in improving food safety, helping brands fight counterfeiting and engage with customers, enabling retailers to effectively manage inventory and control losses, helping pharmaceutical manufacturers ensure patient safety, and so much more.

See for yourself

We’ve added the full Avery Dennison RFID portfolio to the product selector at smartrac-group.com, so you have a one-stop-shop of all that’s available. From the site home page, click on “Product,” then go to the Product & Solution Finder.

For more information about the Smartrac acquisition, our newly combined portfolio, or opportunities to expand your business with Intelligent Label solutions, contact your Avery Dennison representative.