Avery Dennison Corp., Glendale, Calif., announced a definitive agreement to acquire Smartrac’s Transponder (RFID inlay) division, which develops and manufactures RFID products.

“This acquisition reflects a continuation of our strategy to invest, both organically and through M&A, to shift our portfolio toward faster growing, higher value categories,” says Mitch Butier, chairman, president and CEO of Avery Dennison. “Smartrac’s Transponder division represents an excellent strategic fit for us, accelerating our strategy to expand our Intelligent Labels platform across a variety of end markets and customers within the industrial and retail segments, and extending our reach to new channels."

“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,” says 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.”

“Our RFID transponder business is among the pioneers in the RFID industry, having built a very attractive product portfolio across a broad variety of customer needs and frequencies,” adds Christian Uhl, chief executive officer and chairman of the board for Smartrac. “The combination with Avery Dennison will help us to continue driving innovation that benefits our customers and the overall industry.”

Smartrac is headquartered in the Netherlands, with manufacturing facilities in Germany, Malaysia, China, and the United States.