Avery Dennison Acquires Italian Label Business

Avery Dennison Corp., the Pasadena-based maker of self-adhesive labels and other office products, said it bought the label materials business of Italy’s closely held Panini for an undisclosed sum to add customers in Europe, Latin America and Australia. The business, called Adespan, makes pressure-sensitive materials used for bar-code labels, children’s stickers and champagne labels. Adespan, based in Bomporto, Italy, will be part of Avery Dennison’s Fasson Roll-Europe unit. Panini, based in Modena, Italy, is a printing and publishing company. Adespan employs about 220 people and had 1999 sales of $75 million. Avery Dennison makes binders and other office products, peel-and-stick postage stamps, battery labels and reflective highway-safety materials. It had 1999 sales of $3.8 billion. Avery Dennison shares fell $1.63 to close at $59.44 on the New York Stock Exchange. Last week, Avery said it had begun building a $48-million manufacturing plant in Tijuana.