New Avery Dennison VP takes up position in North America

Avery Dennison has named Jeroen Diderich to the role of vice president and general manager for label and graphic materials, North America. Diderich previously held a similar position for Europe, Middle East and Africa. He assumed the role and moved to the US just as the world was entering the Covid-19 induced lockdown, so the first few weeks in the role were spent responding to an increased demand from the label sector.
Jeroen Diderich, vice president and general manager, label and graphic materials, Avery Dennison

‘We are seeing a huge peak in demand for the essential business, like food, e-commerce also for pharmaceutical products and food and beverage,’ Diderich says. ‘Together with our customers we are trying to manage this order intake while still providing exceptional service. During these times with the coronavirus, there’s a lot of volatility in the industry and a lot of demand, particularly for the essential businesses. Right now, reliable and quality service is of critical importance for us and for our customers.’

The graphics side of Avery Dennison’s portfolio is seeing a slowdown, as the segment is largely seen as a more discretionary spend. As Diderich says: ‘These are not the days that car wrapping is essential, so we are seeing a reduction of demand there.’

Research and development has also slowed as the company manages increased demand in other areas. ‘The development of specialty projects came to a little bit of a slowdown,’ Diderich says. ‘This is not the time to experiment and do tests with new innovative products. We continue to prioritize strategic innovations, particularly in areas of sustainability, and we expect that those will ramp up as soon as we get into more normalized conditions.’

To support its label customers, Avery Dennison has reallocated assets and production to handle an increase in label demand. The company has ramped up capacity at its Greenfield, Indiana, facility, as well as added temporary employees, while at the same time prioritizing the health and safety of its staff and adjusting to many employees now working from home as the company manages orders and production.

In his new role, Diderich will drive strategic development and provide leadership and strategic vision for the North America region. He will report directly to Avery Dennison chairman, president and CEO Mitch Butier.

Diderich joined Avery Dennison in 2003 as a supply chain director and later served as the vice president for supply chain and operations, and vice president of sales and customer service for Label and Graphic Materials EMEA. He is a member of Avery Dennison’s sustainability council and a trustee of the Avery Dennison foundation. He studied business economics at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, and he participated in executive development programs at International Institute for Management Development (IMD) and Wharton Business School. 

Chelsea McDougall

  • Group managing editor