Avery Dennison moves to new Argentine premises

James Quirk reports from the inauguration of Avery Dennison’s new distribution center in Buenos Aires

Avery Dennison has moved to new facilities in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The 5,700 square meter site was inaugurated recently with a ceremony attended by around 120 visitors, among them Argentina’s leading label and packaging printers. 

Located in Don Torcuato in Buenos Aires province, just outside the capital, the state-of-the-art facilities house three slitting machines and extensive warehousing. Operations are streamlined by lean manufacturing, adherence to 5 ‘S’ office standards and world-class safety precautions, which see the slitting machines rigged with an infrared system that automatically switches them off should an operator get too close to the material. 

The site was officially inaugurated by Joao Adao, general manager for Spanish-speaking South America; Ronaldo Mello, VP and GM of Avery Dennison South America; Luis Chahwan, supply chain manager; and Jorge Grondona, general manager of OPG. 

In his opening speech, Joao Adao called the new facility ‘an important investment for Avery Dennison in Argentina’. He cited three specific benefits that the new distribution center would bring to Avery’s operation: ‘Firstly, it allows us to continue to improve our service as the new facility counts on a warehousing area that is 80 percent bigger than our previous distribution center. 

‘Secondly, the improved handling and storing of materials reinforces our ability to offer consistently products of the highest quality. Thirdly, the new distribution center boasts a working environment with world-class levels of industrial security, which will guarantee the safety of all those who work in and visit our operations. 

‘This inauguration is just one example of the many actions we are undertaking in the region and throughout the world that support Avery Dennison’s new bolder, more innovative vision, which is founded upon greater proximity to end users in strategic market segments. In this way, we are increasing the size of the market with more differentiated products which benefit the businesses of our clients.’ 

Ronaldo Mello, VP and GM of Avery Dennison South America, said: ‘We are lucky to be present in a region that is witnessing faster growth than most other parts of the world. South America is an increasingly important region for Avery Dennison.’ 

Mello talked about Avery’s recently launched product lines – Curvy, ThinkClear and Roll Fed Shrink – which are now being rolled out in the South American markets. ThinkClear is a range of ultra-transparent films; Roll Fed Shrink is a line of shrink sleeve materials. Fasson Curvy is an advanced PS material claimed to behave like shrink film, allowing packaging designers the freedom to create and label complex curved bottle shapes. 

Avery Dennison was the first self-adhesive material manufacturer to move into South America, opening an office in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1969. Today, the company employs more than 2,000 people in the region and operates three production plants – in Brazil, Colombia and Argentina – and six distribution centers that house eight laminators and more than 20 slitting machines.

In Argentina, production takes place in San Luis, in the country’s interior, from where a distribution center also serves the large wine label market in Mendoza. The rest of the material is distributed out of the company’s new center in Buenos Aires.

The inauguration of Avery Dennison’s new facility in Buenos Aires is one of a series of events the company has held around the world in 2010 to mark its 75^th anniversary.

Pictured l-r: Jorge Grondona, Ronaldo Mello, Joao Adao and Luis Chahwan open Avery Dennison’s new distribution center in Buenos Aires

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