Avery Dennison Launches First-of-Its-Kind RFID Program, Shifting from Materials Supplier to Manufacturing Partner

Mentor-based Avery Dennison is no longer content to sell label converters raw materials and let them figure out the rest. On Aug. 18, the company announced AD Fusion, a first-of-its-kind program that ships customizable label stock with RFID inlays already embedded — a move that repositions one of Lake County's largest employers as a manufacturing enabler for an industry racing to keep up with radio-frequency identification demand.

The program targets label and packaging converters — companies that take raw materials and turn them into finished, ready-to-use labels through printing, cutting, laminating and finishing. They serve industries from food and beverage to pharmaceuticals and consumer goods, and most have avoided RFID because the technology required expensive insertion equipment, specialized training and careful handling of electronic components prone to damage during converting.

AD Fusion removes those barriers. Using Avery Dennison's patented SmartFace technology, which strips away traditional PET layers to make RFID inlays thinner and more flexible, the program delivers custom slit rolls with inlays already inserted, ready to print and convert on existing machinery. No new equipment. No retraining. No capital investment.

"AD Fusion represents a major step forward in making RFID more accessible and actionable for converters," said Abby Monnot, the company's vice president of marketing for labels and packaging materials. "By combining SmartFace™ technology with a streamlined, production-ready format, we are bringing to market an innovative solution that helps customers accelerate adoption, unlock new opportunities, and compete more effectively in a rapidly evolving landscape."

The timing tracks with surging retailer demand. Major chains including Walmart, Target, Macy's and Nordstrom have mandated item-level RFID tagging across various product categories, pushing the technology well beyond its apparel origins. Apparel accounted for 74% of total RFID software and services spending in 2025 but is expected to fall to 55% by 2030 as food supply chain and other retail verticals expand their use. RFID labels are forecast to capture 52% of smart label market share in 2026, and one projection pegs the RFID-enabled retail smart labels market at $4.6 billion in 2025, growing to $16.8 billion by 2034 at a 16% compound annual growth rate.

Avery Dennison is well positioned to capture that growth. ABI Research ranks it second globally among passive UHF RFID inlay vendors, behind UPM RFID. The company, headquartered at 8080 Norton Parkway, reported approximately $8.9 billion in worldwide sales in 2025 and employs roughly 35,000 people globally.

What matters locally: Avery Dennison operates six facilities in Lake County and employed approximately 1,454 people here as of 2023 workforce planning documents. Its Mentor campus houses both administrative functions and manufacturing operations for the Label and Graphic Materials division, with roles ranging from machine operator and coating operator to maintenance technician and process engineer.

AD Fusion deepens the company's relationship with its converter customers by bundling technology into the materials it already sells — a strategic shift from vendor to partner. That kind of integration can reinforce a corporate anchor's ties to its headquarters city and the supplier networks, technical workforce and business services that surround it.

Whether those ties translate into local job growth is an open question. Mentor's civilian labor force stood at about 25,900 workers in June 2026, and new economic projections for Northeast Ohio released in August indicate regional employment is expected to remain relatively flat through 2030 as an aging workforce and slower population growth offset gains in productivity and output.

Mentor is home to more than 1,700 companies employing over 59,000 workers, with more than 300 manufacturers forming a backbone of the local economy alongside research, engineering and metalworking firms. STERIS, Lincoln Electric, Buyers Products and divisions of Parker Hannifin are among the city's other major industrial employers.

Avery Dennison plans to showcase AD Fusion at LOUPE Americas 2026 in Chicago, Sept. 15–17, at Booth #119. The bigger showcase will be whether a program designed to pull smaller converters into the RFID market can strengthen the company's competitive position enough to deepen its investment in the city where it keeps its headquarters.