Avery Dennison Announces $35 Million Investment to Expand Base Materials Production.

Business Editors

PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 20, 2000

Avery Dennison Corporation (NYSE:AVY)(PCX:AVY) today announced a $35 million investment in state-of-the-art coating technology to expand its Fasson Roll North America pressure-sensitive base materials operation in Greenfield, Indiana. Scheduled for completion by late 2000, the expansion will significantly increase the manufacturing capacity of Fasson-brand paper and film label materials in the United States.

The Greenfield plant will double its production capacity with the addition of a high-speed, precision adhesive coating line that features proprietary Avery Dennison-designed capabilities. The new investment will increase the size of the facility by 140,000 square feet to a total of 284,000 square feet. The expansion is expected to add approximately 80 positions to the current workforce of 118 at the site. Opened in 1994, the Greenfield facility is centrally located to serve the Company's growing Fasson Roll materials customer base in North America.

"The addition of leading-edge coating equipment at the Greenfield facility reinforces our long history as the industry leader in developing pressure-sensitive materials technologies and introducing new applications for them," said Philip M. Neal, president and chief executive officer of Avery Dennison. "This investment is part of our aggressive strategy to continue creating innovative labeling solutions for our customers that will grow our business."

Avery Dennison's Fasson Roll North America organization is the leading supplier of pressure-sensitive paper and film products, which are sold in roll form to label printers, converters and business forms producers. The Fasson pressure-sensitive businesses currently operate major adhesive coating facilities throughout North America including operations in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, California and Georgia. Distribution centers are located in Texas, California, New Jersey, Missouri, Washington, Wisconsin and North Carolina.

The expansion plans are being driven by increasing market demand for Fasson-brand pressure-sensitive products, which serve broad consumer labeling needs in many industries, including health and beauty, pharmaceutical, beverage, security, product identification and variable information processing. Additional applications include clear film labels for plastic and glass containers, as well as apparel identification, specialized business forms and data processing labels.

Avery Dennison is a global leader in pressure-sensitive technology and innovative self-adhesive solutions for consumer products and label materials. Based in Pasadena, Calif., the Company had 1999 sales of $3.8 billion. Avery Dennison develops, manufactures and markets a wide range of products for consumer and industrial markets, including Avery-brand office products, Fasson-brand self-adhesive materials, peel-and-stick postage stamps, battery labels, reflective highway safety products, automated retail tag and labeling systems, and specialty tapes and chemicals.

For more information visit the Avery Dennison Web site at www.averydennison.com