US’s Avery Dennison invests in Israeli smart-glass startup Gauzy
No financial details disclosed; American labeling giant will work with Tel Aviv-based company on R&D and distribute its products
Shoshanna Solomon was The Times of Israel's Startups and Business reporter
Avery Dennison Corp., a US-based maker of labeling and packaging materials, said Tuesday it has made an investment in Israeli startup Gauzy, a developer of liquid crystal glass materials and films for use in a variety of industries. No financial details were disclosed.
This is the second announced investment of Glendale, California-based Avery in an Israeli firm, after the New York Stock Exchange-traded firm, with a market value of almost $9 billion, said in December last year it would buy Israel’s Hanita Coatings, a pressure sensitive materials manufacturer of specialty films and laminates.
“The investment is a strategic one” and will allow Avery Dennison to incorporate Gauzy’s technology into its product offering, said Eyal Peso, CEO and co-founder of Gauzy, in a phone interview. “Avery will help us expand our research and development capabilities and also use their distribution network to sell Gauzy products all over the world.”
Based in Tel Aviv, Gauzy’s “smart glass” products bring high technology to glass, films and other materials, allowing for a number of applications, including controlling the transparency of windows to light, making a window go from clear to frosted at a touch of a button and creating optical blinds within the glass.
Gauzy’s products can be used in a variety of markets including construction, automotive, consumer electronics, home appliances and solar. Its film is currently being used for architectural applications and is under evaluation for automotive applications, Avery Dennison said in a statement.
Avery also said its Hanita business division, which manufactures specialty films for a number of industrial and commercial applications, has entered an agreement with Gauzy to collaborate on the development and marketing of a version of Gauzy’s switchable window film, which would add to Avery Dennison’s window film product portfolio for architecture and retail purposes.
More product collaboration opportunities are expected for the automotive industry, Avery said.
The US firm will be “working with the innovators at Gauzy on the continuing development and expansion of their exciting switchable film technology,” said Georges Gravanis, president of Avery Dennison’s Label and Graphic Materials business group. “We also look forward to leveraging both our organizations’ expertise to drive innovation in specialty films and develop new applications and sales channels for these versatile materials.”
Avery Dennison has operations in more than 50 countries and more than 25,000 employees worldwide, according to company data.