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Alan Rich, born in 1962 in Washington, DC, is the President and CEO of Nova Label Co., Inc., where he has led the company since 1985. Under his leadership, Nova Label has excelled in manufacturing custom printed pressure-sensitive labels for a variety of industries, including food service and direct marketing. Alan is known for his expertise in labels, barcodes, wide web printing, and special applications, and he prides himself on providing prompt and reliable service to his clients. His deep industry knowledge and knack for finding solutions have made him a go-to person for many, earning him the reputation of being the “answer man.”
Apart from his successful career in the labeling industry, Alan is also a passionate and accomplished visual artist. Since 1989, he has been creating vibrant and imaginative acrylic paintings. His work spans fluid acrylic pours, still lifes, and landscapes, reflecting his love for bright colors and organic forms. Alan’s art, which encourages viewers to find their own imagery within the flow of colors, has been showcased in various exhibits, including the Rehoboth Art League’s Member Art Fair and CAMP Rehoboth Abstract exhibit. He maintains studios in Maryland and Rehoboth Beach, DE, where he finds relaxation and inspiration.
Alan resides in Maryland with his wife Bonnie and their two daughters, Rebecca and Leah. His artistic journey began in childhood, painting and building model cars, and continues to be fueled by workshops and classes. Alan’s art serves as a serene escape from the demands of his professional life, whether he is at the beach or at home. Balancing his dual roles as a business leader and artist, Alan continues to inspire those around him with his creativity and dedication.
Nova Label Co, Inc. offers custom self-adhesive label printing services with a flexible turnaround, ensuring environmentally friendly practices by using wind power, water-based inks, and recycling nearly 90% of waste. Capable of varnishing, laminating, die cutting, perforating, embossing, or sheeting in-line on press, they produce labels up to 19½” wide with up to 9 ink colors plus varnish. Since 1982, Nova Label has leveraged over 80 years of industry experience to deliver quality printed pressure-sensitive labels for diverse applications in various industries.
Chris: So welcome back to The Thing Factory podcast powered by OGC Solutions. And I’m your host Chris Santomassimo from OGC Solutions and I’m actually doing a live on the spot interview with Alan Rich, the president of Nova Labels in Cheverly, Maryland. So welcome to the podcast.
Alan: Thanks, Chris. Appreciate you having me on.
Chris: Oh, it’s fun. I love coming to shops and seeing what each company does because they do things a little bit differently. And I’m also excited to learn a little bit more about Nova and the history of, you know, how the company was started, how you got here, and of course, what you’re doing today for your customers. So give us a little snapshot.
Alan: Well, my father in law, Sandy Bernstein, started the company in 1982. Prior to that, he was at National Corp for 22 years and a couple of other small companies back from the fifties, right? Yeah. I guess he started somewhere around 56, I think it was. It was Paramount paper products. And when he first started, he was a stripper. So, you know, today’s technology of digital and having to do paste up and stuff by hand back in the day, nobody would understand that unless you’re an old person. So he got into that and was doing sales and then started crisscrossing the country with Nashua and L.A. and Atlanta, Omaha and New Hampshire. So through all of that, he Nashua put him in D.C. as government sales manager, somewhere in there, early eighties, late seventies, I guess it was. And he had a distributor that was selling government product. Tape reel labels and mag tapes and all that old, old style duck media. And so they had purchased a seven inch two color press from a company in Omaha that Sandy used to work for for about five years. And they were coaxing him to open a label company here in the D.C. market. So at the time he was selling to giant food. It was the local grocery chain, independent, 100 plus stores. And basically, if giant would move their business from Nashua and from a label that he was working with at the time, then they would do something so giant did they set up shop at their warehouse in Tysons Corner, Virginia? It was a really small place.
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