Article published August 28, 2009 B.G. hologram maker shines Firm specializes in tamper-evident stickers
Ken Jenkins uses one of the specialized printing devices to create holographic security stickers for NovaVision Inc. The Bowling Green company, started in 1994, has 15 patented processes.
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THE BLADE/AMY E. VOIGT
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BOWLING GREEN - It's not every company that makes products that are more than they seem, and yet, less than you perceive.
But NovaVision Inc., a small privately owned company, is just such a conundrum. The firm specializes in holographic stickers, tamper-evident stickers, security tape and seals, and other products designed to authenticate items and foil counterfeiters.
Elaborate, beautiful, and extremely colorful, the company's holograms can be found on everything from high-tech security badges to sporting goods to tractor-trailer engines.
"About 50 percent of our business is holograms," said Mike Messmer, the company's general manager and one of its chief investors.
Mike Messmer, general manager of NovaVision, holds a master hologram. He said half the company's business is holograms. The firm has 20 full-time and six part-time workers.
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THE BLADE/AMY E. VOIGT
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Though pretty to look at, the stickers cannot be duplicated easily unless a counterfeiter possesses more than $1 million in the specialized printing equipment that NovaVision has or the know-how to apply one of its 15 patented processes. And once applied to a surface, the holograms cannot be removed without self-destructing.
"It's an optical illusion. When you look at the hologram, what you see isn't really there," Mr. Messmer said. "So if you tried to duplicate it with a photocopier or a scanner, you can't recreate a hologram."
The company, which has 20 full-time and six part-time workers, had annual revenues over $4 million in 2008. But its revenues have grown annually by 25 percent the last six years and by 77 percent the last three. Recently, it was named to Inc. magazine's list of the 5,000 fastest-growing companies.
It has more than a dozen competitors nationally, but the costly equipment and the intricacy of the business help curb the number of rivals.
When a hologram sticker is peeled off it leaves a residue that indicates tampering. The company has more than $1 million in equipment to make the security seals.
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THE BLADE/AMY E. VOIGT
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Holograms are printed on a shiny aluminum film with a thin coating. The film goes up against a plate with the holographic image etched onto it, and with high heat the image is transferred to film.
"It's as if you had a sheet of foil on top of clay and pressed your hand onto it. It would leave that shape," Mr. Messmer said.
The film acts as a prism, with a spectrum of colors reflecting off the image. Using various patented processes, the holo-image can be complex, three-dimensional, or microscopically complex.
For example, a hologram the company makes for security expert Frank Abagnale has the phrase "Catch Me If You Can" embedded into it. The phrase only can be read using a powerful magnifying glass, another security feature.
Computers, imaging software, and cheap color printers have made counterfeiting a mom-and-pop task, Mr. Messmer said. That has raised demand for security labels that can't be copied cheaply, and greatly helped NovaVision, a firm begun in 1994 by Bowling Green businessman Al Caperna.
Much of the firm's growth was aided by a ski resort in Colorado, which Mr. Messmer would not identify. In 2002, the resort found its lift tickets were being counterfeited. It bought NovaVision's holograms, and the counterfeiting stopped, Mr. Messmer said. "Word got around and now we do holograms for 80 ski resorts," he said.
NovaVision has more than 3,500 clients. Many order holograms that cost just under 10 cents each.
But a few years ago California put the company's abilities to the test by asking for a big sticker to go on diesel engines that marked them as legally eco-friendly. The stickers were made, costing $5 each and lasting 10 years.
NovaVision, located on East Woodland Circle near Bowling Green's I-75 exit, has a sales force, but doesn't use cold calls, trade shows, or catalogs. Instead it uses a strong Internet presence and verbal referrals.
The firm makes holograms for 12 states, several countries, many Fortune 500 firms, sports leagues, universities, security firms, and celebrities like Batman TV star Burt Ward.
Most orders are for 50,000 to 100,000 stickers, Mr. Messmer said.
"Customers come up with a lot of new ideas. We like to say we have customer-funded R&D," he said.
Contact Jon Chavez at: jchavez@theblade.com or 419-724-6128. Permanent LinkB.G. hologram maker shineshttp://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090828/BUSINESS03/908280343STORY:2009908280343
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