Alex Prieto, owner of New Age Reprographics (NAR), describes his business as “behind the scenes, but incredibly impactful.” NAR’s expertise lies in printing documents—including building plans, proposals, banners, brochures, signs and more—for the design and construction industry. Timeliness, speed and accuracy are of the utmost importance—if products aren’t produced quickly and accurately, construction projects could be delayed.
“NAR is in the business of helping people. Over the past 13 years, we’ve built relationships and loyalty with all of our clients due to the quality of our work and our willingness to do what it takes to get the job done. We become an extension of the teams that we serve, which makes our work very rewarding,” said Alex.
Alex was born and raised in Tampa, Florida. He was 16 years old when he started working as a foot messenger delivering blueprints to local design and construction firms in the downtown area. After a few years, he began managing one of the company’s small shops and eventually became a partner in the firm, where he helped open a location in Atlanta, Georgia. He stayed with National Graphic Imaging (NGI) for over 20 years until they were bought out by a larger firm. After working with the new firm for a few years, Alex decided to pursue his dreams of becoming an entrepreneur.
In 2008, Alex cashed in his retirement and bought a few pieces of used equipment and opened a 1,200 square-foot shop. He faced a few challenges, including starting a business in the middle of the recession when construction had come to a halt. However, he persisted and took the time to listen to what people had to say and built strong relationships and earned people’s trust. Today NAR has 23 employees and three locations in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Orlando.
When Alex started NAR, he made giving back to the community a priority. He serves on several non-profit boards including the Humane Society of Tampa. Alex and the NAR team donate signage, invitations and pamphlets for fundraising events for the Humane Society. “We find things that are near and dear to our hearts within the community, and that’s where we devote our time, talents and services.”
While Alex was working at NGI, he worked closely with Senior Vice President of Construction Chuck Jablon, who at the time was also at a different company. Once Alex formed NAR, he reached out to Chuck to see if he could help Skanska with any of their reprographic needs and the rest is history.
“I really enjoy working with Skanska due to the character, loyalty and respect of their employees. Their culture is very welcoming and inclusive. We feel like we are part of their team instead of just a vendor, which makes our job really rewarding.”