Alene Candles, the nation’s leading manufacturer of contract, private-label home fragrance products, welcomes Bill McDonald as the company’s new Chief Financial Officer. McDonald comes to Alene with a strong background in corporate fiscal management, strategic planning, and business growth. Previously, he was CFO at Wellness Pet, LLC, where he helped lead the company through a period of significant expansion. “Bill brings tremendous experience and a proven track record in driving business growth and working with people. He is a wonderful addition to the Alene team,” said Alene Candles President & CEO Raj Chary. Bill is a graduate of Stonehill College and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.  “Alene is a great company where quality people make quality products,” said McDonald. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to be a part of its exciting future and am looking forward to working with the teams in New Hampshire and Ohio.”

Rod Harl Named a Top 200 New Hampshire Business Leader

The nation’s leading candle and home fragrance manufacturer named a 2023 Encova Insurance Safety Award honoree

Raj Chary comes from Cabot Corporation to lead New Hampshire-based manufacturer .

Alene Candles Again Named a Top 100 NH Private Company

Since President and CEO Rod Harl and Managing Partner Ted Goldberg bought Alene Candles in 2008 from the Amato family, they have dramatically grown the private-label candle manufacturer, adding nearly 300,000 square feet to its facilities in NH and building two facilities in Ohio. Alene Candles can now produce more than one million candles daily across the company and made more than 100 million candles last year. When the partners bought the company, Alene Candles had 75 employees but now boasts a workforce of 462 with 213 employees in NH. Sales in the first 10 years of Harl & Goldberg’s ownership increased seven-fold and despite the pandemic, sales have continued to grow more than 80% in the last five years. Innovation has spurred its success. Alene Candles has more than 40 scientists and engineers who have developed new detection methods to identify flaws in raw materials and work with suppliers to correct them. Alene earned a patent for a new way to mass produce marbled candles.

If you bought a candle from a name-brand retailer during the Christmas season, there’s a good chance it was made by Alene Candles, a Milford private-label company that produces more than 100 million candles every year. Alene, founded in 1995 by Paul and Nancy Amato, was acquired by business partners Rod Harl and Ted Goldberg and a group of investors in 2008. The company opened a second factory in New Albany, Ohio, in 2012 and expanded that facility in 2020. It employs 1,100 people, including 450 in New Hampshire. Alene has greater capacity at its Ohio factory than it does in New Hampshire, where the cost of labor, energy and housing are high, said Harl, Alene’s president and CEO. The New Hampshire location is also more constrained by geography; it’s expensive to ship materials in and out. “We can’t do really, truly high-volume manufacturing here in the Northeast. So we do boutique work, and it means we can apply more skill to the product,” he said. “We do our high-volume work in Ohio, and we do our specialty work here.” In October, Harl led a group from NH Business Review on a tour of the Milford factory, where we learned about the complexities of candle manufacturing, which relies on chemistry, engineering, ingenuity and hard work. While automation has made candle-making more efficient, workers are needed along the production line to make adjustments, such as making sure wicks are straight after hot wax is poured into glass containers. We started our tour at Alene’s research and development building, where work on new products begins. While the company specializes in candles, it also produces a line of diffusers, which emit essential oils into the air to aid relaxation.

New Albany, OH – Alene Candles , the nation’s leading full-service contract and private-label candle and home fragrance manufacturer, officially launched its New Americans Welcome Program at a kit-assembly event on Tuesday, September 26, at its facility in New Albany. Alene is partnering with three Columbus-area nonprofits, Creating Central Ohio Futures (CCOHF), Community Refugee & Immigrant Services (CRIS-OH) and Ethiopian Tewahedo Social Services (ETSS), to provide welcome kits to their clients. Included in the kits are several practical and personal care items, an Ohio-themed children’s activity book, and an Alene-made candle, all in a durable backpack for the families to use. “Central Ohio’s new Americans are a vital part of the region’s tremendous success story,” said Rod Harl, president and CEO of Alene Candles. “These welcome kits are a small gesture that send a big message to the immigrants and refugees in Greater Columbus — Ohio welcomes you, Alene welcomes you, and we appreciate the contributions you make to our workforce and community.” Alene Candles piloted the program over the summer with 240 kits, all assembled by Alene volunteers. Another 120 kits were packed and distributed on Tuesday, with 270 more to follow in the coming months. “The majority of the families we serve came to the U.S. with so little — gifts like these certainly bring a smile to weary faces and make a space feel a bit more like home,” said Laura Fitzpatrick, communications coordinator for CRIS-OH. “The Education, Employment and Empowerment Department at ETSS is so grateful for this partnership and for the support of Alene Candles to provide welcome kits for new Americans who are working hard to increase their English skills and start their careers in the United States,” said Elena Nussbaum, education, employment, and empowerment manager at ETSS. According to 2021 data , new Americans accounted for nearly 30% of Columbus’ population growth between 2014 and 2019. That same report also showed that immigrants made up more than 10% of the area’s total workforce, contributing significantly to the health of manufacturing jobs in the region.  “At Creating Central Ohio Futures, we strive to give everyone the opportunity to enter the middle class. Tackling this feat truly takes a village, and Alene Candles has been a key member of that village. From providing excellent wages and benefits, to being a steadfast employer partner, to now providing these kits, Alene has truly demonstrated their commitment to the community,” said Bailey Sandin, program manager at CCOHF. “These bags will be used by our cohort participants to offset hygiene costs and make their homes a more welcoming place with a beautifully scented candle.”

Alene Candles participated in the Delta Dental|Elliot 5K Corporate Road Race on Manchester, NH on Thursday, August 10, 2023. Alene has participated in this race for many years along with other New Hampshire companies. Funds raised from the event benefit the Solinsky Center for Cancer Care at Elliot Hospital including nutrition assistance and programs, rehabilitation therapy, integrative medicine, and support programs for patients as they manage their cancer journey. Our Alene team ranked #3 in the Top 10 Fundraising Teams! Thank you to everyone who participated in this annual event!