USI of North America

by Autobody News Staff

When Mike Daniel was a teenager growing up in the Garden State, he was always told he would go to college and enter a more white-collar career; the family auto body shop was not the route his parents thought was best.

He was also told to keep out of the collision repair industry altogether. Dad wanted his son to pursue a career that would allow him to avoid the wear and tear of being a tech, so Daniel got a college degree and became a CPA.

After years of working at one of the “Big 4” CPA firms in mergers and acquisitions, Daniel runs a highly successful three-shop MSO and has doubled its profits. Currently, one of his locations uses oversized paint booths and prep stations designed by USI ITALIA to accommodate Sprinter vans.

Mike Daniel’s great grandfather, Leslie, started Mountain View Auto Body in New Jersey in 1957, when they were repairing Ford Fairlanes and Chevy Bel Airs. Back then, there were no DRPs or waterborne paint, and auto diagnostics sounded like something out of a science fiction novel. If you mentioned aluminum, it was about beer cans or the siding on your house— not automobiles!

As the years went on, it was time to decide whether to run the single-store shop status quo until retirement or to grow. Comfortably working for a large financial institution, Daniel decided to enter the family business.

“My father said he had reached a point where he was going to either sell the business or help me grow it until he fully retired, if I wanted it,” he said. “I thought about it a lot and started getting excited. I liked the idea of keeping my family’s legacy alive. It was a lifechanging decision but I haven’t regretted it for one minute since I said yes to my father.”

Since taking over the business, Daniel, 30, has doubled revenues by focusing on OE certifications—20 to date with Tesla in the mix—stressing training and staying up on the technology. With an eye on expansion in the very near future, the post-pandemic world looks bright for this young entrepreneur.

To keep his quality high while painting more than 300 vehicles monthly, Daniel acquired two 11-by-30-foot paint booths manufactured seven years ago by USI ITALIA. The booths are oversized to accommodate large Sprinter vehicles and were installed in such a configuration that allows Daniel’s crew to drive cars in and out easily.

In addition, he bought a double heated finishing station and a three-bay prep station from USI ITALIA in 2019.

Previously, his shops were using a 35-year-old booth limping along and ready for retirement. Because he was spraying a waterborne product, air movement became a big deal for Daniel and his painters.

“Our USI booth has a waterborne cycle built-in during the flash cycle, so we don’t ever encounter problems with the air movement,” Daniel said. “The USI ITALIA booths are made specifically to be used with waterborne paint, which is perfect for us. I have never used a solvent product here, so we don’t know anything different. But, when we saw the first few cars when they came out of that USI booth, we know we had made a good decision, which is reinforced every day we use them.”

Daniel’s paint department now runs like a Swiss watch with an Italian booth in the middle of it all. He has worked hard to set up a production process that is efficient without ever sacrificing quality.

“The rundown with USI ITALIA is simple—best heat, best air movement, best procedures, superior customer service and support—what more can you say?” Daniel said. “These booths are workhorses for us and they need so little maintenance, plus now that we are painting more and more Sprinter vans, we love the fact we can drive them in and out at either end.”

At only 30 years old, Daniel is going to be able to witness some monumental changes within the collision repair industry in the next three to four decades as the owner of an MSO. What does he think it will be like?

“Autonomous vehicles will be huge, even though the infrastructure will be way behind,” he said. “Car-to-car communication will be significant, too. If you think these cars are complex, get ready for the next stage.”

At some point, will self-driving cars be able to drive in and out of body shops after repairing and painting themselves? No one, including Daniel, can read the future, but if it does happen, he knows his customers’ cars will be able to drive in and out of his USI ITALIA paint booth conveniently and in style.

With a couple big booths and some big plans for new certifications down the road, Daniel is always searching for the best way to fix cars and please his insurance companies, employees and customers. Acquiring two paint booths manufactured by USA ITALIA, Daniel is in a primo position to continue his legacy in collision repair.

To keep their quality high while painting more than 300 vehicles monthly, Mountain View Auto Body acquired two 11’ x 30’ paint booths manufactured by USI ITALIA.

Location: Wayne, NJ

Type: Collision Repair Facility Employees: 44 In Business Since: 1957 Number of Locations: Three

65,000 square feet

In 2019, Mountain View Auto Body also bought a double heated finishing station and a three-bay prep station from USI ITALIA.

Mountain View Auto Body sprays waterborne paint, because it’s ideal for its USI ITALIA booths as well as being better for the environment.

Company Contact: Stefano Moretto (201) 405-7760