MAACO Collision Repair & Auto Painting is an American franchisor of auto painting and collision repair shops based in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania

King of Prussia, Pennsylvania

King of Prussia is a census-designated place in Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 19,936. The community took its name in the 18th century from a local tavern named the King of Prussia Inn, which was named after...

. It was founded in 1972 by Anthony A. Martino

Anthony A. Martino

Anthony A. Martino, founder, chairman and CEO of Maaco Collision Repair & Auto Painting, began his career in 1957 with a repair shop specializing in automatic transmission repair. He named his company AAMCO Transmissions, and began franchising in 1962...

 and Daniel I. Rhode. Maaco's reputation is low pricing and questionable quality. David Lapps President and COO - "One of the major issues we encountered concerned our contamination control"

History

Ten years before MAACO's founding, Martino had launched AAMCO Transmissions with partner Robert Morgan. He created both names by using the first letters from his name (Anthony A. Martino).

In 1967, with close to 500 stores in operation, Martino sold AAMCO to Morgan.

In 1972, Martino opened a pilot auto painting center Wilmington, Delaware

Wilmington, Delaware

Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...

. He chose the name MAACO (Martino, Anthony A. and Co.) to instill confidence in potential franchisees who knew of AAMCO’s success. The new company grew quickly, with close to 200 franchises open in less than five years. In October, 2008, Driven Brands of Charlotte, N.C., a holding company which owns Meineke Car Care Centers, Inc.

Meineke Car Care Center

Meineke Car Care Centers, Inc. is a franchise-based automotive repair chain.In 1972 in Houston, Texas, Sam Meineke and Harold Nedell began with only one store and a single product line. Between 1972 and 2003 Meineke was owned by a multinational British company and grew rapidly...

 as well as Econo Lube and other auto service related concerns, purchased Maaco outright from Martino's family after his death in January of 2008. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

In 1993, a MAACO franchise in Framingham

Framingham, Massachusetts

Framingham is a New England town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 68,318 as of the United States 2010 Census. -History:...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 won a painting contract for Massachusetts State Police

Massachusetts State Police

The Massachusetts State Police is an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Executive Office of Public Safety and Security responsible for criminal law enforcement and traffic vehicle regulation across the state...

 cruisers, which caused controversy after a Boston newspaper reported that some of the MAACO shops involved in the contract were owned wholly or partly by Jane Gnazzo, the wife of Jerold Gnazzo, the state's Registrar of Motor Vehicles.

Advertising campaign

Through the 1980s and 1990s, the company ran a television and radio ad campaign featuring the slogan "Uh oh, better get Maaco".

MAACO is the current sponsor of the Maaco Bowl Las Vegas at a reported $2 million a year.

Maaco was purchased by Driven Brand, a North Carolina based company after the death of the founder.

Company details

Since 1972, Maaco has repaired some 16.5 million vehicles. The company currently has 475 bodyshop locations across North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

. Maaco has trademark

Trademark

A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...

ed the term North America’s Bodyshop. The franchises provide auto paint and auto body repair services for over 650,000 vehicles a year, more than any other paint and body repairer.