Before Dave Niestroy opened 3D Auto Body in West Chester, PA, in 1981, he spent free time in high school doing repairs in his parents’ garage. Now, 3D Collision Centers spans three counties in southeastern Pennsylvania, with seven physical locations and one satellite location at a Subaru dealership.
Patrick McCready, operations manager, said 3D stayed at one location until the late ‘90s, and then began opening two at a time every few years until the most recent addition in 2017.
“Dave worked closely with insurance partners to find markets that needed a strong, DRP-friendly shop,” McCready said.
3D Collision Centers
West Chester, PA
610-692-7776
www.3Dbodyworks.com
Facebook: @3DCollision
Instagram: @3dcollisioncenter
Company At A Glance...
Type: Collision Repair
Facility Employees: 135
In Business Since: 1981
Number of Locations: Seven
Combined Production Space: 90,000 square feet
McCready said 3D Collision Centers has always believed in developing talent.
“We make a point to engage young people by promoting them from within and investing in them, whether it’s through education, special training or promotions,” he said. “Our greatest asset is our team members, and with today’s challenges, rather than placing ads and hiring people, I think it’s more important to make sure we’re paying a fair wage, that our relationships with insurance partners stay strong, and giving everyone a friendly, nice area to work, along with excellent benefits.”
McCready explained 3D Collision Centers’ success also comes from continual investment in new, updated technology. Since 2014, it has used PPG’s ENVIROBASE® High Performance waterborne system.
“We were transitioning from solvent to a water-based product to get ahead of regulations and be compliant,” he said. “So, from everything we looked into and tried, we felt that PPG Envirobase was by far the most superior water-based product on the market from a production standpoint.”
McCready said 3D Collision Centers was also investing in OEM certifications at the time, so finding a paint distributor that aligned with this goal was crucial.
“Out of the competitors, we felt PPG had the best coverage as far as OEM certifications,” he explained.
In 2016, PPG also helped 3D Collision Centers build one of the first fully-equipped Symach shops in the country.
Abby Andrews