Established in 1961 in Minneapolis, Minnesota by Dan Mulroy and his brothers, Mulroy’s Body Shop was originally just a 400-square-foot shop. The business has grown significantly in size and capabilities over the years with two moves to expand shop and office space, and the addition of new, innovative equipment.
Although the location has changed over the years, two things has always remained the same for Mulroy’s. First off, the business remains family-owned and operated, with Dan’s son, Pat Mulroy, as the current owner. Pat started working full time at Mulroy’s in 1977 and he and his wife Donna eventually went on to purchase the family business. Pat’s son and daughter, Tim and Carrie, handle the day-to-day operations of the collision center. The other mainstay of Mulroy’s is its unique, “gone fishin’” theme. With pontoon seating and fishing motif in the waiting area, the Mulroy family has creatively incorporated this other favorite hobby into their business.
When it came time to add a second paint booth to the new Mulroy’s location, Pat Mulroy began evaluating several paint booth manufacturers. He quickly settled on Global Finishing Solutions® (GFS) when he noticed that several other booth companies didn’t offer local support or wouldn’t retrofit a new booth into the existing shop footprint.
“When we got in touch with GFS, they assigned us to a distributor, Jim LeFever of Auto Refinish Solutions (ARS). Jim came to meet with us and take measurements,” explains Pat. “We received bonafide architectural drawings of the booth and where it would go in the shop, which we were able to take to our contractor, electrician and HVAC expert. It also made the permitting process go so much smoother.”
While GFS and ARS designed an Ultra® booth to fit into the desired location within Mulroy’s shop, Pat and his team began considering the electric infrared REVO Accelerated Curing Systems. Mulroy’s Body Shop already had a gas-powered IR system installed in their other booth, so Pat was familiar with the increased throughput that infrared curing brings. According to Pat, REVO Systems had the added benefits of less maintenance, more convenient access to parts and lower energy costs than gas alternatives. REVO Systems are also backed by GFS’ technical services department and extensive distributor network, which includes ARS.
Knowing this, Pat chose to proceed with adding REVO Speed, a semi-automatic curing system that moves on rails alongside a vehicle to quickly cure fillers and coatings. A specialized Ultra XR downdraft booth with integrated REVO Speed was installed into the shop, and GFS and ARS provided training to get the technicians up-and-running with the new technology.
Pat has always been an early adopter when it comes to the latest refinish and energy-saving technologies. In addition to incorporating gas-powered and electric infrared technology into their body shop, Mulroy’s has transitioned to a new, factory-quality waterborne paint and installed solar panels on the shop’s roof. Mulroy’s once held the record for largest arrangement of solar panels for a private business in Minneapolis, and currently uses the solar power to offset their energy bill by about $350 per month.
In addition to the energy savings, Pat says that his painters, customers and insurance companies alike are impressed by the increased throughput with their new booth and REVO System.
“We are killing it on cycle times,” says Mulroy, “We are able to use less product, see better cycle times and get the car in and out of the paint booth faster. We will see vehicles come in with nearly $2,500 worth in damages, and the customer can wait in the lounge for their car to be totally repaired, painted and cured in three hours.”
To learn more about REVO Accelerated Curing Systems, please visit our website.
