By Ashley Reyes
The SEMA Professional Restylers Organization (PRO) named MARS of Billings as the council's newest spotlight member. Get to know the company's story in the SEMA News interview with MARS of Billings' owner Devon Davidson below.
SEMA News: Tell us the story of your shop.
Devon Davidson: MARS of Billings started as a franchise business in January 2002. My cousin, Ward Lien, and I bought the M.A.R.S. (Mobile Appearance Reconditioning Service) franchise for Billings, Montana.
We really wanted to own our business and were intrigued by the automotive industry. We started in mobile trailers doing interior and exterior cosmetic reconditioning for used car dealerships. We improved our skills by working on used car inventory [and] making them more sellable; fixing paint chips, scratches, bumpers, windshields and leather seats, as well as installing pinstriping.
We eventually rented our first facility and then hired my brother, Lance Davidson, to operate our third mobile unit. In year five, my cousin and his wife decided to move to the Seattle area for her career. At that point, we bought out Ward [Lien], and he started his own M.A.R.S. business in the Auburn, Washington, area, which is still operating. We then decided to purchase our first facility and open our doors to the general public. We grew our team in this facility as well as added new services such as spray-in bedliners, paint-protection film, bolt-on accessories, leather kits, heated seats, remote starters and window tint.
In 2018, we built our dream facility (22,500 sq. ft.) on the west end of Billings and now employ 39 "Martians" and have continued to expand our service offerings and customer base. We have a state-of-the-art automotive detailing department and are the RestorFX (Paintless Clearcoat Repair) dealer here, as well as the ValuGard Underbody Corrosion Protection dealer. We also now install and calibrate windshields and install commercial and residential window films. We have been detailing and protecting airplanes, RVs, semis and boats with our vehicle-specific ceramic coatings. All in all, we are the one-stop shop, and our tagline is: PROTECT. RESTORE. ACCESSORIZE.
SN: Tell us about your business now and the projects that you are working on.
DD: MARS of Billings in 2024 is working hard to continue to provide top-notch customer service and quality work to our broad customer base. We are focused on expanding a few new services we have brought on in the past year, including windshield replacement and calibration, windshield protection film, ValuGard Underbody Corrosion Protection, RestorFX Paintless Clear Coat Repair and our MARS home services, including window film and surface protection products.
SN: Tell us about a package/product that you are proud of.
DD: We are proud of many products we provide at MARS of Billings, but we are most proud of our XPEL protective products. We have had a relationship with XPEL since 2007 and are now an exclusive partner with them throughout the MARS Nation community! We provide all of their protective products throughout our customer base, including Automotive PPF, Tint, and Ceramic Coatings; Home/Office Window Film and Home Surface Protective Products; Boeing-approved Aviation Ceramic Coatings and Marine PPF, Tint, and Ceramic Coatings.
SN: What advice do you have for young professionals contemplating a career in the automotive aftermarket?
DD: If you have a passion for people and the automotive aftermarket industry, you can have a very rewarding and successful career if you join a company with a great culture. If you want to start your own business, MARS Nation has four different franchisees: MARS Automotive, MARS Home, MARS Marine and MARS Aviation. Check out our offerings at themarsnation.com.
Fill out a PRO member spotlight form to highlight how you or your company are contributing to the automotive restyling industry. Selected candidates are eligible to be featured on PRO's social media, SEMA News and future PRO-member updates.