MPAA

Motorcar Parts of America, Inc.

A maker of remanufactured auto parts, Motorcar Parts of America rebuilds starters, alternators, brake calipers, and wheel hub assemblies that independent garages and retail chains sell to everyday drivers. It was founded in 1968 by Mel Marks, who started the business importing European and Japanese parts out of his home in Jericho, New York, before pivoting to remanufacturing in the 1980s. A fun detail: as a 19-year-old Navy veteran, Marks answered a newspaper ad for a shipping clerk job, and his boss paid for him to study auto mechanics — training that set him on the path to starting his own company.