Mack Trucks' aid in Prestige Auto & Metal Recycling success.

Keny Daniele knew early on that his career would be rooted in scrap metal and recycling – he grew up in the business working for his father. While at Texas State University earning a business degree, he had to write a business plan for a class. That class project eventually became a viable business—Houston, Texas-based Prestige Auto & Metal Recycling—and the lessons Daniele learned from his presentation set him on the path forward. The full-service ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metal recycling company, which started with just two employees and an old truck in 2012, brought in $40 million in revenue in 2023. Daniele anticipates $60 million in revenue by the end of 2024, and he credits the reliability of Mack^Ò trucks for playing a critical role in Prestige’s success.

The Mack journey

“I have pretty much tasted the entire rainbow when it comes to trucks,” says Daniele, but he says “everything changed when I started talking to my Mack dealer here in town." Mike Sandifer of Houston-area Vanguard Truck Centers delivered two 2023 and two 2025 Mack Anthem^Ò models to Prestige and also outfitted the company with a 2023 Mack MD medium-duty truck customized with a rollback wrecker bed for picking up vehicles.

“The Mack truck for us is a durable truck – a very heavy-duty truck,” says Daniele. “It’s not just a truck that’s being loaded on concrete and driven down the highway. It’s driving through mud, it’s going off road, it’s unloading on uneven spaces. For us, it’s always been a truck that we know is going to get in and out of a rough yard without any issues.”

The scrap metal recycling business has unique challenges, including the fluctuating price Prestige pays for scrap in the first place. Hurricane Ike also posed challenges earlier in 2024. This makes it critical to find consistency in other areas of his business. His Mack fleet provides the reliability that he has come to depend upon to keep the company humming.

Smart spec’ing

For Sandifer, careful spec’ing was in order for Prestige, his first customer in the scrap industry. “I wanted to make sure it was a rugged, tried and true Mack truck,” he says. "He needed a lightweight platform, and we went with the Anthem. I wanted to make sure that we had a gold Bulldog – your most durable, versatile, fuel efficient, just all-over good quality truck, especially for the scrap industry. Off road—he doesn't really stay on the road too much. It's a lot of deliveries, pickups, short hauls, not very many long hauls, and the Anthem plays perfect in that role.”

Sandifer spec’d the powertrain with care and an eye to Daniele’s specific application. The Anthems boast 13-liter Mack MP^®8 engines with 445 horsepower and Mack's double reduction gearing for improved traction and better ground clearance.

Daniele says the Anthem powers through the stress and punishment of his industry, as well as providing fuel economy and reduced downtime. “Mack definitely beats the other trucks on fuel use, but it's the fact that these trucks can be driven anywhere and drive through anything with ease," says Daniele. "They are dependable on the road, and that is where I need them to make money."

Drivers can be hard to please at times, and Daniele says his Macks help him retain the best. They like the looks, but the user-friendly features and superior ride surpass what his other trucks offer.

"I have worked for Prestige for twelve years, and I have tried all of the truck brands," says Juan Vargas, Prestige driver. "The Mack has been the best truck because it is stable, strong and comfortable. I am very happy to be driving a Mack truck."

Purchasing power

Mack was able to step in with additional assistance with Mack Financial Services, allowing Daniele the purchasing power for his latest two trucks.

“He was acquiring a shredder,” Sandifer said, which is a large capital outlay. “So we decided to see if Mack Financial could help him on financing some new trucks to keep his cash in-house so he can hold onto his working capital, and still bring new trucks into to make him some more revenue and some more money. Vanguard and Mack put a package deal together that Keny just couldn't pass up. And the numbers made sense. So we financed those two trucks."  Prestige plans to use MFS to finance the three new trucks it has on order, too.

For now, Daniele is remaining on script in growing Prestige. The Vanguard Truck Center and Mack Trucks team remain at his side to walk with him through that growth process. Daniele says wherever that might lead, it will be transported in a Mack truck.