Odyssey was the brain child of founder Larry Kahan. A native of New Jersey, Larry decided to join the van craze of the 70's by building a van in his driveway and then head to California where custom vans were well on their way in popularity. Having installed his first CB radio for the trip Larry needed a name or handle and after consulting the World Book Encyclopedia came up with the name Odyssey which translates into "A trip or journey" Seemed a very fitting so the van was named Odyssey and the trip began. While on the West Coast Larry was employed by a major custom shop producing custom vans for car shows, movies and the public. After a year or so picking up many skills and ideas Larry came home to New Jersey and worked with other companies originating the East Coasts entry into the custom van market. The Odyssey van entered many custom shows and won many awards.

In late 1979 "Conversions By Odyssey, Inc." opened in a small 2,000 square foot highway location with shop and showroom in Whippany as a custom van and auto shop building vans, installing sunroofs, truck accessories, stereos and alarms. The business grew and three years later Odyssey moved into a 4,000 square foot highway location in Mountain Lakes. With custom van popularity going towards mass manufacturers in the mid West and small shops opening on every corner it was time to look at other markets.

In 1982 a local hospital using a Suburban for the paramedic response unit contracted Odyssey to build them a new vehicle. The job required a dependable heavy duty electrical system, emergency lighting, custom paint, reflective lettering, interior control console and custom cabinets to hold the various emergency medical support equipment. Odyssey found a new niche. These emergency vehicles were being produced by commercial truck shops and badly needed to be addressed as a dependable emergency response vehicle. As more hospitals offered paramedic services Odyssey grew and branched into the fire chief and command market. The SUV was slowly replacing the sedan as the vehicle of choice as ambulances were moving away from station wagons.

With the new focus on emergency and specialty vehicles the company name changed to "Odyssey Automotive Specialty, Inc.". The name "Odyssey" was becoming very well known in the industry . As the demand for high end, dependable emergency vehicles grew and retail became more competitive Odyssey again needed more space and in 1990 moved to an off highway, 15,000 square foot manufacturing facility with a large showroom and multiple offices. This new facility enabled Odyssey to work on more vehicles and added the capabilities to work on trucks, trailers, large vans, fire trucks, ambulances and other large vehicles. State and Federal agencies were added to Odyssey's customer list and special high tech covert vehicles became a new specialty.

In 2000 the demand grew again, 2000 Odyssey added a 4,000 square foot adjoining warehouse, expanded the main shop another 5,000 square feet, added a two story in plant office complex bring the total today to over 24,000 square feet. The shop can comfortably manufacture many, one of a kind vehicles, run a multiple vehicle production line in the main shop and the adjoining building and still produce well over 500 mail order cabinets per year. At any time you will see anything from an all terrain unit, SUV, Van, Truck, trailer and other specialty vehicles destined for agencies and locations world wide, all in production on at the same time and as a sole source provider Odyssey can supply the base vehicle and equipment as well as the conversion. .

As the demands for custom emergency response units require new technology, the future is bright. Odyssey has the expertise, reputation, experience and resources to assure that Odyssey customers receive the highest quality products for their specific missions. The Odyssey motto is: " If you can pick up the phone and call 10 companies, Odyssey is probably not one of them. If you go for the phone and can not figure who to call, Odyssey is usually the answer."

Please visit our web site at www.odysseyauto.com regularly to see the next new Odyssey innovation.