Meet The Team

Moonlite Custom Fab & Machine, and Moonlite Diesel Performance, have partnered to provide their expertise in creating custom fab & machine, and diesel performance products. 

Andrew Cornell

TECHNICIAN
I started my career at a Ford dealership when I was 17. I performed oil changes for a few years and then the dealership enrolled me in the Ford Asset Program. While going to school I was an apprentice under a senior Ford diesel tech with 30 years of experience. I graduated the spring of 2017 as a factory certified tech. Over time I eventually became a Journeyman tech with a primary focus on light and medium duty trucks. I started working at Moonlite Diesel Performance in May 2019 as a part time evening technician while maintaining my full-time status at the dealership. I made the decision in the summer of 2020 to switch to full time status at Moonlite. My interest are riding four wheelers in the summers and Snowmobiling during the winter.

MATT MALECHA

TECHNICIAN
I’ve lived on a dairy farm my whole life and always enjoyed working on farm equipment. When I turned 16, I bought my first diesel powered pickup truck and my passion grew deeper. I then began buying used trucks and making the various repairs prior to flipping. When I was 17, I converted a 1996 Dodge Ram 2500 from a gasoline engine to a Cummins turbo diesel. I would always go to Moonlite Diesel Performance to give me solid advice and to order the parts needed for the swap. Once I graduated high school in 2020, Dan offered me a job to work full time in the shop to grow my knowledge and skillsets. I love working on the farm, going to the lake, and riding my side by side every chance I get.

JASON BURTON

SERVICE MANAGER
I grew up watching and helping my dad work on four wheelers, snowmobiles, and vehicles. As I grew older it turned into a passion. I started working at a Ford dealership my senior year of high school performing oil changes. Once I graduated high-school, I enrolled at Dakota County Technical college with a focus in the General Motors ASEP program. I graduated the program as a GM certified technician. I then began working at a Chevrolet dealership for 5 years. In the spring of 2019, I began working part time at Moonlite Diesel Performance as an evening technician. During this time, my passion and knowledge for diesel engines grew very rapidly. Towards the end of 2019 I was offered a full-time technician position which I took at Moonlite. I was promoted to the shop service manager in the summer of 2021. During my winter free time I love to go out to the Western US mountains & the Northern US for snowmobiling trips. Once the temperature warms up, I enjoy riding my side by side locally and around Northern Wisconsin.

Justin Burton

TECHNICIAN
I grew up holding the flashlight for my dad while gaining a lot of knowledge at a young age. Being around shops most of my life it eventually became a passion of mine. I wrenched on anything with a motor and had a hard time leaving any of my toy's stock. I enjoyed modifying my snowmobiles and four wheelers just as much as I did while riding them. Once I graduated high-school I started working at a Ford dealership. I found as time passed that being a technician was something I enjoyed and very proficient at. I attended Hennepin County Technical College for 2 years with a focus in the Ford Asset Program. Once I achieved my factory certified technician degree, I continued to work at the Ford dealership for another 5 years until I found out about Moonlite Diesel Performance. I have worked full time with Moonlite since the fall of 2020. I enjoy going to the lake with my family & friends during the summer and going out to the Western US mountains snowmobiling during the winter months.

BRAD SIMON

CO OWNER MOONLITE MACHINE - CAD DESIGNER / MACHINIST
I graduated from South Central College in 2008 with a degree in Computer Integrated Machining where I ended up substituting all our school projects for more difficult and custom projects that I had going on in my own garage at home.

I entered the machining field because of my passion to customize and modify almost everything. Growing up I found myself building and changing my bicycles, ATVs, snowmobiles and racecars to make them more unique, and enhance their performance. This is something at the time, I didn’t realize could be a career path. I may enjoy modifying even more than I do using them, which is hard to believe, but I love the creative process.

I have experience in TIG and MIG welding, manual machining equipment, vertical and horizontal CNC machine centers, robotic programming, CAD and CAM utilizing SolidWorks, MasterCAM and Autodesk Inventor.

As custom fabrication and machine shop, we can work with you in developing a vision or help your existing ideas comes to life. Whether it’s our children’s power wheels or our 400 horsepower snowmobiles – all customization is exciting to us!

Dave Wheeler

CO OWNER MOONLITE MACHINE – ELECTRONIC DESIGN
I’ve always had a knack for my technical ability from a very young age. I have an internal drive to understand the principles of how/why electronic and mechanical items operate. This drive is what lead me into various fields of study for college. I challenge myself daily to learn something new.
Ever since Brad, Dan, and myself put our nose to the grindstone in February 2020 to create Moonlite Custom Fab & Machine we have strived to manufacture quality products with exceptional customer service. With the pooling of our minds, we can conceptualize multiple avenues of a customer’s concept and drive it to reality.

 I have a strong background in electronic repair & design while still having an in-depth knowledge of diesel technology. You can find me in the shop working anywhere from sweeping the floor to designing a full-on customized powertrain wiring harness. No job is too small for us, we support the hobbyist and makers of this country.

While I am not working around the shop, I enjoy canoeing down a river, or blazing a new hiking trail. I also have a few personal fabrication projects such as a homebuilt gas turbine jet engine and a powertrain swapped supercharged & turbocharged golf cart that keep my hands from becoming idle.

Dan Heyda

OWNER MOONLITE DIESEL PERFORMANCE & CO OWNER OF MOONLITE MACHINE - WELDER / FABRICATOR
I founded Moonlite Performance in 2013 with a close friend that shared the same interests. We loved to build/modify, and inherently break our trucks. As much as we loved to do this beyond much else, it started to become very expense to fix, and further modify our vehicles. This is when and how Moonlite Performance was born, and we set our sights high with our mission being to provide exceptional quality, customer service, and knowledge using quality parts that we knew and trusted. Being so passionate about diesel performance, and helping others keep their trucks up and running is what further drove us everyday. I worked in the diesel engine/ truck/ equipment full time as well as keeping Moonlite customers satisfied.

A few years in my partner was able to get back to his true passion of stock car racing and building race cars. It was about at this same time I was looking to move, and found the perfect shop near Lakeville, Mn where we are currently located. My partner and I came to a mutual agreement to part ways due to logistics, as well as him being able to get back in to racing, took up any of his extra time. This is when we became Moonlite Diesel Performance and have been growing by triple and double-digit percentages every year since.

I finally came to a point in October 2020 that was able to leave my day job and strictly focus on Moonlite Diesel Performance, like I always dreamed of being able to do. I continue everyday on working to further Moonlite’s customer service excellence and look for more ways to better serve our customers.

In February of 2020 I got together with Dave Wheeler who was already helping our diesel shop grow more than ever, as well as Brad Simon a good friend that was currently working as a machinist/ designer/ programmer and who I knew had a wealth of knowledge in the CNC machining field. We met a few times to discuss starting a machine and fabrication shop, both guys were 100% on board and ready to sink or swim.

 In April of 2020 paperwork was filed and Moonlite Custom Fab and Machine was born. Shortly after we started acquiring CNC equipment, and brainstorming, and conceptualizing product ideas, as well as starting to work with some large manufacturers and fulfilling product runs for them. We are very proud of the short amount of time it took to make this company profitable, and we are out growing our space in a hurry.

While we love to be able to help larger manufacturers run parts to fulfil their needs, Our true mission stems from our passion in the racing and performance industries, as we are everyday working towards adding new Moonlite Machine products to our line up of offerings that cover a vast market. Most of our in house designed products are for the diesel performance, and powersports industries where a great deal of our passions lie.
Away from work I enjoy camping and boating while spending time with my wife and 4 children, playing with my diesel truck, riding my Harley, and going out west snowmobiling in the mountains. I love that I work were my hobbies, aspirations, and passions can all mesh.

Want to know more?

We're glad to help or answer any questions.
CONTACT US
Copyright © 2021 Moonlite Diesel Performance Motorsports | All Rights Reserved | Designed By: IMPERIUM