UCI Paints was a dream of founder, Sy Devick, who began manufacturing Lacquers and other industrial coatings in East Patterson, New Jersey. The lure of living in Florida with its warm tropical climate convinced Sy to pick up and move his family to South Florida in 1969. As a paint manufacturer up north, he knew he needed a different chemical composition for his paints to combat the mildew, algae, and tropical climate that he wanted to live in.