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SPRING 2021 • 3


CONTENTS<br />

Around the Wash:<br />

Trademarks<br />

The Name Game ..................... 6<br />

Small Business News<br />

You Can Use ................................ 8<br />

Association Calendar<br />

& News ....................................... 18<br />

Innovations ............................... 20<br />

Self Serve Snapshot ............... 22<br />

Tips .............................................. 26<br />

Industry Dirt ............................ 28<br />

Extra! Extra! ............................. 32<br />

Around the Wash:<br />

How Much<br />

Do You Charge? ...................... 38<br />

Tricks of the Trade ............... 42<br />

Fun & Games .......................... 50<br />

The Birds and the Bugs ....... 52<br />

Cover Story ............................... 54<br />

Darwin ........................................ 62<br />

VOL. 49, NO. 2, SPRING 2021<br />

Publisher Jackson Vahaly<br />

Editor Debra Gorgos<br />

Design Katy Barret-Alley<br />

Editor Emeritus Jarret J. Jakubowski<br />

Editor Posthumous Joseph J. Campbell<br />

Editor Posthumous Julia E. Campbell<br />

Self Serve Carwash News is published 4 times<br />

per year and is independently owned by Jackson<br />

Vahaly. Web address is www.sscwn.com.<br />

All inquiries should be directed to:<br />

Self Serve Car Wash News<br />

110 Childs Ln., Franklin, TN 37067<br />

jacksonv@sscwn.com<br />

Copyright 2021. 2 Dollar Enterprises/<strong>SSCWN</strong>. All Rights Reserved<br />

4 • SPRING 2021<br />

Note to Self<br />

BY DEBRA GORGOS, EDITOR<br />

I love flying. I’ve been to<br />

almost as many places<br />

as my luggage. - BOB HOPE<br />

Hello, my friends.<br />

Well, as I was just getting used to living in the lap of low-key plans and blank calendars,<br />

not to mention so much binge watching and binge eating, I suddenly started getting<br />

invitations to so many car wash tradeshows and conventions. Similar to remembering how<br />

to ride a bike, I was once again tasked with filling in events in my calendar. How do I book<br />

a flight? I had to ask myself. Employees have been working tirelessly behind-the-scenes<br />

to bring these shows back to us, in person. Las Vegas! Atlantic City! Fort Worth! Altoona!<br />

Atlanta! Who’s booked their hotels? I admit I have stayed in two hotels for family fun<br />

since the C-word upended the world, and, if anything, a positive from the past 14 months<br />

is that people are taking germiness more seriously. As a self-proclaimed germaphobe, I<br />

used to prepare for travel as if I were going into a combat zone. Lysol wipes. Check. Hand<br />

sanitizer. Check. Hand soap. Check. Black light. Wait…I never checked that box, because<br />

I didn’t want to end up in the Howard Hughes hall of paranoia fame. But the thought did<br />

cross my mind. Who else would wipe down the remote, the light switches and doorknobs<br />

in their hotel rooms? This girl would! Who else would bring their own pump of liquid<br />

soap? Me! Now, hotels are using these antimicrobial surface covers on the railings and<br />

handles, etc. Brilliant. But, at the same time, we still have to live our lives and not assume<br />

everything, and everyone is a germ-carrying petri dish out to destroy you. Balance is good.<br />

Being cautious is good. But I am looking forward to some tradeshow get-togethers, so now,<br />

let’s get on with the shows.<br />

I recently got to interview Heather Courtney of Courtney Consulting & Event Management,<br />

LLC, who is helping to put on the Northeast Regional Carwash Convention in Atlantic<br />

City this October. Courtney said they are waiting to hear from the New Jersey State<br />

Department of Health and CDC regarding the safety precautions and will follow those<br />

to a tee. She also said they have been meeting (remotely) since the pandemic started. It’s<br />

been months and months and months and months of work. I cannot imagine. To have to<br />

work so hard with so many unknowns…<br />

If you’re still on the fence about travelling, I get that, too. I have relatives who still<br />

haven’t really left their homes. If you’re one of those people, please know I respect your<br />

stance. This magazine is bipartisan, and you will never know my particular political beliefs<br />

or conspiracy theories. Although, I still think pineapple belongs on pizza and Coke is better<br />

than Pepsi. That’s all you’ll get out of me, though. Oh, and Roger Moore was the best<br />

James Bond. Now, that’s all.<br />

So, for those of you attending the upcoming tradeshow, I look forward to seeing you all<br />

again in the upcoming months. And, please, travel safely.<br />

In other news, I’ve been thinking about safety and security a lot lately. After binge watching<br />

countless Dateline episodes and moving on to even more real-life murder mysteries on<br />

the Discovery channel, not to mention podcasts and documentaries on abductions, etc., I feel<br />

as if I am a bit more on guard with my surroundings. So, for the love of all things holy, please<br />

make sure your washes are well-lit. My girlfriends and I beg of you. This issue’s cover story is<br />

all about lighting. It’s not just about being more visible, it’s about safety, too.<br />

And, finally, if you’re proud of the landscaping around your car wash, please let us know.<br />

Send pictures to me at debrag@sscwn.com, and they will be featured in the next issue.<br />

Until next time,<br />

Debra


In this world of<br />

cancel culture<br />

it is time I get<br />

canceled. LOL.<br />

No, really, I just need to cancel my<br />

subscription.<br />

After being in the carwash business for 35<br />

years I sold my carwashes. Luckily, I had an<br />

awesome buyer who has taken the reins and<br />

has been keeping service top notch.<br />

Boy it was tough with a lot of crying and<br />

sobbing. Driving by the carwashes way<br />

too often just to see how business is and<br />

whether customers are being taken care of.<br />

It was a great adventure in the SS carwash<br />

business.<br />

Staff not showing up, hoses getting cut<br />

in the middle of the day, all wash bays<br />

freezing up on a 29-degree night (no bays<br />

freezing when it is zero degrees), all the<br />

wonderful customers I got to know and help<br />

them take care of their cars by providing the<br />

best service I could deliver. It was the best<br />

job I could have had.<br />

Though there were some hard knocks,<br />

they were however overwhelmed by the<br />

good knocks, wonderful suppliers I chose to<br />

do business with and great customers who<br />

chose to do business with me.<br />

I have slowed down driving by the washes<br />

now so the last great part of finalizing my<br />

carwash tenure is canceling my <strong>SSCWN</strong>.<br />

I have enjoyed reading and learning many<br />

things from the <strong>SSCWN</strong> issues from way<br />

back in the 90s when Jarret was heading the<br />

operations.<br />

I wish all in the carwash business no<br />

matter if you’re an operator, publisher or<br />

supplier, “Happy Washing and love what you<br />

do. I Did.”<br />

Now just a customer waiting in line to get<br />

washed,<br />

Stuart Johannes<br />

Letters to the Editor<br />

Editor’s<br />

Response:<br />

Dearest Stuart,<br />

congratulations on<br />

your retirement. Your<br />

love for your job, and<br />

the industry, is a great<br />

message to all of us.<br />

More ‘good knocks’<br />

are ahead, I am sure.<br />

As Mister Fred Rogers<br />

once said, “Often when<br />

you are at the end<br />

of something, you’re<br />

at the beginning of<br />

something else.”<br />

Sincerely,<br />

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SPRING 2021 • 5


Around the Wash:<br />

Trademarks<br />

The Name Game<br />

Why trademarking your business name is a smart and important move.<br />

BY ROB SCHRUEFER<br />

rob@onspotdetailing.com<br />

If you have the ambition to grow your business<br />

into a brand, there are a few things that you must<br />

think about from the very beginning. The most<br />

important being what will your business be called.<br />

A misstep here could result in legal action and losing<br />

the rights to your name years after you have<br />

established your business.<br />

Few people think about what their business<br />

might be in 5 or 10 or 20 years down the road when<br />

they are in the early stages of establishing a company.<br />

The thought of having to enforce your business<br />

name or having someone enforce their rights on<br />

you, might seem unrealistically far away. The reality<br />

is that if you have poorly chosen a name, you are<br />

not alone as it happens more often, and sooner than<br />

you think. If the owner of a trademark discovers<br />

someone using the same business name in the same<br />

industry, they are obligated to notify the offender<br />

and protect the mark. Failure to do so could cause<br />

them to forfeit the mark, so expect they will do<br />

something about it immediately.<br />

Personally, I have sent countless “Cease and Desist”<br />

letters to companies using the On The Spot<br />

name. It is not because I want to be a jerk about<br />

it, it is because I have to do it. Quite often I discover<br />

these other companies when a disgruntled customer<br />

calls us to complain about the other company<br />

thinking we are the same. One of the qualifying<br />

factors for enforcement is whether someone can<br />

be confused as to who they are dealing with. A<br />

business in the same industry using the same name<br />

meets that qualification. As my business expands<br />

into new areas, we also come across established<br />

detailing companies using the same name. With<br />

the trademark, I have the right to use the name<br />

over them, no matter how long they have been<br />

using it. Unfortunately they will be forced to stop<br />

using the name and rebrand or face legal and financial<br />

consequences.<br />

To avoid this hassle, you should start by identifying<br />

any potential problems from the start. The<br />

easiest way to accomplish this is to hire an Intellectual<br />

Property Lawyer and have them set you<br />

up legally. If that is not financially possible, there<br />

are three places I would suggest checking prior to<br />

naming your business:<br />

1. LOCALLY: Do a Google search in your<br />

area to find out if anyone else is operating<br />

under the name that you wish to use.<br />

Remember: It’s not just car washes. A<br />

business, such as a laundromat or pet<br />

wash could be using your name. If there<br />

is someone that is established and still<br />

in business, you should try thinking of<br />

another name.<br />

2. STATE: If you cannot find someone on<br />

an Internet search locally, that does not<br />

mean the name is not registered with<br />

the state already. Each state has a place<br />

on their .gov site where business names<br />

can be checked for conflicts. The state<br />

will not prevent you from using the same<br />

name with variances, especially if there is<br />

a DBA (Doing Business As) in the listing.<br />

For example, my business legally might<br />

be called Rob’s Detailing LLC, D/B/A On<br />

The Spot Detailing. Being registered with<br />

the state does not protect the name of the<br />

business or from trademark infringement.<br />

3. FEDERALLY: The most surefire way to<br />

avoid a potential problem is to check on<br />

the Federal Trademark Registry for your<br />

business name. This can be found at<br />

www.uspto.gov/trademarks.search.<br />

If you find the name here, stop and go<br />

back to the drawing board. Finding the<br />

name on a federal trademark search<br />

means that someone took the time and<br />

money to federally protect their name<br />

and/or logo, and are more than likely to<br />

enforce it through legal means.<br />

Once you have found the name that works for<br />

you, and no one else is using it, you should protect<br />

it. This means you will have the rights to the<br />

name, and no one can prevent you from using it.<br />

This will cost a few thousand dollars with an Intellectual<br />

Property Lawyer, but after a few years it<br />

will become incontestable, meaning that no one<br />

can challenge your right to the name. You must<br />

continue to use the trademark symbol, and keep<br />

up with the filing. I remember when I first started<br />

out, I was unable to obtain my trademark because<br />

another company had it registered. They were a<br />

tire company that did car washes somewhere in<br />

the Midwest, but they were not still in business. I<br />

had to wait for their rights to expire before I could<br />

move in and get it for myself.<br />

No matter if you dream of being a national company,<br />

or a local one, you should protect yourself<br />

and your rights. Having someone force you to<br />

stop using the name of your business will cause<br />

customers to be unable to find you, force you to<br />

rebrand all of your marketing materials, cost a fortune<br />

in legal fees, and have long-term effects on<br />

your ability to operate. While the chances of this<br />

are low if you remain small and off the radar, why<br />

limit yourself from the start? A little investment<br />

and forethought will save you an immeasurable<br />

amount of time and money down the road.<br />

Rob Schruefer is the owner of On The Spot Detailing out<br />

of Columbia, Maryland and is a regularl columnist for Auto<br />

Detailing News. He proudly serves on the board of the<br />

International Detailing Association and works tirelessly to<br />

ensure that detailing business owners receive business<br />

development support to help them achieve their goals.<br />

6 • SPRING 2021


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SPRING 2021 • 7


SMALL<br />

BUSINESS<br />

NEWS<br />

YOU<br />

CAN USE<br />

GOT<br />

QUESTIONS?<br />

EMAIL:<br />

DisasterCustomerService@<br />

sba.gov or call the SBA’s<br />

Customer Service Center<br />

at: 1-800-659-2955<br />

(1-800-877-8339 for the<br />

deaf and hard of hearing).<br />

• SBA to increases lending<br />

limit for COVID-19 EIDLs<br />

8 • SPRING 2021<br />

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)<br />

stated in a March 24, 2021 press release that it is<br />

increasing the maximum amount small businesses<br />

and non-profit organizations can borrow through<br />

its COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan<br />

(EIDL) program. As of April 6, 2021, the SBA<br />

has raised the loan limit for the COVID-19 EIDL<br />

program from 6-months of economic injury with<br />

a maximum loan amount of $150,000 to up to<br />

24-months of economic injury with a maximum<br />

loan amount of $500,000.<br />

“More than 3.7 million businesses employing<br />

more than 20 million people have found financial<br />

relief through SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster<br />

Loans, which provide low-interest emergency<br />

working capital to help save their businesses.<br />

However, the pandemic has lasted longer than<br />

expected, and they need larger loans. Many have<br />

called on SBA to remove the $150,000 cap. We<br />

are here to help our small businesses and that is<br />

why I’m proud to more than triple the amount of<br />

funding they can access,” SBA Administrator Isabella<br />

Casillas Guzman stated in the press release.<br />

Businesses that receive a loan subject to the current<br />

limits do not need to submit a request for an<br />

increase at this time. SBA will reach out directly<br />

via email and provide more details about how<br />

businesses can request an increase. Any new loan<br />

applications and any loans in process when the<br />

new loan limits are implemented will automatically<br />

be considered for loans covering 24 months of<br />

economic injury up to a maximum of $500,000.<br />

This new relief builds on SBA’s previous March<br />

12, 2021, announcement that the agency would<br />

extend deferment periods for all disaster loans,<br />

including COVID-19 EIDLs, until 2022 to offer<br />

more time for businesses to build back. In order to<br />

shift all EIDL payments to 2022, SBA will extend<br />

the first payment due date for disaster loans made<br />

in 2020 to 24-months from the date of the note<br />

and to 18-months from the date of the note for all<br />

loans made in the calendar year 2021.<br />

• Deferment Period<br />

extended for all<br />

disaster loans until 2022<br />

On March 16, 2021, the SBA announced the<br />

extended deferment periods for all disaster loans,<br />

including the EIDL program, until 2022.<br />

• All SBA disaster loans made in calendar<br />

year 2020, including COVID-19 EIDL, will<br />

have a first payment due date extended<br />

from 12-months to 24-months from the<br />

date of the note.<br />

• All SBA disaster loans made in calendar<br />

year 2021, including COVID-19 EIDL, will<br />

have a first payment due date extended<br />

from 12-months to 18-months from the<br />

date of the note.<br />

Current relief efforts can be<br />

found at WWW.SBA.GOV/<br />

CORONAVIRUSRELIEF.<br />

Firms participating in the<br />

8(a) Business Development<br />

can email questions to:<br />

8aQuestions@sba.gov.<br />

For more questions about<br />

the 8(a) Business<br />

Development program, visit:<br />

8(a) Business Development<br />

program (SBA.GOV).<br />

?


Corporate Office: 81 Highland Avenue, Suite 300, Bethlehem, PA 18017 | icscarwashsystems.com | 800.642.9396<br />

Defining the World of Car Wash Technology<br />

SPRING 2021 • 9


SMALL BUSINESS NEWS<br />

10 • SPRING 2021<br />

Existing SBA disaster loans approved prior<br />

to 2020 in regular servicing status as of March 1,<br />

2020, received an automatic deferment of principal<br />

and interest payments through December<br />

31, 2020. This initial deferment period was subsequently<br />

extended through March 31, 2021 , according<br />

to a press release. An additional 12-month<br />

deferment of principal and interest payments will<br />

be automatically granted to these borrowers. Borrowers<br />

will resume their regular payment schedule<br />

with the payment immediately preceding March<br />

31, 2022, unless the borrower voluntarily continues<br />

to make payments while on deferment. It is<br />

important to note that the interest will continue<br />

to accrue on the outstanding balance of the loan<br />

throughout the duration of the deferment.<br />

“Small Businesses, private nonprofits and agricultural<br />

enterprises, including those self-employed<br />

individuals, contractors and gig workers, continue<br />

to navigate a very difficult economic environment<br />

due to the continued impacts of the Coronavirus<br />

COVID-19 pandemic, as well as historic Severe<br />

Winter Storms in 2020,” SBA Administrator Tami<br />

Perrillo stated in the press release. “The COVID-19<br />

EIDL program has assisted over 3.7 million of small<br />

businesses, including non-profit organizations, sole<br />

proprietors and independent contractors, from<br />

a wide array of industries and business sectors,<br />

through this challenging time,” she continued.<br />

SBA continues to strive to make available all<br />

previously approved Coronavirus Pandemic stimulus<br />

funding and administer the new targeted programs<br />

related to provisions in the 2020 Economic<br />

Aid to hard-hit small businesses, nonprofits, and<br />

venues as quickly as possible.<br />

“The American people and the nation’s small<br />

business owners need our tireless effort and dedication<br />

to get this essential funding to those in great<br />

need, and SBA will not rest until we implement<br />

President Biden’s “American Rescue Plan” and its’<br />

additional targeted programs and funds allocated<br />

for America’s small business and nonprofit communities,”<br />

SBA Senior Advisor Michael Roth stated<br />

in the press release.<br />

COVID-19 EIDL loans are offered at very affordable<br />

terms, with a 3.75% interest rate for<br />

small businesses and 2.75% interest rate for nonprofit<br />

organizations, a 30-year maturity. Interest<br />

continues to accrue during the deferment period<br />

and borrowers may make full or partial payments<br />

if they choose.<br />

In mid-February 2021, SBA reached a milestone<br />

in the success of the COVID-19 EIDL program, by<br />

approving over $200 billion in emergency funding<br />

in low-interest loans, providing working capital<br />

funds to small businesses, non-profits and agricultural<br />

businesses to survive the severe impacts of<br />

this catastrophic and historic period within the<br />

entire United States of America and its territories.<br />

SBA continues to approve over $500 million each<br />

week for the COVID-19 EIDL program.<br />

• American Rescue<br />

Plan Act elevates<br />

small business support<br />

Upon President Biden signing the American<br />

Rescue Plan Act of 2021 into law, the U.S. Small<br />

Business Administration’s Senior Advisor Michael<br />

Roth stated:<br />

“The American Rescue Plan Act enables the<br />

SBA to continue to lift up the cornerstones of<br />

our communities; the mom-and-pop businesses<br />

and nonprofits that provide essential services<br />

for our everyday lives, hire from within neighborhoods,<br />

and more. Our nation’s more than<br />

30 million small businesses are the economic<br />

engine of this country and, in alignment with<br />

the Biden-Harris Administration’s focus on equitable<br />

treatment, the SBA will work tirelessly<br />

to ensure eligible borrowers will get access to<br />

this critical economic relief.”<br />

The American Rescue Plan Act, according to a<br />

March 11, 2021, press release provides additional<br />

relief for the nation’s small businesses and hardhit<br />

industries for programs the SBA is currently<br />

administering and adds new efforts, including:<br />

• $7.25 billion additional for the Paycheck<br />

Protection Program, including to expand<br />

eligibility to additional nonprofits and digital<br />

news services<br />

• Additional funds are allocated for the<br />

Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program,<br />

and now allows businesses to apply for<br />

both a PPP loan after Dec. 27, 2020, and<br />

the SVOG<br />

• $15 billion additional for Targeted<br />

Economic Injury Disaster Loan Advance<br />

(EIDL) payments, including NEW $5 billion<br />

for Supplemental Targeted EIDL Advance<br />

payments for those hardest hit<br />

• NEW: $28.6 billion for the Restaurant<br />

Revitalization Fund for industry-focused<br />

grants<br />

• NEW: $100 million to establish a<br />

Community Navigator pilot program;<br />

grants will go to eligible organizations<br />

supporting efforts to improve access to<br />

COVID–19 pandemic assistance programs<br />

and resources.<br />

SBA’s current relief efforts can be found at www.<br />

sba.gov/coronavirusrelief, and more details about<br />

these program updates and new efforts the SBA<br />

will administer in the coming weeks.<br />

• Changes to PPP will<br />

benefit small businesses<br />

In February 2021, the Biden-Harris Administration<br />

made several reforms to the Paycheck<br />

Protection Program (PPP) to further ensure small<br />

businesses get the help they need, especially<br />

Mom-and-Pop businesses in underserved communities.<br />

According to a March 9, 2021, press release,<br />

putting equity at the center of its policies and<br />

programs, the Biden-Harris Administration<br />

launched a comprehensive plan to engage small<br />

businesses and nonprofits, focusing on building<br />

trust in underserved communities.<br />

The cornerstone of reforms included a 14-day<br />

exclusivity period (February 24-March 9) where<br />

only businesses and nonprofits with fewer than<br />

20 employees could apply for relief through the<br />

PPP. This period was to give lenders time to focus<br />

on reaching out to the smallest of small businesses<br />

left behind in previous rounds.<br />

Early indications show program reforms and<br />

efforts to engage with communities authentically<br />

are working in meaningful ways. As of March 7,<br />

a comparison of the daily average rate of loans<br />

made during the exclusivity period and daily average<br />

rate ten days before the exclusivity period<br />

show loans to:


SPRING 2021 • 11


SMALL BUSINESS NEWS<br />

• Minority-owned businesses up by<br />

20%, or an additional 1,000 businesses<br />

accessing relief each day<br />

• Women-owned businesses up by 14%,<br />

or an additional 600 businesses accessing<br />

relief each day<br />

• Small businesses in rural areas up by<br />

12%, an additional 1,000 businesses<br />

accessing relief each day<br />

In total, more than 400,000 small businesses<br />

and nonprofits with fewer than 20 employees<br />

were serviced during the exclusivity period as of<br />

March 7. Compared to the ten days preceding the<br />

exclusivity period, the reforms show that nearly<br />

200,000 are first-time PPP borrowers – a 25% increase<br />

in daily approvals.<br />

During the exclusivity period, the Administration<br />

and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)<br />

focused on targeted community outreach in underserved<br />

communities to organize and participate in:<br />

• Black History Month <strong>web</strong>inars<br />

• Women’s History Month Instagram Live<br />

• Eight virtual SBA informational <strong>web</strong>inars<br />

about PPP changes whereby:<br />

• Over 73,000 people registered and<br />

20,000 leaders from small business,<br />

community-based organizations, trusted<br />

advisors, and small business owners<br />

participated<br />

• Over 30 small business associations,<br />

community-based organizations, and<br />

other stakeholders joined together to<br />

educate their membership and audiences<br />

Additionally, on March 5, the SBA implemented<br />

the rest of the changes the President made,<br />

including changing the formula for Schedule C<br />

filers, eliminating exclusionary restrictions on student<br />

loan debt and non-fraud felony convictions,<br />

and ensuring access for immigrant business owners.<br />

We are starting to see early momentum from<br />

those changes as well.<br />

• Nearly 30,000 small businesses had flags<br />

removed due to delinquent student loan debt,<br />

allowing them access to new PPP loans and<br />

forgiveness from the last round of PPP.<br />

• Tens of thousands of new applications have<br />

come in from sole proprietors, independent<br />

contractors, and self-employed individuals<br />

from over 2,000 PPP lenders<br />

Julie Verratti, Associate Administrator for SBA’s<br />

Office of Field Operations, stated in the press release,<br />

“Meeting small businesses wherever they are<br />

is critical to advancing our goal of equitably supporting<br />

underserved small business communities,<br />

12 • SPRING 2021<br />

especially women and minority-owned businesses.<br />

Our mission is to provide access to vital information<br />

that will help these risk takers take advantage<br />

of billions of dollars left in the Paycheck Protection<br />

Program. The SBA has been answering thousands<br />

of calls, emails, and running multiple <strong>web</strong>inars<br />

daily to reach as many people as possible. We<br />

will continue working with our small businesses<br />

no matter which zip code they are in, so they can<br />

get back to what they do best, which is grow our<br />

economy, build our communities, and create jobs."<br />

The fact remains that – even with these important<br />

improvements to the Paycheck Protection<br />

Program’s design and implementation – too many<br />

small businesses will continue to close their doors<br />

without the additional, targeted support. That’s<br />

where the Administration’s American Rescue Plan<br />

will step in to play a near-term role with long term<br />

benefits, the press release stated.<br />

• SBA prioritizes smallest<br />

of the small businesses<br />

A February 22, 2021, press release stated that the<br />

Biden-Harris Administration and the SBA are taking<br />

steps with the PPP to further promote equitable<br />

relief for America’s mom-and-pop businesses.<br />

The latest round of Paycheck Protection Program<br />

funding opened one month ago and already the<br />

Biden Administration has succeeded in making major<br />

improvements to the program’s implementation:<br />

• For businesses with fewer than ten<br />

employees, the share of funding is up<br />

nearly 60%<br />

• For businesses in rural communities, the<br />

share of funding is up nearly 30%<br />

• The share of funding distributed through<br />

Community Development Financial<br />

Institutions and Minority Depository<br />

Institutions is up more than 40%<br />

“The SBA is a frontline agency working to create<br />

an inclusive economy, focused on reaching<br />

women-owned, minority-owned, low- and moderate-income,<br />

rural, and other underserved communities<br />

in meaningful ways. While reported data<br />

illustrates we have made real strides in ensuring<br />

these funds are reaching underserved communities,<br />

we believe we can still do better,” says SBA<br />

Senior Advisor Michael Roth in the press release.<br />

“The important policy changes we are announcing<br />

further ensure inclusivity and integrity by increasing<br />

access and much-needed aid to Main Street<br />

businesses that anchor our neighborhoods and<br />

help families build wealth.”<br />

These simple progressive steps by the Biden-Harris<br />

Administration further demonstrate the commitment<br />

to racial and gender equity, reaching low<br />

and moderate-income, rural, urban, and other underserved<br />

areas. The SBA will:<br />

• Establish a 14-day, exclusive PPP loan<br />

application period for businesses and<br />

nonprofits with fewer than 20 employees<br />

• Allow sole proprietors, independent<br />

contractors, and self-employed individuals<br />

to receive more financial support by<br />

revising the PPP’s funding formula for<br />

these categories of applicants<br />

• Eliminate an exclusionary restriction on<br />

PPP access for small business owners<br />

with prior non-fraud felony convictions,<br />

consistent with a bipartisan congressional<br />

proposal<br />

• Eliminate PPP access restrictions on small<br />

business owners who have struggled<br />

to make federal student loan payments<br />

by eliminating federal student loan debt<br />

delinquency and default as disqualifiers to<br />

participating in the PPP; and<br />

• Ensure access for non-citizen small<br />

business owners who are lawful U.S.<br />

residents by clarifying that they may use<br />

Individual Taxpayer Identification Number<br />

(ITIN) to apply for the PPP.<br />

The 14-day exclusivity period started on February<br />

24, 2021 and the other four changes were<br />

implemented during the first week of March. The<br />

SBA is working on the program changes and will<br />

communicate details throughout this week.<br />

These actions will help to lay the foundation for<br />

a robust and equitable recovery for small businesses<br />

across the country. Small businesses employ nearly<br />

half of the American workforce; they create 2 out<br />

of 3 net new private-sector jobs; they reinvest 68%<br />

of revenues to build and sustain communities.<br />

• SBA distributes<br />

$200 Billion in<br />

emergency funding<br />

On February 12, 2021, the SBA announced<br />

it reached a milestone in the success of the<br />

COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan<br />

(EIDL) program, which has provided U.S. small<br />

businesses, non-profits, and agricultural businesses<br />

a total of $200 billion in emergency funding.<br />

“Following the enactment of COVID-19 emergency<br />

legislation, the SBA has now provided more<br />

than 3.7 million small businesses employing more<br />

than 20 million people with $200 billion through<br />

the unprecedented COVID-19 EIDL loan program,”<br />

Acting Administrator Tami Perriello said<br />

in a press release. “SBA remains committed to<br />

helping small businesses recover from the unprecedented<br />

economic effects of COVID-19.”<br />

SBA is still accepting COVID-19 EIDL loan applications<br />

as the deadline to apply has been extended<br />

to Dec. 31, 2021. EIDL funding is used<br />

to pay fixed debts, payroll and expenses, accounts<br />

payable and other bills that can’t be paid because


CHOOSING THE RIGHT TIMERS FOR YOUR WASH<br />

Having the right timers in your facility can keep you profitable 365 days a year.<br />

One of the most critical components of your facility are the timers you choose for<br />

your bays, vacuums, shampoo and fragrance machines. Face it, if your timer goes<br />

out, your bay or equipment goes down with it and that means a loss in revenue, or<br />

worse yet, the potential loss of a valuable customer. These critical pieces of technology<br />

that interact with your customers are really the lifeline of your facility. Choose<br />

the right timers and they’ll keep you and your customers happy. Make the wrong<br />

choice and... well you take your chances.<br />

WHAT CUSTOMERS DEMAND IN DISPLAY TIMERS<br />

Let’s face it, your customers are your most valuable asset. While many may be stopping<br />

in on their way through town, acquiring and keeping your regulars happy is<br />

the lifeline of the business. Having, bright, easy-to-read timers that are viewable<br />

from 180 degrees and in sunlight is the most common feedback from self-serve<br />

carwash users. If your timer display is fading or hard to read especially in bright<br />

sunlight, frustrations can build and your competitor down the road may gain their<br />

business.<br />

ADVANTAGES OF MADE IN AMERICA<br />

When choosing timers for your car wash site, as you know, there are a number of<br />

critical factors. As we have mentioned before, knowing your equipment is Made in<br />

America and subject to rigorous quality control standards is important for maximum<br />

up time at your facility. Of course, we all know that maximum up time means<br />

maximum profits. B&C Electronic Engineering has been manufacturing their<br />

timers and computers in Colorado since 1984 when the Company was formed.<br />

With their Tyco Pick and Place Machine, Wave Solder Machine, Heller Reflow<br />

Oven, IPC Certified Soldering Experts, B&C Electronic Engineering controls the<br />

manufacturing process from start to finish. This not only ensures strict quality<br />

control, but keeps jobs right here in America.<br />

B&C Electronic Engineering manufactures their timers and boards<br />

in Colorado, ensuring quality control from start to finish.<br />

Self-serve car wash customers look for easy-to-read displays.<br />

Bluish green Vacuum Fluorescent Displays perform exceptionally<br />

well in all light conditions from all angles.<br />

For maximum visibility in various light condition and angles, the bluish green<br />

vacuum fluorescent displays tend to perform best. The displays are designed to<br />

be visible virtually at any angle and they tend not to get washed out by intense<br />

sunlight. Further to that the displays generally last longer than LED due to the fact<br />

they tolerate heat better.<br />

Further to this, their Customer Service and Repair divisions are also located in<br />

Colorado, where they pride themselves on quick turnaround when you need it<br />

most! “Off shore” customer support can be frustrating to say the least and getting<br />

help troubleshooting and fixing your problems can be extremely challenging to<br />

car wash owners.<br />

To summarize, as a site owner, you want to ensure you have equipment that is<br />

dependable and that makes the customer experience easy and enjoyable. Making<br />

the right choice in timers can separate you from your competition and keep people<br />

coming to your facility week after week.<br />

B&C ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING TIMERS AT A GLANCE<br />

Highly Visible in Sunlight<br />

Yes – Premium Vacuum Fluorescent Display<br />

WHAT SITE OWNERS ARE LOOKING FOR IN<br />

DISPLAY TIMERS<br />

Pleasing loyal customers should always be at the forefront of any car wash site as<br />

mentioned previously. Keeping your site up and running through dependable technology,<br />

decreases down time and the hassle of constant repairs. Timers are not all<br />

created equal, and components and design are critical for dependable operation.<br />

Companies like B&C Electronic Engineering (Denver, CO) have been designing<br />

and manufacturing advanced timing devices since 1984 right here in the USA.<br />

They monitor the quality control literally from start to finish, ultimately offering a<br />

24-month Manufacturer’s Warranty through their distribution partners like Coleman<br />

Hanna, National Carwash Solutions and more.<br />

High quality design, dependable components and manufactured in the USA lead<br />

the way for a site owner’s piece of mind. Up time is critical to profit, and knowing<br />

you have a 24-month Warranty and domestic Customer Service makes it an easy<br />

choice for selecting the highest-quality display timers for your site.<br />

Easy Viewing from all<br />

Angles<br />

Built to Last in Cold and<br />

Hot Climates<br />

Eliminates Annoying<br />

Display “Hot Spots”<br />

Exceptional Warranty<br />

Yes – Uniform Viewing vs. Red/Orange LED<br />

Displays<br />

Yes – Withstands Extreme Temperatures Hot<br />

and Cold<br />

Yes – Clean, Crisp Display with no Annoying<br />

Hot Spots found on LED displays<br />

Yes – 24-Month Manufacturer’s Warranty<br />

Save 10% at www.bce-inc.com. Use code <strong>SSCWN</strong> at checkout.<br />

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO PURCHASE B&C ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING TIMERS AND PRODUCTS GO TO:<br />

B&C Electronic Engineering<br />

www.bce-inc.com<br />

303-777-3388<br />

Coleman Hanna<br />

www.ColemanHanna.com<br />

713-683-9878<br />

National Carwash Solutions<br />

(Formerly Hi-Performance Wash Systems)<br />

www.hpws.com<br />

800-922-1313<br />

Shiners Car Wash Systems in<br />

Australia<br />

www.shiners.com.au<br />

61 3 9646 0777<br />

SPRING 2021 • 13


SMALL BUSINESS NEWS<br />

of the disaster’s impact. This financial resource has<br />

allowed millions of small business owners across<br />

America to retain employees, continue operating<br />

and support their communities during the<br />

COVID-19 pandemic.<br />

SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans are just<br />

one piece of the expanded focus of the federal<br />

government’s coordinated response. The SBA is<br />

strongly committed to providing the most effective<br />

and customer-focused programs possible.<br />

As a reminder, the loan portion of the COVID-19<br />

EIDL program continues to have funds available<br />

at very affordable and flexible terms, with an automatic<br />

deferment of one year before monthly payments<br />

begin.<br />

• SBA provides 1-year<br />

8(a) Program extension<br />

Effective January 13, 2021, the SBA is allowing<br />

8(a) Program participants to elect a one-year<br />

program extension in the SBA’s 8(a) Business<br />

Development Program due to the challenges of<br />

COVID-19. According to a January 27, 2021,<br />

press release, eligible 8(a) firms must meet the following<br />

qualifications:<br />

• Any firm that participated in the 8(a)<br />

Program between March 13, 2020, and<br />

September 9, 2020, has the option to<br />

extend its program participation for one<br />

year from the end of its program term;<br />

• Firms that were terminated, early<br />

graduated, or voluntarily withdrew from<br />

the 8(a) Program during this period are not<br />

eligible for the extension; and<br />

• Firms admitted to the 8(a) Program on or<br />

after September 10, 2020, are not eligible<br />

for the extension.<br />

Automatic Extensions:<br />

• Firms participating in the 8(a) Program<br />

on January 13, 2021, will receive an<br />

automatic one-year program extension<br />

unless they decline it in writing.<br />

• If an 8(a) firm previously elected<br />

to voluntarily suspend its program<br />

participation in connection with the<br />

nationwide coronavirus emergency<br />

disaster declaration, the length of the<br />

suspension will first be added to the firm’s<br />

program term, and the one-year extension<br />

will be added to the end of that extension.<br />

• Firms that elect to extend their<br />

participation in the program will not be<br />

subject to a higher non-8(a) business<br />

activity target (BAT) for the extension<br />

period. The same 50 percent BAT that<br />

applies to the ninth program year will<br />

apply to the extended program term.<br />

Firms that do not wish to receive the automatic<br />

program extension are required to submit notice<br />

of decline in writing to:<br />

SBA’s Associate Administrator, Office of Business<br />

Development, Small Business Administration, 409<br />

Third Street SW, Washington, DC 20416 or email to<br />

8aQuestions@sba.gov.<br />

Graduated Firms:<br />

• Firms that were participating in the 8(a)<br />

Program as of March 13, 2020, but<br />

graduated before January 13, 2021, are<br />

eligible for program readmittance.<br />

• Firms seeking readmittance must notify<br />

SBA as soon as possible, but no later<br />

than March 15, 2021. As a condition<br />

of readmittance, a firm must certify<br />

that it continues to meet all applicable<br />

program eligibility requirements. If<br />

readmitted, the extension date is<br />

the firm’s original program exit date.<br />

For example, a firm with a program<br />

completion date of April 15, 2020 is<br />

readmitted January 25, 2021, their new<br />

program end date is April 15, 2021.<br />

Firms must submit readmittance notification to:<br />

Associate Administrator, Office of Business Development,<br />

Small Business Administration, 409<br />

Third Street SW, Washington, DC 20416 or email to<br />

8aQuestions@sba.gov<br />

SBA will readmit a firm to the 8(a) Program within<br />

five business days of receiving a readmittance request.<br />

The firm’s new program completion date is<br />

one year from the date it initially completed the<br />

program, not the date the final rule was published.<br />

Public comments to the interim final rule can be<br />

submitted, identified by RIN: 3245-AH64, by any<br />

of the following methods:<br />

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.<br />

regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for<br />

submitting comments.<br />

• Email: Van Tran, Deputy Associate<br />

Administrator, Office of Business<br />

Development, Small Business<br />

Administration, at 8aQuestions@sba.gov.<br />

Firms participating in the 8(a) Business Development<br />

can email questions to: 8aQuestions@sba.<br />

gov. For more questions about the 8(a) Business<br />

Development program, visit: 8(a) Business Development<br />

program (sba.gov).<br />

14 • SPRING 2021


Your carwash insurance experience can be hassle free. You don't have to spend hours<br />

comparing coverage options. You don't have to stumble through confusing paperwork.<br />

You can get a specialized insurance policy custom fit for your carwash business with<br />

Western Carwash Insurance Program (WCIP).<br />

Coverage Options:<br />

• Carwash Building & Equipment<br />

• Commercial Liability<br />

• Commercial Auto<br />

• Umbrella<br />

• Garagekeepers Legal Liability<br />

• Persona I Property<br />

• Employee Dishonesty<br />

• Employment Practices Liability<br />

• Business Income<br />

• Equipment Breakdown<br />

• Money & Securities<br />

• Workers' Compensation<br />

• Cyber Liability & Network Security<br />

• Surety Bonds and much more!<br />

Brandi Evans<br />

Account Manager-Lead<br />

email: Brandi.Evans@alliant.com<br />

http://wwwwesterncarwash.com<br />

CA DOI Lie. #OC36861<br />

SPRING 2021 • 15


Carwash<br />

Boom Assembly<br />

MODEL 203<br />

Zierco’s Original Swivel and<br />

Boom Assembly, with<br />

New Rebuildable<br />

Cartridge<br />

• Feather light rotating action<br />

• Twin compression springs are<br />

tension-adjustable for a variety<br />

of hose and gun weights<br />

• Swivel rotates 360˚ - 12 ft.<br />

diameter<br />

MODEL 203 FEATURES<br />

• Temperatures to 280˚ max.,<br />

pressure to 2000 psi<br />

• Longer hose life as spring<br />

prevents kinks<br />

• Ruggedly built, satisfaction<br />

guaranteed<br />

• Proven performance with over 50 years<br />

service in the field (Since 1962)<br />

OPTIONAL<br />

107C CARTRIDGE<br />

FOR COMPLETE<br />

INFORMATION<br />

CALL<br />

414-764-6630<br />

FAX: (414) 764-9763<br />

www.ziercowaterboy.com<br />

107C Cartridge Features:<br />

• Field Repairable<br />

• 100% 304 Stainless Steel Internal<br />

Materials Eliminate Failure Due to<br />

Corrosion<br />

• Double O-Ring Design Uses Any<br />

Type of Grease<br />

7355 S. 1st. Street<br />

Oak Creek, WI 53154<br />

sales@zierden.com<br />

TM<br />

VISA and Master Card accepted<br />

DISTRIBUTOR INQUIRIES INVITED<br />

QUALITY PRODUCTS SINCE 1937<br />

16 • SPRING 2021


Carwash<br />

Boom<br />

Assemblies<br />

Zierco’s Easy Service Swivel and<br />

Boom Systems with<br />

MODEL 204 and 206 FEATURES<br />

• Twin compression springs are tension-adjustable<br />

for a variety of hose and gun weights<br />

• Swivel rotates 360˚ - 12 ft. diameter<br />

• Temperatures to 280˚ max., pressure to 2000 psi<br />

• Longer hose life as spring prevents kinks<br />

• Ruggedly built, satisfaction guaranteed<br />

• Optional stainless steel components<br />

• Proven performance with over 50 years service in<br />

the field (Since 1962)<br />

Boom Systems with Full 360 Degree roTATIoN<br />

Booms are Available with 3 Different Mountings<br />

MODEL 204<br />

ENHANCE YOUR SELF SERVING<br />

CONVENIENCE<br />

STYLE B<br />

Flat Plate<br />

Mounts directly<br />

to the ceiling or<br />

beam.<br />

Easy to Use -"Feather Light" rotating action<br />

STYLE C<br />

Swivel Base<br />

Mounts directly to<br />

the ceiling.<br />

MODEL 206<br />

OFFSET Overhead Carwash Boom<br />

Allows for TWO Center Boom Installation<br />

STYLE D<br />

Wall Bracket<br />

Mounts to wall and<br />

is adjustable so<br />

boom swings<br />

to wall when<br />

not in use.<br />

Ideal for foaming brushes.<br />

FOR COMPLETE<br />

INFORMATION<br />

CALL<br />

(414)-764-6630<br />

www.ziercowaterboy.com<br />

CONVERSION KIT<br />

204B<br />

To Convert Model 203<br />

to a 204 Assembly<br />

Remove boom body<br />

from hinge plate<br />

EASY 3 STEP PROCEDURE<br />

TO CHANGE SEALS.<br />

NO TOOLS REQUIRED.<br />

Rotate hinge plate<br />

counter clockwise to<br />

remove seal elbow<br />

Replace O-Rings<br />

7355 S. 1st Street<br />

Oak Creek, WI 53154<br />

Fax: (414) 764-9763<br />

sales@zierden.com<br />

QUALITY PRODUCTS SINCE 1937<br />

TM<br />

DISTRIBUTOR<br />

INQUIRIES<br />

INVITED<br />

VISA and Master Card<br />

accepted<br />

SPRING 2021 • 17


2021 CALENDAR<br />

OF EVENTS<br />

*All events are subject to changes<br />

due to current circumstances.<br />

APR<br />

28-29<br />

JUN<br />

9 -11<br />

JUN<br />

21-23<br />

SEP<br />

27-29<br />

OCT<br />

4-6<br />

OCT<br />

18-19<br />

NOV<br />

15-17<br />

MAY<br />

9-11,<br />

2022<br />

18 • SPRING 2021<br />

CAR WASH<br />

SHOW EUROPE<br />

Digital State<br />

www.carwashshoweurope.com<br />

2021 SCWA<br />

CONVENTION &<br />

CAR WASH EXPO<br />

Fort Worth Convention Center<br />

Fort Worth, Texas<br />

VIRTUAL WOMEN<br />

IN CARWASH<br />

CONFERENCE<br />

www.womenincarwash.com/<br />

registration.html<br />

AMERICAN<br />

CAR WASH EXPO<br />

Georgia World Congress Center<br />

Atlanta, Georgia<br />

NORTHEAST<br />

REGIONAL CARWASH<br />

CONVENTION<br />

Atlantic City Convention Center<br />

Atlantic City, New Jersey<br />

HEARTLAND CARWASH<br />

ASSOCIATION:<br />

2021 PRODUCT &<br />

EQUIPMENT SHOW<br />

The Prairie Meadows Events and<br />

Conference Center, Altoona, Iowa<br />

2021 CAR WASH<br />

SHOW<br />

Las Vegas Convention Center<br />

Las Vegas, Nevada<br />

THE CAR WASH<br />

SHOW 2022<br />

Music City Center<br />

Nashville, Tennessee<br />

Association News<br />

International Carwash Association<br />

Car Wash Show Europe to take the digital stage<br />

The April 28 and 29, 2021, Car Wash Show<br />

Europe will be available in a digital format. According<br />

to the ICA, this pan European event will<br />

be broadcasted live from the ProMedia Group studio’s<br />

in the city centre of Rotterdam and will be<br />

Digitalization<br />

• From hand washes to artificial intelligence<br />

• Cashless payments solutions<br />

Camera surveillance<br />

• How can camera’s help you avoid claims of scratches<br />

and dents<br />

• Using license plate recognition for loyalty programs<br />

Washing by app<br />

• Using license plate recognition for wash subscriptions<br />

• Washing by app at Uno-X<br />

Virtual Car Wash Tour:<br />

Best Carwash Regensburg, Germany<br />

Sustainability<br />

• Using less detergents<br />

• Saving water and costs<br />

Artificial Intelligence<br />

• The role of AI in the car wash<br />

• How AI can help determine how much and water is<br />

needed?<br />

Virtual Car Wash Tour:<br />

All-in Carwash Echt, Netherlands<br />

How are companies organised<br />

• How is a mature market is organized, such as the United States<br />

• New developments in the international car wash market<br />

Western Carwash Association<br />

focused on content sharing and networking. More<br />

than 1.000 professionals from over 90 different<br />

companies worldwide are expected to attend.<br />

The schedule will include sessions covering<br />

the following topics:<br />

Puget Sound Carwash Association now a part of WCA<br />

International Detailing Association<br />

European key market update:<br />

Western Europe<br />

• How is the Western European car wash market organised?<br />

• What is WashTec’s role in this<br />

Key Market Update: Scandinavia<br />

• Finland’s (and the world’s!) first digital car wash<br />

• Superoperator’s role in digitalisation<br />

How to get the most out of your car wash<br />

• New trends in technology<br />

• Connecting with the millennial mindset<br />

Virtual Car Wash Tour:<br />

Delta Sonic Car Wash<br />

Downers Grove, Illinois, USA<br />

Leadership<br />

• Leadership in times of a pandemic<br />

• What is a sustainable personnel policy?<br />

Truckwashes<br />

• Differences in the international market<br />

• How to use data in truck (and car) washes<br />

The IDA celebrates its 2021 award winners<br />

The following winners were announced at the virtual<br />

International Detailing Association Annual Business<br />

Meeting and Awards presentation in February. The<br />

IDA stated it received a record-breaking 4,000+ votes<br />

Detailer of the Year<br />

Mike Karlen, CD<br />

FastLane Detailing<br />

Stanley, WI<br />

Detail Supplier<br />

of the Year<br />

John Bell, CD<br />

PRO Products | Tustin, CA<br />

Dates announced for 2022 Show<br />

In case you missed it, The Car Wash Show<br />

2022 remains scheduled for May 9 - 11, 2022, at<br />

Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee. This is<br />

the same venue in which the 2019 Show was held.<br />

The Puget Sound Carwash Association<br />

(PSCWA), which includes car wash owners and<br />

operators in the greater Seattle area, is now officially<br />

a part of the Western Carwash Association.<br />

The official announcement was made on January<br />

1, 2021. The PSCWA started the popular Charity<br />

Carwash Program which helps form partnerships<br />

between businesses and the community by<br />

helping non-profit organizations to sell tickets for<br />

environmentally-friendly, professional car washes<br />

throughout the Puget Sound area. The WCA said<br />

it will continue to support and facilitate the Charity<br />

Carwash Program, amongst other initiatives.<br />

for the Detailer of the Year category alone. “This really<br />

shows how strong the detailing community is and<br />

how our community came together after such a difficult<br />

year,” stated the IDA.<br />

Mobile Detailer of the Year<br />

Magik Touch<br />

Detailing, LLC<br />

Kendall Honore | Dania, FL<br />

Detail Shop of the Year<br />

Classic Appreciation<br />

World Class Auto Detailing<br />

Greg Swett,CD-SV | Rochester, MI


New England Carwash Association<br />

Annual winter event includes a taste of Napa Valley<br />

New Association President Patrick Mosesso<br />

welcomed over 80 people to the January 26th annual<br />

winter event which took place with a Napa<br />

Valley theme on January 26. The event was sponsored<br />

by AutoWash Technologies, DRB Systems,<br />

Maintenance Technology, Simoniz and Washify<br />

Services and Fernando and Fabiano of Washify.<br />

Pre-registrants were sent half bottles of Napa<br />

Valley chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon, as well as<br />

various cheeses from Vermont. A wine expert from<br />

Julio’s provided a history of wine making in America<br />

and specifics on wines produced in Napa Valley.<br />

Mosesso presented outgoing board members<br />

Jeff Arimento, Kevin McLoughlin and Micah<br />

Smith with special plaques.<br />

Scott Bernstein, COO of the marketing agency<br />

Mittcom, reported that as of January 26, more<br />

than 182,000 individuals were introduced to the<br />

NECA and the car washing messaging through<br />

www.carwashsafe.com, a “Clean Covid from your<br />

Car” initiative, and over 158,000 people watched<br />

the NECA videos.<br />

A panel presentation was held discussing carnauba<br />

wax vs ceramic and was moderated by Chris<br />

Ouimet of Fitzy’s Car Wash<br />

Panelists included Frank Yonker of Qual-<br />

Chem, John Shalbey of RoJo, Stu Hulsey of ZEP,<br />

Chris Zona of Fresh Auto Wash and Al West of<br />

Simoniz.<br />

According to the NECA write up of the event,<br />

“The discussion began by differentiating between<br />

carnauba hot wax, a natural occurring hard wax,<br />

with a high melting point, that is rubbed in and<br />

sits on the surface and ceramic clear coat, a sealant,<br />

composed of self-curing silicone polymers<br />

that hardens over time and bonds to the surface.<br />

They do similar things but ceramic has some added<br />

water repellency. The panelists agreed that if<br />

space and budget allows, offer as many options to<br />

the customer as possible. These are value-added<br />

services that work to increase the average ticket.<br />

They suggested situating your carnauba application<br />

in the first half of the tunnel and the ceramic<br />

application towards the end.”<br />

Panelists pointed out that there is an additive<br />

effect over time. Applying a drying agent with ceramic<br />

is advantageous since the more layers, the<br />

greater the depth of beauty. Plus a drying agent<br />

will help rinse out of cracks and crevices, according<br />

to the NECA.<br />

Another panel presentation was about maximizing<br />

drying efficiency and was moderated by<br />

Mat Paisner of ScrubaDub. Panelists included Mike<br />

Snow of Maintenance Tech, Matt McNamara of<br />

PECO Car Wash Systems, Travis Yaconis of Motor<br />

CityWash Works, Chris Zona of Fresh Auto Wash<br />

and John Shalbeyof RoJo.<br />

Panelists discussed whether heated drying<br />

makes sense all year long or in winter only, the<br />

NECA write-up noted. “The panelists agree that<br />

when it comes to blower nozzles, length not shape,<br />

and placement make the difference. The shape<br />

and size also depends on application. In addition,<br />

customer perception should be considered.<br />

Southwest Car Wash Association<br />

SCWA reveals details for 2021 Convention and EXPO<br />

Details have been shared regarding the upcoming<br />

2021 SCWA Convention & Car Wash<br />

EXPO, which will take place from June 9-11, at<br />

the Fort Worth Convention Center. The dates for<br />

the convention were initially set for February 17-<br />

19, but were changed to mid-June after careful<br />

consideration by Board members of the current<br />

COVID situation and evaluating the factors that<br />

will exist over the next 60-90 days. The SCWA<br />

Board believes that getting through the winter<br />

months; the flu season; and rollout of the vaccine;<br />

will provide a safer and larger attended event for<br />

everyone to enjoy. Here is the schedule of events<br />

as provided by the SCWA:<br />

TUESDAY, JUNE 8<br />

• 5 p.m. SCWA Happy Hour at the Hampton Hotel<br />

SPONSORING HOST: CHEMQUEST WEDNESDAY<br />

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9<br />

• 9 a.m.- 6:30 p.m. Convention Registration<br />

• 9:30 a.m. Pre-Convention Devotion<br />

Scott Hicks Enjoy a motivational start to your SCWA<br />

EXPERIENCE with industry friends.<br />

• 10:30 a.m. CEO Forum featuring Michael Dominguez,<br />

President & CEO of ALHI<br />

SPONSORS: Innovative Control Systems Kleen-Rite<br />

• 1 p.m.- 6:30 p.m. EXPO HOURS and Quick Talks<br />

Sessions S<br />

• 4:30 p.m. WELCOME RECEPTION<br />

SPONSORING HOSTS: COLEMAN HANNA, EVERWASH,<br />

QUALCHEM<br />

• 6:30 p.m. SCWA Happy Hour at the Hampton Hotel<br />

SPONSORING HOST: CHEMQUEST<br />

THURSDAY, JUNE 10<br />

• 7 a.m. Convention Registration<br />

• 7:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast - State Discussion<br />

Tables Tables will be designated for attendees to discuss<br />

state issues. 8 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. Car Wash Investor Basics<br />

If you are considering entering the $23 billion professional<br />

Car Wash industry: A current car wash owner, new to the<br />

business or changing models; this session is for you.<br />

Open only to car washers present or future.<br />

MODERATORS: Andrew Zamora, Jeff Blansit<br />

8 a.m. Fast Tracks. Pick your topics and circulate between<br />

discussion tables. Each session is 25 minutes. Topics to<br />

include:<br />

• How to Know Your Coverage (Pat McCurley, Sharon<br />

Wadsworth)<br />

• Evaluate Your Car Wash Business (George Adden)<br />

• Targeted Marketing to Attract Top Talent (Sarah Turner)<br />

• Labor and Other Legal Business Issues (Jacob Monty)<br />

• Tips & Strategies for Unlimited Plans (Clayton Clark)<br />

• Social Media Tips to Increase Your Customer Base (Zach Davis)<br />

• Managers Insights (Damon Van Winkle, Tim Hutchins)<br />

• Training 101 (Best Training Programs) (Steve Gaudreau)<br />

• Detailing Options for Your Car Wash (Prentice St. Clair)<br />

• 9 a.m Idea Exchange Sessions<br />

Breakout sessions discussing challenges & practical<br />

solutions for all car wash models & lube/ detail operations.<br />

A. Conveyor/ Exterior Idea Exchange Session<br />

MODERATORS: Tyler Furney, Steve Holcomb<br />

• B. Automatic/ Self-Serve Idea Exchange Session<br />

MODERATORS: Mel Ulrich<br />

• 10:15 a.m.-10:30 a.m. General Session Welcome:<br />

Jeff Blansit - President Presentation of the 2021 SCWA<br />

Lifetime Achievement Award: Sonny Fazio<br />

Keynote Address: Steve Forbes, Chairman of the Forbes<br />

Media Empire<br />

SPONSOR: PRO-TECH SERVICE COMPANY<br />

• 12 noon Attendee Lunch with Exhibitors<br />

SPONSORING HOSTS: HAMILTON MANUFACTURING<br />

MICROLOGIC ASSOCIATES SCOTCH PLAID VELOCITY<br />

WATER WORKS<br />

• 1 p.m.- 5 p.m. EXPO HOURS<br />

BREAK SPONSORS: AUTO WASH SERVICES – WASH<br />

SALES MIDLOTHIAN INSURANCE AGENCY<br />

• 5:30 p.m. SCWA Heads to Billy Bob’s – Fort Worth<br />

Stockyards<br />

Enjoy an evening of fun, food and friends.<br />

SPONSORING HOSTS: BIG MAN WASHES GALLOP<br />

BRUSH COMPANY SONNY’S THE CAR WASH FACTORY<br />

FORWARD TOGETHER<br />

FRIDAY, JUNE 11<br />

• 8 a.m.- 9 a.m. CONCURRENT SESSIONS<br />

(All sessions will repeat from 9:15-10:15)<br />

Virtual Car Wash Tour - 808 Car Wash - Kapulei, Hawaii<br />

Presenter: Rick Price Get an up close and personal virtual<br />

tour of the new 808 Car Wash plus operational ideas from<br />

owner Rick Price.<br />

MODERATOR: Andrew Zamora<br />

Mini Express Conversions<br />

Presenter: Mel Ulrich<br />

One of the trends in the self-serve car wash market today<br />

is mini express conversions. Hear first-hand one operator’s<br />

experience and learning curves in their conversion.<br />

MODERATOR: Bobby Story<br />

Characteristics That Good Car Wash Managers Have<br />

Presenter: Steve Gaudreau<br />

Why do successful assistant managers often fail when<br />

promoted to site managers? This session will look at both<br />

car wash assistant managers and site managers, clarify<br />

their differences, and look at ways to prevent promotion<br />

failures. Physical attributes, experience, beliefs, and<br />

behaviors for both positions will be reviewed. Deciding on<br />

whom to promote internally, as well as hiring a manager in<br />

training, may never be the same after this program.<br />

MODERATOR: John Agnew<br />

Behind the Mask – Creating A Customer Focused Culture<br />

Presenter: Lanese Barnett<br />

This year has presented new challenges for the car<br />

wash operator in making sure employees connect with<br />

customers in a positive and friendly way. This session will<br />

provide great ideas and guidelines for your employees on<br />

creating a culture that sets your car wash operation apart.<br />

MODERATOR: Steve Holcomb<br />

International Detailing Association’s Sessions<br />

MODERATOR: Prentice St. Clair<br />

• 9:15 a.m.- 10:15 a.m. Above Sessions Will Repeat<br />

• 10:45 a.m.-11:45 a.m. General Session – Adapting<br />

to Change in Today’s Car Wash World<br />

Moderator: Rich DiPaolo – Professional Car Washing<br />

& Detailing Magazine<br />

PANELISTS: Justin Alford & JT Thomas 2020 produced<br />

both challenges and opportunities on many fronts for the<br />

Car Wash Community. The dynamics of the industry are<br />

evolving and as we move forward in a new environment -<br />

we will face a new landscape. This general session panel<br />

will discuss many of the challenges and changes as we<br />

move forward together.<br />

• 12 Noon Closing Luncheon<br />

Introduction of 2021-2022 SCWA Officers & Directors<br />

SPRING 2021 • 19


INNOVATIONS<br />

INTRODUCING<br />

Vapor-tight luminaire<br />

from LSI Industries<br />

LSI Industries announced on April 6, 2021, that it has<br />

launched its new Advantage Series Vaportite (EGA) luminaire<br />

– an enclosed and gasketed LED fixture that is<br />

ideal for wet locations, cold storage and parking garage<br />

applications. This cost-competitive luminaire is IP65 certified<br />

and features a slim profile and an impact resistant<br />

lens. It is lightweight, easy to install and can be power<br />

washed at pressures up to 1,500 PSI.<br />

The EGA’s output level is 5,000 lumens at color temperatures<br />

of 4000K and 5000K. With an efficacy of up<br />

to 136 lumens per watt, this new product is highly energy-efficient.<br />

The EGA is made in America, meets Buy<br />

American Act requirements and is ideal for both new<br />

construction and retrofit projects.<br />

PPE vending<br />

machine<br />

from DMVI<br />

Digital Media Vending<br />

International LLC has<br />

designed an effective<br />

and modern sanitizing<br />

solution: the PPE<br />

vending machine: It<br />

can dispense face masks,<br />

travel size hand sanitizer gel<br />

bottles, anti-bacterial wipes and<br />

Nitrile or PVC Gloves The vending machine:<br />

• Is 23.6” wide X 31.5” high X 7.8” deep<br />

• Has a white powder coat paint finish<br />

• Comes equipped with a security cam lock<br />

• Has a modern 7” inch touchscreen<br />

• Includes five product trays, which are adjustable<br />

• Bill acceptor that can accept $1, $5, $10 & $20<br />

• Option to replace the bill acceptor<br />

with a cashless terminal<br />

• Option to replace the bill acceptor<br />

with a QR / RFID scanner<br />

• Optional custom branding or graphics<br />

• The machine is easy to install in different wall<br />

mounting positions, and it can dispense<br />

the items free of cost or at a minimal charge<br />

20 • SPRING 2021<br />

NEW AND IMPROVED PRODUCTS<br />

AND SERVICES FOR SELF SERVE CAR WASHES<br />

Mobile app enhancements from<br />

WashCard<br />

WashCard Systems announced upgrades to the company’s mobile car wash app named<br />

UWashApp. The app helps car wash owners attract new customers, produce more revenue,<br />

and operate more efficiently.<br />

The UWashApp, which can activate self-serve washes, in-bay automatic washes, pet<br />

washes, vacuums and fragrance, and vending makes it very convenient for the car wash<br />

customer to purchase not just the wash, but all additional services.<br />

Enhancements were based on suggestions from operators, which were incorporated into<br />

V2 of the app. Some of the enhancements of UWashApp V2 include the following:<br />

• Business Accounts: Businesses can have one UWashApp account shared with multiple<br />

users. With the UWashApp, the business establishes an account and then can<br />

invite employees right from their cell phones. The car wash owner doesn’t have to<br />

be involved in tracking washes and fleet cards, because the business owner manages<br />

the account—adding or subtracting employees from the app, keeping track of<br />

the money spent on washes, downloading and sharing records, etc.<br />

• “Count Up”: WashCard invented the “count up” concept more than 30 years ago.<br />

Rather than having consumers guess up front how long they will need to use the<br />

service—$5, $10, or however much, “count up” allows them to start the wash when<br />

they are ready, then stop it when they are finished.<br />

• Location Awareness: With this new version, the app knows the specific location the<br />

user is approaching, and it lists the services available at that location, eliminating<br />

steps and making it faster and easier.<br />

• In-App Messaging: Operators can set up an in-app messaging system whereby a<br />

customer can receive a pop-up message after completing their service. It could be a<br />

cross-promotional message—for example, an oil change advertisement or a public<br />

service announcement. A car wash operator could provide advertising space in the<br />

UWashApp for, say, a landscaping company, in exchange for all of the landscape<br />

company’s wash business.<br />

Time management app by nTask<br />

With nTask you can plan what needs<br />

to be done, with, when, and where in just<br />

a few steps. Define your projects, create<br />

to-do lists, make unlimited subtasks, set<br />

billing method, decide the payout rate,<br />

and allocate resources to your projects.<br />

KEY Features include:<br />

• Budgeting<br />

• Set Currency<br />

• Resource Allocation<br />

• Define Work Capacity<br />

• Multiple Sub-Tasks<br />

• Add assignees and attachments<br />

• Set repeat task<br />

• Set planned and actual dates


INDUSTRIAL GRADE SOLUTIONS<br />

FOR ALL YOUR CAR WASH NEEDS<br />

...From A to Bay<br />

Wash Systems • Water Treatment • Vacuums • Payment Solutions • Dryers<br />

VACUUM STANCHIONS<br />

Super Flo - R.O.<br />

SPOT FREE RINSE SYSTEM<br />

Vault Meters & Marketing<br />

Whether you are a new investor or looking to upgrade your current equipment, Carolina Pride can deliver what you need!<br />

(800) 421-5119<br />

225 Crown Blvd. Timberlake, NC 27583<br />

www.cpcarwash.com | sales@cpcarwash.com<br />

SPRING 2021 • 21


SELF<br />

SERVE<br />

SNAPSHOT<br />

How many self serve<br />

bays do you have<br />

amongst your six locations?<br />

22 self serve bays<br />

and seven automatics.<br />

What are<br />

your hours?<br />

24/7/365 days a week.<br />

GETTING TO KNOW<br />

ULTIMATE AUTO WASH<br />

SIX LOCATIONS IN AND AROUND DES MOINES, IOWA<br />

OWNER MARK LILE<br />

What are<br />

your prices?<br />

Two of the washes are<br />

$2.25 for 4 minutes.<br />

Three of the washes are<br />

$2.50 for 4 minutes.<br />

And one of them is $2 for<br />

4 minutes. The automatics<br />

are $8, $10 and $12.<br />

When did you get<br />

started with<br />

Ultimate Auto Wash?<br />

15 years ago, that is when<br />

I purchased the first wash,<br />

which was a 10-month-old<br />

car wash at the time.<br />

What do your self serves<br />

offer that separates them<br />

from the competition?<br />

Our self-serves can take<br />

anything from 11’ 9” on down.<br />

This includes, large trucks,<br />

ladders, racks, cars with bike<br />

racks, extremely muddy vehicles<br />

and motorcycles, which cannot<br />

go through an automatic wash.<br />

We are open 24/7 and the<br />

automatic tunnels close for<br />

22 • SPRING 2021


A LEADING MANUFACTURER OF CONTROLS,<br />

INCLUDING DIGITAL TIMERS FOR THE CAR WASH INDUSTRY.<br />

CONTACT YOUR<br />

DISTRIBUTOR<br />

TODAY!<br />

WWW.DIXMOR.COM<br />

1-888-234-9667 FOR A DISTRIBUTOR IN YOUR AREA.<br />

SPRING 2021 • 23


SELF SERVE SNAPSHOT<br />

business at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.<br />

I take extreme pride in taking<br />

care of my customers! We<br />

answer the phone 24/7 (even<br />

on Christmas and Easter and<br />

Thanksgiving etc.) I keep my car<br />

washes clean. And thanks to<br />

Wash Card Systems, I have the<br />

capability of turning the base on<br />

remotely.<br />

Do you accept cash,<br />

tokens, credit cards?<br />

Yes, yes and yes. I take<br />

quarters in my self serves<br />

and I also take my tokens.<br />

In addition, to we do take<br />

credit cards and have a loyalty<br />

system through Wash Card<br />

Systems (I love, love, love<br />

Wash Card Systems). Wash<br />

Card Systems allows us to<br />

offer special programs for fleet<br />

accounts in the self-serve<br />

bays and automatics and<br />

with the vacuums. And most<br />

of my vacuums take credit<br />

cards as well.<br />

What is the hardest thing<br />

about owning and running<br />

a self serve car wash?<br />

Dealing with customers’<br />

expectations. There’s a lot of<br />

different examples,<br />

like “I washed my car last month<br />

and it didn’t do a very good job,”<br />

or, a customer will call and say,<br />

“The wash didn’t do a very good<br />

job can you give me a code for<br />

next time,” etc. etc.<br />

24 • SPRING 2021


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SPRING 2021 • 25


TIPs<br />

MONEY<br />

TIP<br />

In God We Rust, and<br />

other quarters to look for<br />

INSURANCE TIP<br />

Spring into<br />

Maintenance Upkeep<br />

The following is a Q&A with Nate Perry,<br />

an insurance auditor with Quinton Insurance<br />

– Car Wash Protection Program.<br />

Q. With it being the rainy season, what can car<br />

washes do to protect them from rain or hailrelated<br />

damages?<br />

A. Make sure their roof or roof coverings are well<br />

maintained to prevent water damages.<br />

Q. What kinds of insurance claims are more<br />

common this time of year?<br />

A. Property damage claims due to people driving<br />

into barriers, signs, curbs, buildings, etc. are more<br />

common because it is difficult to see with the<br />

foggy/rainy weather conditions.<br />

Q. Is there anything new that car wash owners<br />

need to know about in terms of insurance?<br />

A. Yes, most business owners’ policies are<br />

written on a sales basis. Meaning, the annual<br />

premium relates to the amount of sales. Due<br />

to the Covid-19 virus, a lot of businesses<br />

have experienced a loss of sales. Check with<br />

your insurance agent to make sure your policy<br />

accurately reflects the sales. This could reduce<br />

overall insurance rates.<br />

Sure, the above picture shows a regular old quarter,<br />

right? Wrong! When sifting through the vacuum debris<br />

or hoppers, keep your eye out for this 1937 Doubled Die<br />

Obverse Washington Quarter, as it is actually worth $600.<br />

In God We Rust?<br />

The mistake on this<br />

2005-P Kansas<br />

state quarter, stating<br />

incorrectly “In God<br />

We Rust” can fetch you<br />

up to $100 according<br />

to www.lovemoney.com.<br />

According to the <strong>web</strong>site, a<br />

number of these quarters, which were minted<br />

in Philadelphia, were incorrectly imprinted with<br />

the motto due to a build-up of grease in the die,<br />

causing the ‘T’ to not print.<br />

And, finally, we have these 2004-D Wisconsin state quarters worth about $400. According to www.lovemoney.<br />

com, around 50,000 of these quarters were issued accidentally by the Denver Mint in 2004. Two error varieties<br />

exist: the low leaf variety, which depicts an arched leaf jutting out sideways on the reverse of the coin; and the high<br />

leaf version, which shows an additional leaf poking out of the cheese wheel that touches the corn husk leaf.<br />

Correct<br />

Quarter:<br />

CUSTOMER<br />

COMPLAINTS<br />

TIP<br />

Why, “take your comment<br />

& _______!” doesn’t work<br />

As much as business owners and employees<br />

would like to respond to rude or wrong or just<br />

plain crazy customers with a heave-ho response,<br />

there are better tools for handling such people.<br />

According to Indeed.com, its March 9, 2021<br />

article, How to Deal with Rude Customers, offers<br />

up the following strategies:<br />

Be empathetic: The simplest way to handle rude<br />

customers involves using empathy. If you know<br />

why customers are being rude, it’s the best way<br />

to defuse the situation. Ask the customer why<br />

they’re upset. Once you have identified the issue,<br />

establish rapport with the customer by letting<br />

them know that you would also be disappointed if<br />

the problem was happening to you.<br />

Actively listen: Listen closely to what the<br />

customer is saying, instead of paying attention<br />

to the anger behind their words. If a customer<br />

approaches you over something not working<br />

correctly, a great response is: “That definitely is<br />

surprising! Let’s check why the product has stopped<br />

working unexpectedly.” This response recognizes<br />

the feelings of the customer without escalating<br />

their emotions.<br />

‘Chunk’ the issue: This is the process of taking<br />

one big problem and dividing it into several smaller<br />

portions. Help a customer by setting up the steps<br />

needed to resolve a problem they are having with<br />

26 • SPRING 2021<br />

your business (such as setting up a membership<br />

account, or using the credit card system, etc.)<br />

Repeat what the customer has said back to<br />

them: A fundamental part of active listening is<br />

making sure you and the customer are in sync<br />

and to let them know that their problem has<br />

been heard of and will be responded to.<br />

Stay calm: Do not take the situation personally.<br />

The majority of the time, the comments and<br />

criticisms are not meant to attack you directly.<br />

A customer is just mad, and you are the person<br />

who had the misfortune of speaking to them.<br />

According to Indeed.com, if you are dealing with<br />

rude customers over the phone, you can just say<br />

something like, “I fully understand your concern. Let<br />

me just speak to someone and make sure this does<br />

not happen again. I’ll get back to you shortly.” Then<br />

put them on hold. This strategy encourages rude<br />

customers to reflect on the way they are reacting.<br />

Offer solutions: If this does not satisfy the<br />

customer, ask them what would need to change. If<br />

you give a negative message, make sure to counter<br />

it with a positive one. For example, you can say<br />

“While I can’t do that for you, I can do this for you.”<br />

Act quickly: Being able to address a customer’s<br />

issue quickly may just turn their unpleasant<br />

experience into a pleasant one and may even<br />

make them a loyal customer who purchases from<br />

you regularly and tells their family and friends.<br />

Be sincere with your apology: Even if you’re<br />

in the wrong, you should still apologize. Why?<br />

Because it shows the customer that you feel badly<br />

about their negative experience at your car wash.<br />

But, in case you’re not at fault, be careful with<br />

your wording and say something like: “I’m sorry<br />

that you have had an unpleasant experience with<br />

our service/product.” This way you’re empathizing<br />

with the customer without taking the blame.<br />

Watch your tone: Learn how to employ a<br />

neutral or nice tone as needed. Speak calmly and<br />

slowly. If a customer talks over you, let them<br />

talk. Do not raise your voice and hopefully, the<br />

customer will eventually calm down as well.<br />

Thank the customer: This one can be tough,<br />

because the customer may have just insulted<br />

you and/or your business but thanking them for<br />

bringing the issue to your attention can go a long<br />

way toward establishing a rapport with them. A<br />

simple thank-you to acknowledge their patience<br />

and time as you work to solve the problem is<br />

enough, according to Indeed.com.<br />

Follow-up if necessary: If the issue can’t be<br />

solved in just one phone call, tell them you can’t<br />

handle the problem while on the phone with them,<br />

and let them know you will call them back. It will<br />

also help to give them a timeline of when they can<br />

expect to hear from you next and let them know<br />

what information you expect to have by that time.<br />

Stick to the facts: If the client’s anger is making<br />

the issue difficult to deal with, you can try to keep<br />

everything factual, the Indeed.com experts state.<br />

Simply outlining the issue at hand encourages the<br />

customer to pay attention to their communication<br />

and makes it harder to keep an aggressive tone.<br />

Communicate what you can and can’t do:<br />

You can say something like, “I understand your<br />

disappointment, and I’m really sorry, but there’s<br />

nothing we can do about the issue,” suggests<br />

Indeed.com.


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SPRING 2021 • 27


INDUSTRY DIRT<br />

HAPPENINGS<br />

IN & AROUND<br />

THE SELF SERVE CARWASHING INDUSTRY<br />

Sonny’s makes more<br />

Texas acquisitions<br />

Sonny’s CarWash College<br />

names its 2020<br />

Instructor of the Year<br />

Sonny’s CarWash College of Tamarac, Florida, the<br />

industry-recognized authority for conveyorized car<br />

wash training, named Luis Hernandez as its 2020<br />

CarWash College Instructor of the Year, according<br />

to a January 25 press release. Luis was presented the<br />

Shawn R. Brown Award for Instructional Excellence<br />

Back in December 2020, Sonny’s, of Tamarac,<br />

Florida, announced it was planning on expanding<br />

quickly in Texas. The company wasn’t kidding,<br />

stated a press release. Over the past two months,<br />

Sonny’s has closed on the acquisitions of Lone Star<br />

Car Wash Systems based in Houston, Texas; Twin<br />

Distributing based in Denison, Texas; and Scotch<br />

Plaid Chemical based in Dallas, Texas.<br />

“We made a promise to our Texas clients that<br />

we’d scale up our ability to service them faster<br />

than ever before,” said Paul Fazio, CEO of Sonny’s,<br />

stated in the February 19 press release. “We kept<br />

our promise. We believe through this series of acquisitions<br />

we have put together a team of known<br />

professionals that are strategically positioned<br />

throughout the territory to deliver exceptional<br />

service for our clients.”<br />

Lone Star and Twin will join Sonny’s CarWash Services<br />

Texas. Current car wash owners and potential investors<br />

will have a local Sonny’s team, based in Texas,<br />

for all their carwash needs. Everything from site selection<br />

and development; parts, equipment and chemistry;<br />

and maintenance and repair.<br />

In addition, the acquisition of Scotch Plaid<br />

Chemical allows Sonny’s CarWash Chemistry to<br />

rapidly scale production and have manufacturing<br />

and blending capabilities in Texas.<br />

“Scotch Plaid is a first-class operation,” said Fazio.<br />

“Don Witt will remain in a leadership role. The Scotch<br />

Plaid brand will remain in production. And with<br />

by Paul Fazio, CEO of Sonny’s.<br />

“Luis epitomizes what CarWash College is about.<br />

He loves sharing the knowledge he has accumulated<br />

in his 20 plus year car wash career with newer<br />

entrants to the business. He is at his happiest when<br />

he is helping people,” said Bob Fox VP of CarWash<br />

College in a press release.<br />

Previous winners include Bryan Hage, Jorge Jaramillo,<br />

Vic Alonso, and Richard Ovalles.<br />

The Shawn R. Brown Award for Instructional<br />

Scotch Plaid and Diamond Shine under one umbrella<br />

of Sonny’s CarWash Chemistry, we expand upon our<br />

commitment to bring chemical management and operational<br />

efficiency to a whole new level.”<br />

Back in December 2020, Fazio stated in a press release,<br />

“Our proposal to acquire Lone Star was an easy<br />

decision because it allows us to scale up our ability<br />

to service clients in Texas faster than ever before. We<br />

believe this will be a game changer in Sonny’s helping<br />

Texas car wash owners gain their unfair share.”<br />

Fazio added, “To service our current customers<br />

better and to reach new customers, we intend to<br />

hire big. We’re more than just a car wash equipment<br />

manufacturer; we’re service people here to<br />

service car wash owners every day of the year, at<br />

all hours of the day.”<br />

Excellence is given each year in memory of Shawn<br />

Brown, a former CarWash College instructor whose<br />

life was cut tragically short.<br />

The CarWash College “Rookie of the Year” award<br />

was presented to Mike Berlin of SLAM CarWash<br />

Marketing.<br />

“Mike was hesitant at first about teaching, but once<br />

he got his feet wet, he was off and running. His two<br />

sessions in our Management Class are very popular<br />

with the students,” Fox added in the press release.<br />

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Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, publicly announced<br />

in January that Kevin Detrick,<br />

founder and president of ICS, will be stepping into a new role, while Warren<br />

Day, formerly of Honda and the Danaher corporation, will serve as the new<br />

general manager.<br />

A January 26 press release stated that the transition follows a recent acquisition<br />

by OPW, a Dover Company, and supports a vision of growth and collaboration<br />

across OPW’s vehicle wash businesses, wherein Detrick will remain<br />

onboard as the vice president of Technology Strategy and Business Development,<br />

while Day oversees day-to-day operations.<br />

“We are excited to have Warren join OPW Vehicle Wash Solutions to oversee<br />

the business, allowing Kevin time to focus on building the ICS technology<br />

roadmap and identifying potential technology synergies across our portfolio of<br />

vehicle wash products,” said Gary Campbell, vice president and general manager,<br />

OPW Vehicle Wash Solutions.<br />

Day joins ICS with a proven track record of excellence and success in operations<br />

management, engineering, and cross-functional team leadership. Prior to<br />

joining the company, Day advanced through multiple positions of leadership<br />

at Danaher, including sales, operations, distribution, and general management.<br />

“ICS has a solid reputation in the industry for offering quality products<br />

and services with integrity and innovation. I’m very much looking forward to<br />

taking part in the continued success and helping to ensure a smooth transition<br />

into the OPW Vehicle Wash Solutions family of brands,” said Day. “We’ve got<br />

a great team and a lot of exciting projects coming down the pipeline, and with<br />

OPW’s support, we will continue ICS’s strong track record of delivering quality<br />

products and services to our customers around the world.”<br />

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INDUSTRY DIRT<br />

ISTOBAL acquires<br />

Pacific Pride Carwash;<br />

generates turnover in<br />

excess of 128 million<br />

euros in 2020<br />

As a distributor to over 75 countries, ISTOBAL<br />

Group of Valencia, Spain, announced on February<br />

4 that it has acquired its distributor in Southern<br />

California, Pacific Pride Carwash Company Inc.,<br />

strengthening its presence in North America.<br />

This acquisition represents the first of the strategic<br />

growth plan envisioned by ISTOBAL for the<br />

coming years with the aim of continuing to increase<br />

its sales in the countries in which it is present<br />

and consolidating its international leadership,<br />

a press release reported.<br />

Thanks to the strategic location of Pacific Pride<br />

Carwash Company Inc., this operation boosts IS-<br />

TOBAL in California, and enables the opening of<br />

new market niches with great potential in the Pacific<br />

region of the United States.<br />

Pacific Pride Carwash Company Inc. is one of the<br />

main ISTOBAL distributors in the US market. A<br />

leader in Southern California and with more than<br />

20 years of experience in the sector, it is an approved<br />

supplier to the US Armed Forces and has a large<br />

ISTOBAL Customer base. After the acquisition of<br />

this company founded by Ed Staley and Lanai Staley,<br />

Pacific Pride Carwash Inc. is now integrated into<br />

the American subsidiary ISTOBAL USA.<br />

"We are excited to have Pacific Pride join IS-<br />

TOBAL USA. It is the next step in growing our<br />

worldwide company. Other acquisitions are underway,”<br />

stated ISTOBAL USA CEO Jimmy Sisk<br />

in a press release.<br />

Staley also stated, "We at Pacific Pride Carwash<br />

Co., Inc. are excited about joining the global IS-<br />

TOBAL team. We felt that the timing was right to<br />

team with an excellent organization to take this<br />

market to a new level."<br />

Currently, the United States is one of the largest<br />

export markets for ISTOBAL and represents one<br />

of the areas with the greatest growth potential for<br />

the Group, along with China, Germany and Poland.<br />

With a staff of more than 900 professionals, 9<br />

subsidiaries (Spain, Portugal, Italy, United Kingdom,<br />

Austria, Denmark, Sweden, USA and Brazil),<br />

and three manufacturing and final assembly plants<br />

in Spain, USA and Brazil, together with a wide network<br />

of distributors, ISTOBAL exports to more<br />

than 75 countries across five continents and 70%<br />

of its production corresponds to international sales.<br />

ISTOBAL also reported that it achieved turnover<br />

of $128.3 million in the 2020 financial year, which<br />

represents a decrease in sales of 12% compared to<br />

the previous year, according to a press release. The<br />

impact that the pandemic had on sales was less than<br />

expected for the multinational group thanks to its<br />

great diversification in markets, products and sectors.<br />

An April 7 press release stated that in 2020, IS-<br />

TOBAL internationalised 76% of its production<br />

with France, the UK, Italy, the USA and Denmark<br />

being its main export markets. The UK was the<br />

second foreign market, while Norway entered the<br />

top 10 as an eighth-external market, thanks to the<br />

cooperation with the country’s largest food retail<br />

group NorgesGruppen, established through IS-<br />

TOBAL’s distributor in Norway, Holta and Håland.<br />

ISTOBAL believed that the performance of its<br />

foreign subsidiaries as a whole was positive given<br />

the pandemic, with turnover drops of 6% on<br />

average, but below the Group average, stated the<br />

press release. As an exception, they highlight the<br />

positive results of subsidiaries in the UK and Portugal,<br />

which saw an increase in turnover of 16.5%<br />

and 4.2%, respectively, thanks to agreements with<br />

large supermarket chains, as well as other oil and<br />

energy customers operating in these countries.<br />

By product divisions, rollovers continued to<br />

lead ISTOBAL’s sales, followed by jet wash facilities<br />

and the commercial vehicle range. However,<br />

chemical products, along with payment and connectivity<br />

terminals, were the lines with the highest<br />

sales growth in 2020.<br />

By 2021, ISTOBAL expects to reach 145.7 million<br />

turnover, 13.5 percent higher than the previous<br />

year, thus returning to its pre-pandemic turnover<br />

figures and to the growth path that has characterised<br />

the company in its financial years. It also maintains<br />

its strategic projects and expansion plans. In<br />

addition to the recent acquisition of its distributor<br />

in California (Pacific Pride Carwash) and the opening<br />

of a new subsidiary in China with assembly<br />

plant, ISTOBAL isn't ruling out other operations<br />

in order to further drive its internationalisation and<br />

strengthen its leadership in foreign markets.<br />

ISTOBAL also stated that it will increase its investment<br />

in RD&I by 11% this year compared to<br />

2020 to boost its robotics lab and build on chemical<br />

product applications and new materials, the<br />

press release stated. It will also continue to develop<br />

its open innovation model, driving innovation<br />

from within and collaborating with universities,<br />

companies, technology centres and start-ups to<br />

develop projects in the areas of vision and artificial<br />

intelligence, security systems and robotics. Over<br />

the past five years, ISTOBAL has increased its investment<br />

in RD&I by 56%.<br />

In addition, the group is committed to digital transformation<br />

as another strategic focus in the development<br />

of its business, the press release stated. In this<br />

regard, it promotes Big Data, IoT and Machine Learning<br />

to implement Industry 4.0 solutions, as well as<br />

to optimise sector profitability and the experience of<br />

using and maintaining car wash equipment through<br />

its Istosmart by ISTOBAL connectivity system. The<br />

company continues to leverage cloud business solutions<br />

and data analysis and integration to improve<br />

efficiency and increase competitiveness.<br />

DRB Systems, LLC Acquires<br />

Washify Services, LLC<br />

DRB ® Systems, LLC of Akron, Ohio, a leading<br />

provider of software and hardware innovations to<br />

the car wash industry, announced on March 24<br />

that it has acquired Washify®, an advanced car<br />

wash point-of-sale system.<br />

“Today, more than ever, we have assembled the<br />

best minds in the car wash industry,” said DRB<br />

CEO and President Dan Pittman in a press release.<br />

“We have not only joined two of the best car<br />

wash technology lineups, but we have also joined<br />

two of the most talented teams.”<br />

DRB and Washify represent two growing brands<br />

in the car wash space. By joining forces, they can<br />

offer car wash operators the widest set of technology<br />

solutions to profitably grow their businesses,<br />

the press release stated.<br />

“Our industry is rapidly transforming. Recent<br />

consolidations warranted a change,” said Washify<br />

President Adam Korngold stated. “We wanted to be<br />

aligned with a best-in-class partner that supports<br />

our growth. I wanted to work with an organization<br />

that had the best interest of our employees at heart<br />

and that would allow us to remain in the industry<br />

doing what we love. DRB is that partner.”<br />

Both companies will maintain their own brand<br />

entities and industry niches, leveraging synergies<br />

where possible to achieve the common goal of<br />

helping car wash operators sweat their assets. Korngold<br />

will continue to serve as President of Washify<br />

while Pittman continues to lead DRB as CEO.<br />

DRB acquired Washify from Adam Korngold and<br />

private equity firm Ambina Partners, with the help<br />

of legal services provided by Benesch and insurance<br />

brokerage and risk management consulting provided<br />

by Marsh, a business of Marsh McLennan. Legal services<br />

were provided to Washify by King & Spalding.<br />

30 • SPRING 2021


SPRING 2021 • 31


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Park 'n Fly & Blackhawk Partner Together<br />

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ATLANTA, March 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Park 'N Fly, the nation's leader in off-airport<br />

parking, is excited to announce their partnership with the BlackHawk Network to launch<br />

the Park 'N Fly Gift Card Program. Park 'N Fly, headquartered in Atlanta will now offer<br />

variable ($25-$500) gift cards at Kroger stores throughout the Atlanta market and $100 gift<br />

cards available at Target stores in the 15 cities where there are Park 'N Fly locations. Park<br />

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El Car Wash acquires Motor City Car Wash<br />

El Car Wash, the largest car wash company<br />

in South Florida, announced its acquisition<br />

of three Motor City Car Wash locations<br />

in Palm Beach County, Florida, in a April 12,<br />

2021, press release. .El Car Wash now has a<br />

total of 12 operating locations and a development<br />

pipeline throughout Miami-Dade,<br />

Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Plans<br />

are to have more than 25 locations in total<br />

within the next year.<br />

“We are thrilled to partner with David<br />

Daszkal and the extremely talented Motor<br />

City team to expand our presence north<br />

while advancing our strategy of building<br />

the leading car wash platform in Southeast<br />

Florida,” stated Justin Landau and Geoffrey<br />

Karas, co-founders of National Express Wash,<br />

which is the parent company of El Car Wash,<br />

a press release reported. “Over the last 20<br />

years, Motor City has established the leading<br />

brand with the best operations in Palm<br />

Beach County which, when combined with<br />

our complementary development pipeline in<br />

Palm Beach and Broward Counties as well as<br />

our existing stores in Miami-Dade, will create<br />

a highly attractive geographic footprint with<br />

an unmatched service offering for our growing<br />

customer base.”<br />

Motor City’s combination with El Car<br />

Wash creates a unique platform with a market-leading<br />

position, stretching from Miami<br />

up to and throughout Palm Beach County,<br />

David Daszkal, who founded Motor City<br />

Car Wash, stated in the press release. “I am<br />

extremely excited to join the El Car Wash<br />

family, leverage my longstanding ties to the<br />

community and decades of car wash and<br />

real estate development experience as I<br />

work with Justin, Geoff and their team to<br />

execute the combined company’s ambitious<br />

growth plans.”<br />

As part of the acquisition, El Car Wash has<br />

hired industry veteran Ronnie Bertka as VP<br />

North, and will be onboarding all Motor City<br />

employees, notably its District Manager Jose<br />

Peralta and Chief Administrative Officer Beth<br />

Galassi. Additionally, El Car Wash plans to<br />

invest substantial capital to further upgrade<br />

Motor City’s tunnels to mirror the signature<br />

show and wash quality that are hallmarks of<br />

the company. El Car Wash and Motor City<br />

will merge its unlimited membership programs,<br />

allowing current and future members<br />

to have access to all locations. Upcoming initiatives<br />

also include the launching of special<br />

limited time promotions for new members to<br />

celebrate this transaction.<br />

Earlier this year, El Car Wash opened a<br />

new store in Pinecrest as well as the biggest<br />

car wash in Florida, located in South Kendall.<br />

In addition, El Car Wash is the newest<br />

sponsor of Zoo Miami, with the El Car Wash<br />

Flamingo Exhibit set to be unveiled shortly.<br />

Construction is also nearing completion at<br />

additional sites in Miami-Dade, including<br />

locations in Palmetto Bay, North Miami/Miami<br />

Shores, Homestead and West Hialeah.<br />

Opening dates will be announced towards<br />

the end of April.<br />

WhiteWater Express<br />

acquires 10 HyperShine<br />

Car Wash locations<br />

WhiteWater Express Car Wash (“WhiteWater”), an express<br />

car wash platform headquartered in Houston, Texas, acquired<br />

10 HyperShine Car Wash (“HyperShine”) locations in Ohio,<br />

Kentucky, and Michigan on March 31st. With this acquisition,<br />

WhiteWater now owns and operates 40 locations across five<br />

states and eight MSAs. Additionally, WhiteWater and Hyper-<br />

Shine will jointly develop car washes via an ongoing development<br />

partnership, targeting an incremental 20 locations across<br />

Ohio, Kentucky, and Michigan over the next three years.<br />

“We are thrilled about the opportunity to add HyperShine<br />

to the WhiteWater family,” stated Clayton Clark, President<br />

and Chief Operating Officer of WhiteWater, stated in an<br />

April 1 press release. “Dan and his team have done an outstanding<br />

job of site selection and building a great brand in<br />

these markets. One of our visions for WhiteWater has always<br />

been to expand into the Midwest and build a geographically<br />

diverse car wash business.”<br />

“HyperShine is excited to join the WhiteWater team,” said<br />

Dan Dougherty, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of HyperShine,<br />

stated in a press release. “WhiteWater provided a<br />

holistic solution, acquiring our existing operations and creating<br />

a path for us to continue to develop car washes for the<br />

next several years.”<br />

According to the press release, Henry Shine, Chief Development<br />

Office of WhiteWater, said they are excited to enter<br />

the Ohio, Kentucky and Michigan markets. “Alongside our<br />

market-leading presence in Texas and Oklahoma, this expansion<br />

brings WhiteWater to new geographies and solidifies our<br />

position as a leading national car wash company. We couldn’t<br />

accomplish our vision without Dan and his team.”<br />

As part of the acquisition, WhiteWater will be onboarding<br />

all HyperShine employees including its Chief Operating Officer,<br />

Brad Osborne. Osborne will be joining WhiteWater as<br />

Vice President - Midwest as well as Vice President - Technology.<br />

WhiteWater will continue to offer its signature unlimited<br />

membership program, towel exchange program, vacuums,<br />

and air guns at all locations.<br />

WhiteWater is actively pursuing its growth strategy in both<br />

existing and new markets, the press release stated.<br />

32 • SPRING 2021


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SPRING 2021 • 33


EXTRA!<br />

EXTRA!<br />

Monroe Capital Supports Mammoth Holdings LLC’s<br />

acquisition of Lulu’s Express<br />

A March 25 press release stated that Monroe<br />

Capital LLC announced an increase in its credit<br />

facility to Mammoth Holdings, LLC (“Mammoth”)<br />

to support the acquisition of Lulu’s Express<br />

(“Lulu’s”). In October 2018, Mammoth<br />

partnered with Red Dog Equity LLC, an Atlanta-based<br />

private equity firm, which, through its<br />

partnership with Tom Pritzker’s family business<br />

interests (advised by The Pritzker Organization),<br />

provides the equity for Mammoth’s corporate development<br />

initiatives.<br />

Lulu’s is a six-unit express conveyor car wash<br />

operator in Georgia and South Carolina. The addition<br />

of Lulu's further expands the Mammoth’s<br />

“customer-focused” and “operator-focused” conveyor<br />

carwash platform and aligns with the platform’s<br />

continued growth strategy, the press release<br />

stated. Mammoth’s multi-brand portfolio<br />

includes Marc-1, Wash Me Fast, Swifty, Ultra,<br />

Finish Line, Wiggy Wash, Shine On, Pit Stop, Fast<br />

Trac, and now Lulu's, among others.<br />

New self serve car washes for Bath, Maine, and Elmira, New York<br />

A car wash is slated to open in Bath, Maine, according<br />

to a March 4 Times Record story.<br />

Councilors unanimously approved a zoning<br />

change that will allow the project, proposed by<br />

Trademark Properties LLC, to go forward, the story<br />

said. The property needed to be rezoned in order to<br />

fit the proposed parking and structure while meeting<br />

city setback requirements.<br />

The roughly 3,800-square-foot car wash will<br />

have both a touch-free car wash, as well as 24-hour<br />

self-serve car wash bays, according to Kevin Clark,<br />

president of Sitelines, a Brunswick-based civil engineering<br />

firm representing Trademark Properties.<br />

The project will also add a sidewalk to the property.<br />

City Planner Ben Averill said the planning board<br />

approved the project earlier this year, contingent on<br />

councilors allowing the zoning change.<br />

“It would be great to have a car wash in Bath,”<br />

Councilor Raye Leonard said in the council’s February<br />

meeting, according to the story. “I drive all the<br />

way out to Fast Eddie’s in Brunswick, so it would<br />

be nice to have something that is both manned<br />

and 24-hours in the city of Bath.” Bath has another<br />

touch-free car wash at the Big Apple and Citgo gas<br />

station off the northbound side of Route 1, about<br />

1,000 feet from the proposed car wash.<br />

According to an April 13 WETM story, a new<br />

laundromat and self-use car wash is now open in<br />

Elmira, New York.<br />

Owned by Capriotti Properties, the Madison<br />

Suds laundromat has 18 washers and dryers and a<br />

75lb load dryer for comforters and bedding. There<br />

are also vending machines and a Pac-Man multicade<br />

video game, the story said.<br />

Connected to the building are the two self operating<br />

carwash bays with vacuums. The laundromat<br />

is open every day from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and the car<br />

wash is open 24 hours a day.<br />

Driven Brands Car Wash North America<br />

acquires SuperSonic Express Car Wash<br />

New antimicrobial product<br />

for cars hits the market<br />

Driven Brands Car Wash North America<br />

announced on February 1 the acquisition<br />

of four SuperSonic Express Car Wash<br />

locations in Columbus and Starkville, Mississippi,<br />

and Tuscaloosa, Alabama. With<br />

this acquisition Driven Brands Car Wash<br />

North America grew to 17 locations in Mississippi, operating as Car Wash USA Express,<br />

and 36 locations in Alabama, operating as Goo-Goo Car Wash.<br />

“Our car wash businesses have a long history and strong customer base in the Southern<br />

US, and the SuperSonic acquisition further strengthens that network for our services,”<br />

commented Driven Brands Car Wash North America President Gabe Mendoza<br />

in a press release. “We look forward to building on the SuperSonic team’s success and<br />

we thank them for working with Driven Brands for the sale of their business.”<br />

SuperSonic Express Car Wash started in 2016 with the acquisition and rebranding<br />

of two Mr. Bubbles locations in Mississippi. In 2018, two more SuperSonic locations<br />

were added within the existing Mississippi markets, and in 2019 SuperSonic acquired<br />

Robo’s Car Wash in Tuscaloosa.<br />

Supersonic Managing Partner Caleb Box stated in the press release, “This was our<br />

first opportunity to work with Driven Brands and we are extremely satisfied with<br />

the results. The communication and the process was very smooth from contract to<br />

closing, but we’re mostly excited about the opportunities that our team members<br />

now have with their own personal and business growth trajectory inside the Driven<br />

Brands organization.”<br />

Driven Brands entered the car wash industry in 2020 with the acquisition of International<br />

Car Wash Group. Driven Brands Car Wash operates over 900 locations in 14<br />

countries across US, Europe and Australia, with over 200 locations in the United States.<br />

The Company was founded in Germany in 1965 under the IMO brand, the name still<br />

used at its non-US locations. Driven Brands Car Wash is a member of Driven Brands,<br />

the largest automotive services company in North America, the press release stated.<br />

To reinforce its pledge to deliver long-term solutions to more<br />

sustainable vehicle hygiene, mobile vehicle care leader RideKleen<br />

introduces PureProtect 365, a new antimicrobial solution delivering<br />

guaranteed odor control for up to one year, according to<br />

a March 8, 2021, press release. PureProtect 365 by RideKleen<br />

features an XMicrobe solution from Xzilon® that offers a lasting<br />

biostatic layer that punctures the thin lipid exterior of odor<br />

causing germs, viruses and bacteria, neutralizing threats that land<br />

on treated surfaces. The PureProtect 365 product also protects<br />

against stains from spills, grease, dye transfer and UV fading, and<br />

leaves the surface easier to clean.<br />

"RideKleen's charge to rethink clean extends beyond the current<br />

pandemic," said Pratik Patel, president of RideKleen in the press release.<br />

"With a focus on the customer experience, we're equipping<br />

vehicle owners, fleet operators and other mobility service providers<br />

with the now-essential sanitization and disinfection solutions to<br />

drive consumer confidence and overall vehicle safety."<br />

According to the Cox Automotive 2020 Cox Automotive<br />

COVID-19 Consumer Impact Study, nearly half of vehicle shoppers<br />

(47%) are willing to pay for extended sanitization services.<br />

This could mean more revenue for automotive dealers, as well as<br />

car wash operators offering this enhanced level of service, the press<br />

release stated.<br />

34 • SPRING 2021


f W


EXTRA!<br />

EXTRA!<br />

Are water restrictions looming for the Southwest?<br />

Unrelenting drought and years of rising temperatures<br />

are pushing the long-overallocated Colorado<br />

River into new territory, setting the stage for the<br />

largest mandatory water cutbacks to date, according<br />

to an April 6 Arizona Republic story.<br />

Lake Mead, the biggest reservoir on the river, has<br />

declined dramatically over the past two decades<br />

and now stands at just 40% of its full capacity, the<br />

story said, adding that this summer, it’s projected<br />

to fall to the lowest levels since it was filled in the<br />

1930s following the construction of Hoover Dam.<br />

The reservoir near Las Vegas is approaching a<br />

threshold that is expected to trigger a first-ever<br />

shortage declaration by the federal government for<br />

next year, leading to substantial cuts in water deliveries<br />

to Arizona, Nevada and Mexico, reported the<br />

Arizona Republic.<br />

Arizona is in line for the biggest reductions under<br />

a 2019 agreement that aims to reduce the risks<br />

of Lake Mead falling to critical lows.<br />

“With the reservoirs continuing to drop, the expected<br />

cuts next year will reduce the Central Arizona<br />

Project’s water supply by nearly a third and shrink the<br />

amount flowing to farmlands in Pinal County.<br />

Managers of Arizona's water agencies say they<br />

United States Drought Monitor<br />

West<br />

INTENSITY:<br />

None<br />

D0 (Abnormally Dry)<br />

D1 (Moderate Drought)<br />

D2 (Severe Drought)<br />

D3 (Extreme Drought)<br />

D4 (Exceptional Drought)<br />

MAP RELEASED: APRIL 15, 2021<br />

Local conditions may vary.<br />

The Drought Monitor focuses on broad-scale conditions.<br />

have detailed plans in place to deal with the reductions<br />

in water supplies over the next five years, even<br />

if the drought continues to worsen. These initial<br />

steps to cope with shortages are playing out while<br />

the seven states that depend on the river prepare<br />

for difficult talks on post-2026 rules, negotiating a<br />

plan for adapting to a river that’s yielding less as<br />

the watershed grows progressively warmer with climate<br />

change,” the story said.<br />

36 • SPRING 2021<br />

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SPRING 2021 • 37


Around the Wash:<br />

How Much Do<br />

You Charge?<br />

Prices from Coast to Coast<br />

Heyfield,<br />

Victoria,<br />

Australia<br />

(All prices in Australian dollars)<br />

WASH BAYS: $1 =<br />

1 minute 30 seconds<br />

VACUUM: $2 = 4 minutes<br />

These are also minimum to start<br />

Northern Montana<br />

WASH BAYS:<br />

$3.25 = 4 minutes<br />

COMBO VACUUM:<br />

$2 = 4 minutes<br />

Salem, Oregon<br />

WASH BAYS: $3.50 = 3 minutes 40 seconds<br />

VACUUM: $2 = 4 minutes<br />

Central Oregon<br />

WASH BAYS =<br />

$3.50 for 5 mins 30 sec<br />

VACUUM: $2 for 5 mins<br />

(Cards same as cash)<br />

Pacific Northwest,<br />

Puget Sound Region<br />

WASH BAYS: $2.75 = 3.5 minutes<br />

VACUUM: $1.50 = 3.5 minutes.<br />

(Owner is thinking it’s about time to raise his prices)<br />

Florida<br />

WASH BAYS: $2.75 = 4 mins<br />

VACUUM: $1 = 4 mins<br />

Central Georgia<br />

WASH BAYS: $4 = 5 mins<br />

VACUUM (cash or coin):<br />

$2 = 4 mins<br />

VACUUM (credit card):<br />

$3 = 6 mins<br />

Alberta, Western Canada<br />

WASH BAYS:<br />

$1 = 1 min<br />

TRUCK WASH:<br />

$1.25 = 1 min<br />

VACUUM:<br />

$0.75 = 1 min<br />

Eastern Tennessee<br />

WASH BAYS: $1 = 2:20 mins<br />

VACUUM: $1 = 4 mins<br />

(Owner says competitor<br />

across town has lower prices)<br />

Western<br />

Michigan<br />

WASH BAYS: $2 = 3:20 mins<br />

(25 sec./quarter)<br />

VACUUM: .75 = 3 mins<br />

Lexington, Kentucky<br />

WASH BAYS: $3 = 5 mins<br />

(approx.. 4 min 20 second for CC)<br />

VACUUM: $2 = 5 mins<br />

($2.50 minimum with CC)<br />

Grimes, Iowa<br />

WASH BAYS: $3.75 = 5 mins (quarters)<br />

$5 = 5 mins (CC)<br />

VACUUM: $2 = 4 mins<br />

Northern Ohio<br />

WASH BAYS: $3 = 3.5 mins<br />

VACUUM: $2 = 3 mins<br />

(Owner thinks this<br />

Fall he will raise his prices)<br />

St. Louis, Missouri<br />

WASH BAYS: $2.50 = 4 mins<br />

(Cryptopay minimum $4, max $15)<br />

VACUUM: $1.50 = 4 mins<br />

(Cryptopay $2 for 5:30 mins)<br />

(Owner raised prices to this<br />

last November and has<br />

highest prices in area)<br />

Chico, California<br />

WASH BAYS: $2 = 4 mins<br />

VACUUM: $1 = 4 mins<br />

Central<br />

Massachusetts<br />

WASH BAYS: $3 = 3 mins 14 seconds<br />

VACUUMS: $2 = 4 mins<br />

Central Texas<br />

WASH BAYS:<br />

$1.75 = 4 mins<br />

($2 for credit card<br />

minimum for 4 minutes)<br />

Rocky Mountains, Idaho<br />

WASH BAYS: $3 = 3 and 1/2 mins<br />

VACUUM: $1 = 4 mins<br />

Northeast<br />

Pennsylvania<br />

WASH BAYS: $3 = 4 mins<br />

38 • SPRING 2021


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SPRING 2021 • 41


TRICKS OF THE<br />

Presenting some of the best discussions from the Self Serve, IBA and General Discussions sections of CarwashForum.com. To view more<br />

posts discussing some interesting and common problems, as well as some of the best and brightest solutions, visit CarwashForum.com<br />

(Note: Some posts feature minor edits for readability.)<br />

Time is money and<br />

not for family or the ladies<br />

... I have seen other people struggle with this issue across the<br />

industry and I may or may not have this problem, but deep down<br />

inside I think [my employee] is giving time away to friends,<br />

family, hot girls, etc. and getting reimbursed for it on my dime...<br />

I have told my clean up guy if he is caught he will be fired on<br />

the spot if I catch him giving time away on the meters. I currently<br />

have Dixmor LED7s. How could you prevent this if he has his<br />

own remote for washing down bays. I know I could install toggle<br />

switches on the pumpstand, but I like it on the remote because<br />

it times out at 4 minutes even if he forgets to turn off the toggle<br />

switches and the pump cooks itself overnight (I have had this<br />

happen at a different location). Any suggestions? - TDLCONCEPTSLLC<br />

I took the remote away from my clean up<br />

guy for that very reason, I thought that he<br />

was giving away time. He has marked tokens<br />

that he uses to clean up the bays that<br />

give him enough time per token to clean<br />

up the bay. We count the tokens every time<br />

we pull coins, 3 times a week. If there are a<br />

large number of clean up tokens in the coin<br />

vault he’s going to have to explain why and<br />

we check the video. He knows that we watch<br />

the video. - RANDY<br />

If you have good reason to suspect a thief<br />

is working for you, do what you have to to<br />

catch him and fire him. If he’s a thief, he’s a<br />

thief and will figure out how to steal.<br />

You can track the cycles of the manual<br />

washdown so if you think he’s using more<br />

time than he should to clean bays, you have<br />

more evidence.<br />

You could install a washdown key switch<br />

on the bay doors. If I were wanting to<br />

watch for someone giving away time, I’d<br />

wire the key switch through a relay to<br />

also turn on a light in the ER for a camera<br />

to pick up, that way you wouldn’t<br />

need to watch video of him all day, just<br />

the time when the light is on. - MEP001<br />

42 • SPRING 2021<br />

The LED7 has a reading in the inventory<br />

labeled “Manual” that is the total number<br />

of times the washdown has been used since<br />

reset. I would think it should only be used a<br />

couple of times a day per bay, at most. - DAN<br />

KAMSICKAS<br />

You might employ the help of a ‘secret<br />

shopper’ and if he takes the bait he’s caught.<br />

In my experience, once you suspect, it’s<br />

been happening awhile and the relationship<br />

is nearing the end. - WAXMAN<br />

Whatever happens, if he is caught file a<br />

police report and see if he can be arrested.<br />

Most police have a dollar amount to hit before<br />

it becomes a felony. If so, tell them you<br />

suspect he has been doing it for years. - MAC<br />

Trust your instincts ... the folks here provide<br />

‘golden nuggets’ that come from years<br />

of experience. - ECKERT16<br />

I have Cryptopay and give my attendants<br />

wash down cards. Then you can see all the<br />

usage online. I know you don’t have that installed,<br />

but it’s another incentive to do so<br />

if you ever considered it. I also have coinless<br />

and some attendants use that instead.<br />

Also trackable and you just add $ to their<br />

account as needed. - SLASH007<br />

Don’t cry when<br />

the tap runs dry<br />

[The city shut off our water] and no, not<br />

because of nonpayment. They cleverly<br />

chose to do this at 4 a.m. and said it could<br />

be 4 to 8 hours. Should this ever happen<br />

to you there are two things you should<br />

do. If you do nothing you could create a<br />

maintenance nightmare. First turn off the<br />

water to everything beforehand. When<br />

they turn it back on, DO NOT just open the<br />

valve. Usually when they do this they are<br />

working on the main water line for your<br />

business. When that happens they usually<br />

get a lot of sand in the line. So when the<br />

water is ready keep the main valve off and<br />

hope you have another line before that.<br />

Turn that one on for 15 to 20 minutes to<br />

flush the line, then open the main. - MAC<br />

Mac, great information. The first thing we do is turn off all<br />

the power to the equipment. We turn off the water at the<br />

backflow. When they turn the water back we flush from the<br />

backflow, leaving the discharge from the backflow closed. -<br />

RANDY<br />

The best is when the city DOESN’T tell you they are working<br />

on the main and all that %!#$ comes through. - DIA-<br />

MONDWASH<br />

We have frequent main breaks during the winter...Our<br />

crews never turn off the water flow. Normally the pipes<br />

twist but are still in-tack, but spraying water like you’ve<br />

never seen once they’ve dug down to the break. The crew<br />

then draws straws to see who gets to get in the hole to fix<br />

the leak. The youngest guy always draws the shortest straw!<br />

Hmmmm! They get in the hole and put a SS clam shell<br />

looking clamp on the pipe and tighten a row of bolts on the<br />

clamp with a cordless impact. Once tight, it seals tight and<br />

fixes the leak....<br />

A few years back, we had a main break within 20’ of the<br />

wash. I was told not to worry and that I wouldn’t have to<br />

shut down. I stuck around to watch how they pulled it off.<br />

Pretty slick way of fixing a break. This was probably an 8”<br />

main. No dirt, no sand, no discoloration of the water because<br />

the pipe is always under pressure during the fix - 2BIZ


SPRING 2021 • 43


TRICKS OF THE<br />

Fed up!<br />

Has anybody banned a certain company that just completely destroyed your<br />

facility on a daily basis? We have fleets of FedEx vehicles on our Wash Club<br />

that frequently wash BUT “each box truck” leaves a $40-$60 mud/sand mess<br />

in each bay rendering unusable I say 40-60 because we have to reinsert our<br />

washdown card 2-3 times at $20 cap when just prepping the bay to shovel<br />

the mud/sand out. Regular customers have told me they are not coming back<br />

because of them and whatever money I thought I would make from FedEx<br />

is quickly re-spent washing their mess. Sorry for the rant. By 7:30 a.m. this<br />

is what my self serves looks like from 3 FedEx trucks and this is a very light<br />

mess. Between the 3 trucks the total spent was $20.50. - DIAMONDWASH<br />

Yeah I’d be done w that, wouldn’t blame ya for canceling.<br />

Not worth $20. That’s annoying just looking at<br />

it...LOL. - TRAVELER17<br />

...I think I’d talk to the fleet manager and see if an<br />

agreement could be reached, if not just cancel the<br />

contract as soon as provisions allow. I don’t want to<br />

be the wash for everyone. I’m in a nice suburb and<br />

95% of my customers are passenger cars. We have a<br />

junk removal company that uses ours and they want<br />

to keep a clean fleet. However, the local landfill is<br />

muddy and they can make quite a mess. Ironically a<br />

chronic mess maker is a guy that runs a construction<br />

debris company and was in the SS business years ago.<br />

His attitude is that mess is an inevitable part of the<br />

business. - GREG PACK<br />

Why don’t you make one bay for FedEx and tall<br />

trucks such as them. Post and a sign in the bays that<br />

says to blow dirt into the drain before leaving. I’m sure<br />

some won’t read or care what the sign states but it’s<br />

worth a try.<br />

Reduce the height of the other bays for cars and<br />

suv height with a cross bar and signage. I posted signs<br />

in each bay and on the entrance sign to the property<br />

like this also stating there is a $300 fine. You should<br />

also state that each vehicle is captured on video. This<br />

helped me a lot. There’s always an ass or 5 but it made<br />

a difference for me. - JMMUSTANG<br />

Can you not just “disconnect” their cards? Say you are<br />

having a problem with your server and just stall them.<br />

If they come back with cash get a police restraining<br />

order. They are not playing nice so don’t see why you<br />

should. - MAC<br />

I see where you are losing money with them.I sell FedEx<br />

tokens with no discount and my market is rural.<br />

I have an attended wash due to the mud factor.<br />

- SWAMPDONKEY<br />

This is only somewhat related as I don’t do any fleet<br />

accounts or token sales to companies, but I have<br />

banned several businesses from my wash, the latest<br />

of which was a concrete company. One of their guys<br />

came in and sprayed dry cement mix off a flatbed<br />

truck and left it all over the bay walls, floor, and ten<br />

feet out on the lot. It took me four hours to clean it<br />

up. I called the company and told them to warn their<br />

guys that they’d get a criminal trespass warrant if they<br />

came back, and if the driver had a warrant or was illegal<br />

(The latter highly likely) he’d go to jail and their<br />

truck impounded, which could cost $1,000 or more<br />

to get out. - MEP001<br />

Years ago I had a fleet account with a national lumber<br />

company to wash their crew trucks that they took up<br />

into the woods. They washed about 20 crew trucks<br />

a week. The only stipulation I had was they had to<br />

clean up the bay after each wash, which they did.<br />

They eventually built their own wash facilities at their<br />

yard. I’d call FedEx and tell them to clean up the bay<br />

after each wash or don’t come back. In our area FedEx<br />

ground is not owned by FedEx but by a contractor,<br />

FedEx air is owned by FedEx. - RANDY<br />

Well, I’m notifying all my fleet wash club managers<br />

that starting next Monday, March 8th a $150 Cleanup<br />

fee is being added to the monthly invoice, every<br />

FedEx fleet acct has this problem so if they bitch n<br />

moan they can wash at their terminal and see just the<br />

ordeal I have to go through EVERYDAY and I don’t<br />

want them to wash their mess into the pits as I just<br />

had them pumped last week at $1,529.90 then most<br />

recently pumped late November 2020 and with the<br />

recent storm that shut us down for 2 weeks and 2020<br />

that wasn’t an easy pill to swallow. - DIAMONDWASH<br />

If a $150 monthly fee doesn’t stop them, make it for<br />

each day they leave the place like that. - MEP001<br />

What I do with fleet vehicles is I issue a wash card<br />

with prepaid amounts on them. I tell them if your<br />

guys leave the bays the dirty I will clean up the mess<br />

and deduct whatever amount of time I have spent to<br />

clean up after them. They are better about cleaning<br />

the bays but when they don’t I can check cameras<br />

and the wash card history to see who used the bay. If<br />

it is one of my prepaid accounts they get at least $10<br />

deducted from the prepaid balance. - SOAPY<br />

I’m getting ready to ban DTN from my bays. There<br />

If I had a<br />

quarter for<br />

every time<br />

someone….<br />

Anybody else having<br />

problems with people using<br />

your change machines like<br />

its a bank. Pre-Covid I never<br />

went and bought quarters<br />

for probably 7 years. In fact I<br />

would have extra and deposit<br />

them. Since Covid I’m having<br />

to buy about 3-6K per month.<br />

I turned my twenties off<br />

and am still having issues. I<br />

understand there is no longer<br />

a coin shortage but I feel<br />

like the people realized it’s<br />

probably easier to come and<br />

get quarters from my<br />

car washes then the bank.<br />

I think my only options are:<br />

1. Take out bill changer and<br />

install bill validators at self<br />

serve bays and vacuums<br />

2. Dispense tokens<br />

instead of quarters<br />

3. Dispense dollar coins<br />

instead of quarters<br />

4. Install a bill breaker<br />

and turn off $10 bills<br />

5. Keep buying quarters<br />

Anyone have any other<br />

suggestions?<br />

- KRISPY KLEAN CAR WASHES<br />

Easy solution. Convert your changers to<br />

dispense dollar coins assuming your coin<br />

mechs can handle them. You move the<br />

customer away from the 25 cent mentality<br />

to the $1 increment mentality. Solves<br />

the change issue and brings in more revenue.<br />

- ROZ<br />

I chose to lie to the public with this sign,<br />

as my changer still dispenses quarters. Some<br />

people have caught on and some just don’t<br />

read the sign, but the end result is I no longer<br />

have to go to the bank for quarters and<br />

my customers didn’t complain. - 2BIZ<br />

44 • SPRING 2021


Increase Revenue<br />

When a customer purchases<br />

tokens, you have made a sale<br />

Added Security<br />

Put your mind at ease with<br />

tokens. Minimize staff<br />

supervision and deter theft<br />

Unique Alloys<br />

Hoffman Mint offers different<br />

alloys & sizes to best suit your<br />

car wash needs<br />

Reduce Cost<br />

Tokens help reduce operating<br />

cost and are a lower-cost<br />

payment option<br />

Marketing Options<br />

Set your business apart and<br />

help build your brand with<br />

custom tokens<br />

Flexibility<br />

Whether for a promotion or<br />

price fluctuation, simply adjust<br />

the value of your tokens<br />

VISIT US AT THE CAR WASH SHOW BOOTH 2917<br />

WHY TOKENS?<br />

Whether using our stock tokens<br />

or custom tokens,<br />

the benefits are endless.<br />

Learn more at<br />

www.hoffmanmint.com<br />

Hoffman Mint<br />

Fort Lauderdale, Florida<br />

sales@hoffmanmint.com<br />

SPRING 2021 • 45


TRICKS OF THE<br />

are a couple of fleet trucks that destroy my bays on<br />

Sundays when I’m not there but have them on cameras<br />

leaving a mess of mud. Also, I’m getting ready to<br />

go to the cops too to get them banned so if they do<br />

come on the property I can have them arrested for<br />

trespassing. - COOLL903<br />

My wash had a sign on the changer that said it dispenses<br />

a mix of tokens and quarters. It worked for a<br />

few years, then the owner at the time said he was<br />

buying $500 to $1000 quarters a week to keep up.<br />

At that point we changed the acceptors to take<br />

.984 tokens and he would mix about 10% in with<br />

the quarters which finally stopped the abuse.<br />

Fast forward 15+ years and now it’s my wash. I’m<br />

still throwing maybe 100 tokens into the changer<br />

once a month and I can go a couple months before<br />

I start losing a few quarters and have to add another<br />

100 tokens. COVID comes along and suddenly<br />

I’m losing 5000 quarters a week, so I order 10,000<br />

tokens and had to run 80/20 quarters to tokens just<br />

to keep up. I don’t take $1 coins, so I just dump the<br />

tokens/quarters right back into the changer.<br />

Bill acceptors in the bays or vacs is not an option.<br />

They would be broken into.<br />

Dollar coins would not be a better option than<br />

just buying quarters. I would have to order dollar<br />

coins from the bank, wait a week, and pay $550<br />

for a box of 500, which would still disappear, confuse<br />

my customers, and cause much more work for<br />

myself. Not to mention spending some $5,000 in<br />

coin acceptors, vacuum upgrades, and new vending<br />

machines (mine are mechanical and the .984<br />

token works fine in them with a coin mech insert<br />

that accepts them).<br />

A bill breaker might slow them down, but some of<br />

them will get change, throw the tokens in the trash<br />

and leave. I believe the quarter thieves would be unfazed.<br />

I get a LOT of $10 and $20 bills and I would<br />

lose a lot of business if I turned off acceptance.<br />

The worst abusers would walk around and sell<br />

the tokens to my customers, but usually don’t<br />

come back. The ones I caught doing this I told<br />

them it’s theft of service, same arrestable offense<br />

as shoplifting. - MEP001<br />

What I did was I had a sign made saying “Change<br />

for Carwash Use Only.” Then I made a sticker saying<br />

this changer dispenses a mixture of coins and tokens<br />

that can only be used at this wash. I also turned off<br />

$20 acceptance. I do have bill validators in bays and<br />

vacs but all are wirelessly armed with my security<br />

services. I have never been to the bank to buy coins.<br />

The ones I catch I tell them something cause they<br />

park right in front of changers. I would never recommend<br />

adding bill validators cause it makes them a<br />

target. Once they go out I do not replace them and<br />

since cryptotap has come out I install the tap unit. -<br />

DAMONI88<br />

It’s a great excuse to change to $1 tokens. The high<br />

security nickel plated are around .25 each. More<br />

profitable than a vending machine and minimal investment.<br />

I’m still getting customers putting twenties<br />

in to buy tokens. Greatly reduces theft attempts.<br />

- GREG PACK<br />

Pre-Covid we had two change machines. One quarter<br />

changer and one dollar coin. Once Covid hit and<br />

the bank lobbies closed we noticed that the dollar<br />

coins were disappearing more quickly. Apparently a<br />

lot of laundromats and vending machines take these<br />

(as well as apartment building laundries). We got rid<br />

of the dollar coins and made both changers dispense<br />

only quarters. Just wanted to share our experience.<br />

We do still have to buy about $500 in quarters every<br />

month and a half or so but we were buying dollar<br />

coins weekly. - BERT79<br />

I switched to tokens because I was getting killed on<br />

quarters. Changed all my acceptors to multi-coin<br />

and went with a token the size of a dollar coin and<br />

valued at $1.00. I still accept quarters because a lot<br />

of people bring them. Nice thing is every token that<br />

doesn’t come back I make about .70 cents on. It is a<br />

big investment and I didn’t want to do it but I was<br />

running out of quarters. It is fun to get the call that<br />

they wanted quarters for laundry and want a refund.<br />

I tell them to wash or vac. Dunkin’ Donuts called<br />

and got $100.00 worth of tokens and wanted a refund<br />

and I told them to hand out one with every cup<br />

of coffee. Lmao.<br />

Also, I watched someone go to the other machine<br />

after they put a 5 in and put a 20 in the other machine.<br />

lol. - JSSHAC<br />

I had that problem and then just shut off taking $20s.<br />

Now my supply just stays the same. Don’t know exactly<br />

why. - MAC<br />

I had the same problem early on. Put changers on<br />

timers that turned off at 11 p.m. and on at 6 a.m.<br />

Problem went away. - TOM THUMB<br />

I vend 1 1/8” tokens and bays accept quarters, tokens<br />

and cc. I bought custom tokens, which are good for<br />

marketing purposes.<br />

This is the best way for me; no one is cleaning out a<br />

supply of quarters to then use off- premises, plus you<br />

benefit from unused/lost tokens. - WAXMAN<br />

- JACK954<br />

Appreciate all the feedback. I think I’m going to be<br />

switching to tokens. It seems like it would be the easiest<br />

and best way to solve this without spending tons<br />

of money because I am getting sick of running to the<br />

bank every week for quarters. I hate when I see a car<br />

pull straight up to the changer. I wish I could set up<br />

a spike strip in front of it. LOL. - KRISPY KLEAN CAR<br />

WASHES<br />

Switching to tokens requires a tremendous amount<br />

of homework. You don’t want to buy a cheap generic<br />

token that anyone can buy. Call the token manufactures<br />

and get samples of what you think you want<br />

and then go to all your competition that uses tokens<br />

and get some of their tokens. You want to use a high<br />

security token that no one in your area is using so<br />

you don’t get any crossover… cheap tokens are normally<br />

an 85/15 or 80/20 alloy, Chuck E. Cheese tokens<br />

are a 70/30 alloy. One of the problems we’ve<br />

had is when we reorder tokens the alloy is just a little<br />

different then the last batch that can be a huge pain<br />

in the $&#! We value our tokens at a dollar and we<br />

lose about 50,000 tokens a year. Our last token order<br />

25% of the tokens we got wouldn’t work, slightly different<br />

alloy. We used a pure copper alloy token that<br />

is nickel plated. If you go to tokens do it right and do<br />

your homework. - RANDY<br />

Quarters are a necessary evil. I tried to stop taking<br />

them and it was disastrous. Our changers only give<br />

Gold US dollar coins. Bays accept both, but mostly<br />

dollars used. We also use the Coinless Mobile App<br />

to achieve CC acceptance.That has gone over really<br />

well. - MR. CLEAN<br />

The carwash around the corner accepts credit cards<br />

ONLY! Hmm...he says it works for him. No banking,<br />

no coins, no break-ins... I’m not there yet… - JUST-<br />

CLEAN<br />

I only have one wash with tokens but I don’t like it.<br />

Hate sorting them back out and they seem to get<br />

dirty quickly. I’ve been having to get quarters from<br />

the bank but I don’t mind. It’s free to do so and 80%<br />

of the time they are brand new and clean. Clean<br />

quarters are easier on equipment. In a perfect world<br />

I would be 100% cashless. - WYATT<br />

46 • SPRING 2021


INCREASE LOYALTY & REVENUE WITH<br />

SMART UNATTENDED SOLUTIONS<br />

Designed for the automatic and self-serve markets, Hamilton’s diverse range of loyalty<br />

programs, pay stations, and bay timers can help differentiate your car wash and bring a<br />

truly unique value proposition to your customers.<br />

CUSTOM MOBILE APP<br />

Styled and named after your car wash brand, users can:<br />

Join a Monthly Wash Club | Buy & Gift Washes | Claim Deals & Discounts<br />

Earn Loyalty Rewards | Pay for Self-Serve Bay Time | Receive a complimentary Birthday Wash<br />

EXPRESSPASS RFID SYSTEM<br />

Improve throughput, loyalty, and cashflow by offering a Monthly Wash Club program. Using RFID<br />

technology, a unique windshield tag on the customers vehicle is read before vending their chosen<br />

package. Our flexible system includes custom greetings, multiple pass types, and automated billing.<br />

CUSTOM ECOMMERCE WEBSITE<br />

Customized to your brand, our new Ecommerce site lets customers sign up for RFID plans, update<br />

credit card information, purchase gift cards, check gift card balances, add new balance, and buy<br />

Single Washes & Wash Bundles.<br />

HOSTED SOLUTIONS<br />

All Hamilton loyalty programs are managed through a single cloud-based system for ease of use.<br />

Hosted Solutions also provides multi-site data reporting, a site status diagnostic tool, and Single<br />

Use Codes for rapid customer service responses.<br />

www.hamiltonmfg.com | sales@hamiltonmfg.com | 888-723-4858<br />

SPRING 2021 • 47


WE WANT<br />

YOUR<br />

STORIES!<br />

Do you have a funny<br />

story from the bay?<br />

TRICKS OF THE<br />

You get a towel!<br />

And, you get a towel!<br />

...We currently offer a courtesy towel drying area with a leaf blower<br />

available for customers to dry their cars/motorcycles. I’m interested<br />

in how others have their courtesy stations set up. We currently use a<br />

flip top storage container for the clean towels and a barrel for used.<br />

Looking for some ideas for a better display area. Also what other<br />

free extras do others offer? - TOUCHLESS<br />

Maybe an inspiring<br />

tale from the wash?<br />

Try something<br />

new that worked well?<br />

“You won’t believe what this<br />

Darwin did at my wash…”<br />

“The best decision I ever made<br />

for my business was…”<br />

“On rainy days, I like to…”<br />

Reach out to Editor Debra Gorgos<br />

debgorgos@gmail.com to share<br />

your story with our readers.<br />

I give away 1 car wash token worth 4 minutes<br />

when the mood strikes me. I demo rugbeater a lot.<br />

I have an attended self serve. - SWAMPDONKEY<br />

I offer a free towel dry station. It’s nothing fancy<br />

but we keep it stocked 7 days/week. We buy bulk<br />

towels from ERC Wiping. They get stolen alot. We<br />

go through a bulk box every 3 months or so. The<br />

customers use it constantly and I’m certain it creates<br />

loyalty. - WAXMAN<br />

I’ve offered some freebies at my main wash. I quit<br />

doing the towels when covid started but may start<br />

back soon. I have a JKO rug beater that is free for<br />

customers. It is a big investment up front but customers<br />

love it and it requires minimal upkeep. It<br />

is 13 years old and I’ve had to buy a new timer,<br />

new decals, and a set of rollers in that time (maybe<br />

$600 worth of stuff?) At one time I was leaving<br />

out spray glass cleaner. Meguiars makes a glass<br />

cleaner concentrate that is cheap enough at 10:1<br />

dilution. Theft of product happened occasionally<br />

but wasn’t enough to discourage me from offering<br />

the service. My lot is small and frankly I don’t want<br />

customers hanging around longer than necessary<br />

as it gets quite crowded on busy days. - GREG PACK<br />

I have been doing the free towels for 27 years with<br />

good luck. I use stainless steel bins I had custom<br />

made for the dry and wet towel collection. Big investment<br />

up front but always looks new. I started<br />

with Sam’s Club towels and now switched over<br />

to the .31 cent microfiber towels from Kleenrite.<br />

I also offer free prescrub buckets for the automatics.<br />

Every automatic wash gets a free token good<br />

for a free vacuum or $1 off the next automatic<br />

wash. I would say 75% of the tokens are redeemed<br />

for the $1 off the next wash and 25% for the free<br />

vac. I only give .25 cent value for the tokens in<br />

the SS bays because too many people were cruising<br />

around my my washes just to pick up tokens<br />

people forgot in the token vendor. Since I made<br />

them worth only ,25 in the SS bays I do not get<br />

the deadbeats. - SOAPY<br />

I do this at three locations and we change the bug<br />

prep three to four times a day. It’s all according to<br />

how busy we are. I have some people that will use it<br />

on their running boards or really muddy trucks/cars<br />

and then the whole bucket of bug prep is dirty and<br />

you need to change it ASAP. Most of my customers<br />

use it and really like it. Plus it helps the touch-free<br />

do a better job. - APW<br />

I think it’s a great idea although we are a self<br />

serve and don’t have any employees so that is our<br />

downfall. Its something to think about, maybe we<br />

could offer it while we are onsite in the mornings.<br />

- TOUCHLESS<br />

I’m also unattended for the most part (I’m there<br />

every morning and my brother stops by 1-2 times a<br />

day), but I do have an emissions guy that rents one<br />

bay Mon-Sat. So someone is on site but they aren’t<br />

watching the bays all the time. We have the prep<br />

bucket at the kiosk for the auto wash and we change<br />

or fill it daily. It gets used a pretty good bit, only had<br />

a few brushes vanish. The towels with glass cleaner<br />

at the exit of my bays at the vacs wouldn’t be a<br />

bad idea... I have the means to wash and dry them<br />

daily ( I own a cleaners in the same parking lot).<br />

My customers are pretty good for the most part, I<br />

guess I could set up a clean towel and dirty towel<br />

bin maybe in the middle of the vacs, add some glass<br />

cleaner, etc.. And see how it works out. Seems like a<br />

cheap addition for the wash? - FASTLX<br />

MY prescrub buckets are 15 gallon chemical barrels<br />

that I cut the top off. If you use a grit guard<br />

in the bottom of the buckets that will keep accumulated<br />

grit off the brush between bucket fills. I<br />

use wheel wizard brushes and I brand the handle<br />

and brush with my wash name so I lose very few<br />

of them. - SOAPY<br />

48 • SPRING 2021


SPRING 2021 • 49


FUN&<br />

GAMES<br />

WHAT’S DIFFERENT?<br />

Think these two pictures taken at a self serve car wash are the same?<br />

Think again! There are six differences. Can you spot them all?<br />

6. Exit sign is lower<br />

5. Vending Room is changed to Vending Area<br />

4. Flowers are different<br />

3. Van is missing<br />

2. Trashcan is taller<br />

1. Simoniz colors are different<br />

WHERE IN THE WORLD<br />

ARE THESE SELF SERVES?<br />

a<br />

b<br />

c<br />

d<br />

a. Arbroath, Scotland, Westway 24 hour Self Service Carwash & Vacuum<br />

b. Queensland, Australia, Gold Coast Self Service Car Wash<br />

c. Weißenhorn, Germany, Herzlich willkommen bei MS Waschpark<br />

d. Cyprus, Greece, Adriateh Self Service Carwash<br />

50 • SPRING 2021


Vending Islands<br />

Prep Units<br />

Coleman Hanna allows operators<br />

to customize their wash to meet<br />

market demands and produce<br />

the most profit for their location!<br />

Simple, compact, easy to<br />

operate Prep Units. Available<br />

as a one or two pump package.<br />

Typical prep units include highpressure<br />

wash only. Additional<br />

rinse can be added.<br />

We offer a wide variety of the most popular vending products<br />

including Armor All® Wipes and Sprays, Little Tree® Fragrance<br />

Trees, Cali Scents® Fragrance, and various cloth towels of all sizes.<br />

Order vending materials from us to simplify the process or select<br />

your own vending materials supplier.<br />

9400 Series Vacuum<br />

The 94000 Series Vacuums are constructed of high quality, stainless<br />

steel and provide high performance. Our affordable dual-function<br />

vacuums mean long life, dependability, and a higher return on your<br />

dollar than any other equipment. Round in shape, the 94000 Series<br />

Vacuums make an attractive vacuum at your car wash with your<br />

choice of dome color and matching decal graphics.<br />

• Single electronic coin acceptor<br />

• Greater coin capacity<br />

• Single point of collection<br />

• Credit card capable<br />

• Large capacity keyed vault<br />

• Low voltage power<br />

• Bill acceptance available<br />

Single Vacuum Arch<br />

• Stainless Steel arches that are designed for<br />

the single SS vacuums<br />

• Fixed SS Boom to provide the hose near the<br />

drivers door of the vehicle<br />

• Vacuum boom can be ordered to allow the<br />

hose to swing over the vehicle<br />

• Post is 3” x 6” x 8’ tall for the fixed vac arch<br />

Central Vacuum System<br />

Easily provide multiple vacuum stations with one central system with the Coleman Hanna<br />

Central Vacuum System. This central vacuum system provides ease of use with only one<br />

central location to service. The central vacuum system is ideal for locations with free<br />

vacuums such as full service and express tunnels.<br />

• NEW Hanna Central Vacuum has been<br />

improved to provide longer life and better<br />

performance.<br />

• Comes with an exhaust pipe to easily<br />

install a muffler if needed or desired<br />

• Heavy Duty Bearings and 1-1/4” shaft, larger<br />

than the old design<br />

• Optional vacuum gauge can be mounted<br />

inside the collector to measure the<br />

performance of the vacuum<br />

• Dimensions for the mounted producer<br />

and collector 28”x100” ( 0,72 m x 2,55 m )<br />

• Durable Stainless Steel Parts<br />

• 15 HP, 20 HP or 25 HP model available<br />

QUALITY CAR WASH EQUIPMENT<br />

FOR OVER 60 YEARS.<br />

WWW.COLEMANHANNA.COM<br />

colemanhannacw<br />

@ColemanHannaCarwash<br />

Coleman Hanna Carwash Systems LLC<br />

Coleman Hanna Carwash Systems LLC<br />

@ColemanHannaCW<br />

5842 W 34TH ST HOUSTON, TX 77092<br />

1 (800) 999-9878 (713) 683-9878 INFO@COLEMANHANNA.COM<br />

SPRING 2021 • 51


The Birds and the Bugs<br />

The anatomy<br />

of a Lovebug<br />

(in case your customers were wondering)<br />

Binomial Name: Plecia Nearctica<br />

Other names: Double-headed Bug, Honeymoon<br />

Fly, Kissingbug, March Fly, Tele-phone Bug, and<br />

United Bug.<br />

Found in: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana,<br />

Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina,<br />

Texas, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, and<br />

Mexico.<br />

Infestation seasons: Spring (late April and May<br />

and late August and September).<br />

Lifespan: 2-3 days for males, approx. 1 week for<br />

females.<br />

Mating cycle: 2-3 days.<br />

Size: Males are 6-7 mm in length, and 6-10 mg<br />

in weight. Females are 6-9 mm in length, 15-25<br />

mg in weight<br />

Body Chemistry: Almost a neutral 6.5 pH, but if<br />

left on a car surface, acidity level can reach 4.25 pH.<br />

Upside to lovebugs: larval stages by helping to<br />

recycle decaying vegetative matter into organic<br />

matter, according to Biology of the “Love-bug,” by<br />

LA Hetrick 1970.<br />

More profits and customers for self serve car<br />

wash owners.<br />

Downside to lovebugs: Attracted to highways,<br />

lovebugs will splat all over cars, startling drivers.<br />

They can also, according to Hetrick:<br />

• Cause liquid-cooled engines to<br />

overheat due to clogged radiators.<br />

• Reduce visibility<br />

• Etch automobile paint due<br />

to acidic nature of bugs<br />

Interesting Fact: Lovebugs do not bite or sting.<br />

Rumor Has It: A rumor has been around for<br />

decades that lovebugs are the result of a botched<br />

genetic experiment at the University of Florida.<br />

An Internet spam email going around stated:<br />

“Love Bugs are actually man-made. Scientists<br />

were genetically engineering females of a<br />

species of insect that would mate with the male<br />

mosquito, but be sterile and produce no offspring.<br />

Unfortunately, they accidentally also created a<br />

male Love Bug, and a pair somehow escaped into<br />

the wild. Since the bugs had no natural predators,<br />

their numbers quickly exploded into the millions.”<br />

However, Snopes.com debunked this tall tale,<br />

stating: “Love bugs are not the result of a genetic<br />

cloning experiment gone wrong, nor were they<br />

unwittingly loosed from a research facility charged<br />

with studying exotic insects. They also weren’t<br />

bio-engineered as a natural solution to the mosquito<br />

problem. (Love bugs do not eat mosquitoes:<br />

the adults do not eat at all, and larvae feed on decaying<br />

plant material.) These overly amorous critters<br />

are native to Central America; the best guess<br />

as to how they came to these United States places<br />

them as undiscovered stowaways who arrived by<br />

ship in Galveston or New Orleans around 1920.”<br />

FOR THE BIRDS<br />

Yes…. We are going ‘there’<br />

Okay, I will admit it, this research made me a<br />

bit squeamish, but I know all of you can handle<br />

it. And, while my degree in Journalism, and 20+<br />

years of research and interviewing has prepared<br />

me for a lot, I never in a million years thought<br />

I would be writing about… bird poop. Yes, that’s<br />

right, I am giving you all of the facts having to do<br />

with bird excrement. Why is it white? What is up<br />

with the blue blobs? The answers are below.<br />

What’s up with<br />

the whiteness?<br />

It all has to do with the fact that birds do not<br />

produce pure urine. According to MentalFloss,<br />

birds’ digestive systems and don’t work like most<br />

animals’. “Instead of pooping and peeing separately,<br />

they basically do it all in one weird mess.<br />

Their kidneys extract nitrogenous wastes from the<br />

bloodstream like other animals’ do, but instead of<br />

releasing it as urea dissolved in urine, birds excrete<br />

it in the form of uric acid. It comes out as a white<br />

sort of goo because of the biochemical reactions<br />

that happen to process the waste so it can be safely<br />

excreted with minimal water loss.”<br />

What’s up with the dark blobs?<br />

When there is red, blue, purple or green blobs in<br />

the droppings, that is the actual poop. According to<br />

beautyofbirds.com, it’s the only real solid part. As for<br />

the different colors? It all has to do with the bird’s<br />

diet. “Red pellets and strawberries produce a red colored<br />

dropping. (This does not apply to the urine.)<br />

Seed and green vegetables produce a green dropping.<br />

(This does not apply to the urine either.) Blueberries<br />

and blackberries produce black droppings.”<br />

Are some cars targeted more<br />

than others?<br />

There have been lots of theories and studies done<br />

on which cars attract more bird poop. Of course,<br />

unless you’re Dr. Doolittle, you’ll never know this<br />

answer. However, a little over a year ago, a done<br />

by Halfords of the United Kingdom, revealed red<br />

cars attract the most bird droppings. “Red vehicles<br />

made up 18 percent of cars marked by birds, while<br />

blue followed along in second place at 14 percent.<br />

Green vehicles got off the easiest, making up just<br />

one percent of those in the study. The sample<br />

included 1,140 cars, though there’s no<br />

indication as to the total number<br />

of each car color in the group,”<br />

autoblog.com reported.<br />

The study also stated that<br />

perhaps it has to do with<br />

the fact that if a vehicle is<br />

darker, the “deeper the reflection<br />

and the more violent<br />

the reaction.” Another<br />

theory is that blue cars suffer<br />

because the birds think they are<br />

over a body of water. In that same report, autoblog<br />

shared that Autoglym weighed in and revealed<br />

that the damage to a vehicle’s surface has to a softening<br />

of paint lacquer. “Damage to vehicle paintwork<br />

arose not from the acid or alkali in bird feces,<br />

but from paint lacquer softening and expanding to<br />

form an uneven mold around the dropping which<br />

produced a dull patch. Grainier textures from<br />

seed-eating birds produced the most blemishes, so<br />

pigeons are worse for motorists than seagulls.”<br />

Or is a spider?<br />

There is an actual spider called: The bird-dung<br />

crab spider. And, yes, it looks exactly like bird<br />

poop. To make sure you’re not about to detail a car<br />

infested with this arachnid, make sure you know<br />

what to look for.<br />

According to newscientist.com, they mimic bird<br />

droppings in color, shape, size and smell.<br />

According to Joseph K.H. Koh of the Lee Kong<br />

Chian Natural History Museum, The spider’s<br />

body has a glossy surface that<br />

gives it a ‘wet’ look of fresh feces.<br />

The nodules on the body and<br />

rough-edges of the legs further<br />

reinforce the ‘shitty’ look – pardon<br />

the rudeness. When the<br />

spider moves, the illusion disintegrates.<br />

The ‘walking poop’ no<br />

longer looks like a piece of dropping,<br />

especially with its legs spread<br />

out,” Koh says.<br />

52 • SPRING 2021


TRACK<br />

THAT CLICK!<br />

CLICK IT<br />

IT<br />

GOOD!<br />

“We’ve been advertising to car wash operators for 7 years now, and<br />

have tried and tracked many of the different industry advertising<br />

options. As far as online opportunities focused on the car wash<br />

industry go, nothing has provided the consistent click-throughs at<br />

the rate of the CarWashForum.com.” JIM LANMAN, TOUCH4WASH<br />

SPRING 2021 • 53


I know<br />

IT’S ONLY<br />

LED<br />

(BUT I LIKE IT)<br />

ENLIGHTENMENT FOR THE MODERN CAR WASH<br />

It seems like a given that a person would choose<br />

a well-lit self serve over one that rivaled the setting<br />

of the latest horror flick. Even if a car wash<br />

owner thinks their wash is bright and secure, does<br />

he or she really know what it looks like from the<br />

viewpoint of a woman, or person who might feel<br />

insecure due to various reason. An owner could<br />

start by looking at the numbers: How many people<br />

are washing after the sun sets? Who are the<br />

people frequently the car wash late at night? If the<br />

profits are slow during those hours, and the money<br />

is only coming from a certain demographic, it<br />

might be time to upgrade the lighting. Not only<br />

will it enhance the look of the car wash from the<br />

street, but it will also illuminate the way a freshly<br />

car looks after a wash, and hopefully encourage<br />

customers to visit the vacuum stations as well. It’s<br />

also about cost-savings, too. Modern lighting saves<br />

energy, and cuts utility bills. It can seem like a big<br />

investment, but aren’t more customers, who feel<br />

secure enough to visit again, as well as lower utility<br />

bills a good thing? And there’s another benefit.<br />

According to Jennifer Spears, who is not only<br />

a sales manager for CarWashCameras.com but is<br />

also a car wash owner, if a crime does occur, good<br />

lighting will help enhance any video footage and<br />

help to identify and nab the culprits. This cover<br />

story includes three different interviews with various<br />

car wash and lighting experts: Erin Noonan,<br />

of G&G Industrial Lighting, Michael Call of Mile<br />

High LED Systems, the folks over at Kleen-Rite,<br />

and Gary Baright, one of the first car wash owners<br />

to install LED lighting inside a self serve bay.<br />

54 • SPRING 2021


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SPRING 2021 • 55


SAVINGS & SAFETY<br />

What to look for — and<br />

what not to look for —<br />

when it comes to LED<br />

lighting for your self serve.<br />

The following article was provided by Erin<br />

Noonan, Director of Marketing for of G&G Industrial<br />

Lighting.<br />

When considering site improvements to your car<br />

wash, one of the easiest changes you can make is to<br />

upgrade your lighting from traditional light sources,<br />

such as metal halide and fluorescent lamps, to<br />

modern LED lighting. This type of lighting brightly<br />

illuminates your car wash, offering safety, and<br />

upping your customers’ experience, and it can also<br />

save you money. Also, the amount of maintenance<br />

required is minimal. The following are reasons to<br />

switch over to LEDs as well as tips on how to use<br />

them to your car wash’s benefit.<br />

• Saving money and energy: LEDs,<br />

or Light Emitting Diodes, are the most energy-efficient<br />

source of lighting technology that are<br />

designed to save on electrical consumption, while<br />

reducing maintenance due to their extra-long<br />

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56 • SPRING 2021


The Next Evolution in Car Wash Lighting:<br />

LEDLINE-X<br />

Call for Promotional Pricing!<br />

Introducing LEDLINE-X. A light that is made to fit<br />

your application at a price point comparable to the<br />

static, fixed size fixtures of the past. No more cables<br />

between lights. No more dark spots.<br />

A light made for car washes. Water-tight,<br />

chemical / UV resistant silicon housing designed<br />

to withstand tough car wash environments.<br />

Bay Lights<br />

Create lines of light<br />

making a “runway”<br />

within your bays.<br />

Ideal lighting design<br />

encourages more points<br />

of light for a better look<br />

and feel. With the ability<br />

to achieve 48 ft of<br />

continuous light, LEDLINE<br />

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points and symmetrical<br />

layout design.<br />

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In-Bay Automatic Color<br />

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Integrate color changing<br />

lights with your car wash<br />

cycles. Bask the bay in<br />

green light with drive<br />

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Purple on presoak, green<br />

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multiple colors for foam<br />

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800-598-3772<br />

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SPRING 2021 • 57


LIGHTING COMMENTS FROM<br />

CARWASHFORUM.COM<br />

We installed LED lighting<br />

about 4 or 5 years ago.<br />

Saved us around $45 a<br />

month on the light bill, we<br />

leave our lights on 24/7. It<br />

cost us around $1100 to relamp<br />

the car wash with LED<br />

lights so we’ve gotten our<br />

money back. - Randy<br />

Did it almost 3 years ago.<br />

Our Electric Co. had a rebate<br />

plan. Cost was $7,000, of<br />

which I had to pay approximately<br />

$2500. Saves us over<br />

$200/month! So, the ROI for<br />

me was 12 months!<br />

- Soonermajic<br />

I bought lights over a year<br />

ago and still haven’t installed<br />

them all. [I’m replacing the<br />

old lighting] because the old<br />

ones are too dim and use four<br />

times the electricity and give<br />

off half the light as what I’m<br />

putting up in their place.<br />

- MEP001<br />

I did outside and [in the] bays<br />

4 years ago. With rebates<br />

from the power co., [I’m impressed<br />

by] the results with<br />

the LED lights.<br />

- Swampdonkey<br />

lifetimes and improving the overall aesthetic with<br />

enhanced quality of light in comparison to their<br />

antiquated counterparts. There are certain types<br />

of LED lighting fixtures that are built specifically for<br />

the car wash industry, that are specially engineered<br />

to withstand the constant humidity and chemicals<br />

found within the harsh car wash environments.<br />

• Potential Return on Investment:<br />

One of the greatest benefits of LED lighting is the<br />

dramatically reduced energy consumption when<br />

compared to traditional lighting technologies. In<br />

most cases, energy use is cut by 60-70%, translating<br />

into big savings on your utility bill. While<br />

the upfront investment may be more initially, LED<br />

lighting typically pays for itself in electricity and<br />

maintenance savings in only 1.5-2 years’ time<br />

while owners will continue to reap the benefits<br />

of their extra-long (100,000+ hour) lifetime for<br />

upwards of a decade without having to replace<br />

them. By comparison, a metal halide bulb will only<br />

last approximately 10,000 hours, requiring around<br />

10 bulb changes and a few ballast changes over<br />

the lifetime of a quality LED fixture.<br />

• Little to No Maintenance: Another<br />

benefit of LED technology is that they require<br />

little to no maintenance. Unlike traditional lighting,<br />

there is no ballast that causes failures and must<br />

be replaced every so often. Many LEDs do have<br />

drivers in lieu of ballasts, but these power sources<br />

are designed to last for the rated life of the fixture<br />

itself. There are also LED products built for the<br />

car wash that use direct-AC driverless technology,<br />

connecting directly to the power source itself<br />

without the use of a driver, therefore eliminating<br />

any chance of premature failure.<br />

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58 • SPRING 2021


• Customer safety: Good lighting is vital<br />

to a self-serve car wash because it not only<br />

attracts business by serving as a beacon to draw<br />

customers in, but it also provides a sense of safety<br />

and productivity when a site is properly illuminated.<br />

While most owners do take safety and liability<br />

very seriously, they often undervalue the ability of<br />

the LED systems to create bright, clearly-visible<br />

environments that foster a sense of security and<br />

attract customers during evening or even early<br />

morning hours. These LED products are also ideal<br />

for cost-efficient lighting areas that are often prey<br />

to theft and vandalism as well as reducing potential<br />

hazards such as fire and shock risks.<br />

Furthermore, a well-lit wash is often viewed as<br />

“inviting” and “always open for business.” Some<br />

owners have even stated that customers actually<br />

thought their bays looked new after the facility<br />

was retrofitted with the latest LED technologies.<br />

Consequently, many others have noted that<br />

dimly-lit locations that appear dark or unsafe from<br />

the street can result in customers that fail to visit<br />

any time, whether it be day or night, such circumstances<br />

that are never good for increasing car<br />

counts and profits.<br />

• Be on the lookout for imposters:<br />

While LED technology as a whole is touted as an<br />

excellent lighting solution, not all LED products<br />

are created equal. When choosing the right lighting<br />

for your self serve, it is important to take into<br />

consideration the ability to withstand the car wash<br />

environment, the light quality, ease of installation,<br />

safety certifications and the warranty offered. At a<br />

minimum, an IP (Ingress Protection) rating of IP66<br />

is important to have, stating that the product is<br />

protected against moisture intrusion and will not<br />

be affected by the constant water and humidity.<br />

Look for a fixture that can withstand exposure to<br />

the chemicals and soaps of the car wash. A UL<br />

Wet Location rating is important as it will show<br />

that the product has been tested and third-party<br />

certified for safety within the car washing environment.<br />

Lastly, look for a product that is rated for a<br />

long lifetime and backed by at least a 3-year warranty<br />

to ensure quality and customer service that<br />

stands behind their products so that you won’t be<br />

paying out of pocket in the case of failures.<br />

DID YOU KNOW?<br />

State and Local Energy<br />

Efficiency Programs<br />

The Small Business Administration<br />

offers state, local and regional<br />

programs that help small<br />

businesses become energy<br />

efficient. These programs offer<br />

financial assistance in the form<br />

of grants and loans for making<br />

energy efficient upgrades. These<br />

programs also offer free or low-<br />

cost technical assistance to help<br />

small business owners conduct<br />

energy audits and implement<br />

energy efficient technology.<br />

Visit: www.sba.gov/content/<br />

state-and-local-energy-efficiencyprograms<br />

for more information.<br />

BRIGHT BAY. HAPPY CUSTOMER.<br />

Waterproof LED Lighting | Available at Kleen-Rite<br />

800-285-6780 | www.ggled.net | sales@ggled.net<br />

<strong>SSCWN</strong>2019.indd 1<br />

SPRING 2021 • 59<br />

4/15/19 9:05 AM


LIGHTING ADVICE<br />

…from a Self Serve Owner<br />

Gary Baright of Foam & Wash Car Wash of<br />

Wappinger Falls, New York, is all about customer<br />

safety. As the part-owner of 12 self serve/in-bay<br />

automatic/tunnel/dog washes located about an<br />

hour from New York City, he said they are always<br />

trying to improve their properties and offer up a<br />

better experience for their customers. “Many operators<br />

complain about their self serve business<br />

not growing or going down. But we have seen an<br />

increase most years and we work hard to get and<br />

keep customers,” Baright said.<br />

One thing that Baright credits for their successful<br />

wash chain is that they have installed LED<br />

lights. “We were one of the first self serve car washes<br />

maybe in the country to start installing them,<br />

over 10 years ago,” Baright said. “When we first put<br />

them in, we did a few bays (per site) and tracked<br />

the nighttime business [sales] and it was amazing<br />

how the light drew the customers in. It was those<br />

LED bays that brought in all of the night business.”<br />

Now he said they have LED lights installed in<br />

all of their bays at their 12 locations. Since they<br />

do not cost much as far as electricity, we keep the<br />

LED lights on 24/7, he said. “This way there is always<br />

great light in the bays. The customers know if<br />

it is cloudy, they get the same [exact] experience.<br />

We do more business during the day, so why not<br />

have the lights on then, too, to give the customer<br />

the best experience and light.”<br />

Next, Baright said Foam & Wash will be getting<br />

color LED lights in the in-bay automatics and self<br />

serve bays. “In the in-bays we turn the bay green<br />

when the customer is entering and red when the<br />

customer needs to stop. We then put on a light<br />

show depending on the wash options and then<br />

green again when the wash is done,” Baright said.<br />

“We are just starting something like that in the self<br />

serve bays but it will be a little less dramatic,” he<br />

said. Instead, there will be real white crisp lights<br />

for when the customer is in the self serve bay.<br />

Then, along with a few functions, such as the foam<br />

brush, triple-foam, blower, etc., they will mix in a<br />

little color to add to the overall experience. But,<br />

noted Baright, “It will not be too overwhelming to<br />

the customers.”<br />

Also, Baright, added that having your site lightup<br />

nicely adds a safety feature for the customers.<br />

“And with the new color changing LED lights we<br />

will put on a lightshow even when the bays are not<br />

being used.”<br />

FLICKING A<br />

SWITCH IS SO<br />

MUCH EASIER<br />

During the Victorian era,<br />

shoppers had to use<br />

moonlight to guide them<br />

into a store. If the moonlight<br />

was dim, according to<br />

The Victorian Emporium,<br />

people would use their<br />

own personal lanterns and<br />

business owners would have<br />

to hang lanterns outside<br />

their premises.<br />

60 • SPRING 2021<br />

BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIGGER PROFITS<br />

The following answers were provided by Michael Call of Mile High<br />

LED Systems, a manufacturer and supplier of LED retrofit and<br />

replacement lighting solutions.<br />

Q A self serve car wash is unique<br />

in that it can be unattended.<br />

Customers need to feel as if they<br />

are safe on the property at night.<br />

What amount of LED lighting do<br />

you recommend for a self serve bay<br />

and vacuum station?<br />

Michael Call: Great question. Self serves seem<br />

to be target buildings for vandals and thefts for<br />

sure. Generally speaking, the very minimum I’d do<br />

for a bay is 20 footcandles (see sidebar) and the<br />

lot should be no less than 10-foot candles. With<br />

that said, if you are near a strip mall or gas station,<br />

you have to be BRIGHTER than those locations if<br />

you want a customer to feel safer at your car wash.<br />

Gas stations can push closer to 40 footcandles<br />

under their canopies. If that is the case, go with 50-<br />

foot candles in the bays and 30 footcandles for the<br />

lot. Keep in mind, uniformity and not a lot of variance<br />

in max and min footcandles is the goal. If you<br />

have super bright vacuum areas, and your bays are<br />

not quite as bright, your bays will look scary...<br />

Q How has self serve lighting<br />

improved over the years?<br />

Michael Call: Historically, people used to put 2<br />

x 250W metal halide wall packs in self serve bays<br />

on opposing corners. While it gave off an okay<br />

amount of light, it resulted in shadows, an unsafe<br />

feeling, and an inability to see dirt on the vehicles.<br />

Not to mention, these lights used a tremendous<br />

amount of electricity, so car washes didn’t


10 REASONS TO CONSIDER<br />

LED LIGHTING<br />

1. BETTER ENERGY EFFICIENCY<br />

LEDS emit more light per watt than traditional lighting<br />

options. LEDs use about a third the power of metal<br />

halide and half the power of fluorescent.<br />

2. LONGER LIFE – High-end LEDs can have<br />

a lifespan as long as 30,000-50,000 hours. Incandescent<br />

bulbs last about 1,000 hours while fluorescent<br />

bulbs last about 8,000-10,000 hours.<br />

3. LOWER OPERATING<br />

TEMPERATURE<br />

Cooler temperatures mean less time for the light to<br />

warm up, so LEDs are often at 100% strength as<br />

soon as they’re turned on — unlike traditional bulbs.<br />

Less heat means they’re also safer.<br />

4. RESISTANT TO DAMAGE<br />

Traditional lighting is often encased in fragile glass or<br />

quartz material. LEDs use semi-conductor materials<br />

mounted on a circuit board that can either be covered<br />

in less fragile materials like plastic—or simply uncovered<br />

in some cases. There are also plenty of options<br />

with a UL wet listing that are perfect for car wash<br />

environments!<br />

5. NO MAINTENANCE – Newer LEDS<br />

frequently require no maintenance for as much as ten<br />

years. No ballasts or bulbs to replace! The LEDs will<br />

dim and simply be replaced after several years.<br />

really get as bright as they wanted them to and<br />

power costs were still high.<br />

Today, I recommend ceiling mounted lights<br />

to give better distribution and lights that extend<br />

beyond the front and back of a parked car. This<br />

ensures that there are no blind spots, no shadows<br />

and a great, safe feeling.<br />

Q If a self serve operator is looking<br />

to make upgrades to their wash,<br />

but have a limited budget, how<br />

much are they looking to spend<br />

to upgrade their lighting for say,<br />

an average 4-bay self serve, with<br />

2 vacuum stations? What is the<br />

potential ROI?<br />

Article submitted<br />

by Kleen-Rite Corp.<br />

6. EASY INSTALLATION – Top names<br />

in LED lighting have driverless strips and fixtures that<br />

can be directly connected to AC power in a fraction of<br />

the time that it takes to install traditional lighting.<br />

7. INCREDIBLE CRI<br />

This is the color rendering index—a scale from 0-100.<br />

Customers love being able to see the true color of<br />

their vehicle during their wash. The CRI on traditional<br />

lighting is often poor; 60-70 for metal halides and<br />

70-80 for fluorescents. LEDs can be in the high 80s or<br />

even 90s for CRI, meaning they show color almost as<br />

well as pure, unfiltered sunlight.<br />

8. COLOR OPTIONS – Speaking of color,<br />

LEDS also come in a variety of colors to dress up and<br />

add interest to bays and tunnels. These can also be<br />

useful for GO and STOP directions by using green and<br />

red LEDs.<br />

9. TAX PROGRAMS – Rebates and tax<br />

savings are available for installing more energy-efficient<br />

lighting at your car wash. Pay attention to the DLC<br />

rating on the LED products ensure you’re eligible for<br />

these federal, state, and utility company programs.<br />

10. BRIGHTNESS FOR SECURITY<br />

AND SHOWING OFF – Once installed, it’s<br />

shocking how much LEDS light up car wash properties.<br />

Your wash will be absolutely glowing from the<br />

street! This is important to draw positive attention to<br />

your business while also making customers feel safe<br />

while using your wash!<br />

Michael Call: The average four-bay self serve<br />

car wash with two vac stations can expect to<br />

spend between $3500-$7000 based on the<br />

amount of light desired. ROI on this upgrade can<br />

be looked at in two ways:<br />

1. Power savings: If a car wash is still using<br />

metal halides, I would argue that it would be<br />

difficult to find a better use of money than<br />

upgrading to LED lighting. Just with the power<br />

savings alone it can result in a 50%+ ROI. That<br />

means the car wash owner would break even<br />

within two years.<br />

2. An enhanced customer experience: If<br />

a customer has already upgraded to LEDs,<br />

there is still reason to look at newer upgrades.<br />

You’ll save on power vs older LEDs and create<br />

a wash that attracts more users at night and<br />

deters vandalism and thefts.<br />

WHAT IS A<br />

FOOTCANDLE?<br />

According to Michael Call, two commonly used<br />

terms in the lighting industry are lumens and footcandles.<br />

• Lumen (lm): A unit of light emitted per second<br />

from a light source. The amount of light an LED light<br />

fixture produces is measured by lumens. Lumen levels<br />

are disclosed on LED light manufacturer spec sheets.<br />

• Footcandle (fc): How a lumen impacts an<br />

area. One footcandle equals one lumen of light density<br />

per square foot.<br />

You can also look at is a lumen is the brightness<br />

of a light and a footcandle is the output of light in<br />

a certain space.<br />

Call recommends consulting with a lighting<br />

designer who can properly prepare a photometric<br />

plan showing, numerically in foot candles, the<br />

light produced by fixtures across both the interior<br />

(bays) and the exterior of your car wash, including<br />

the vacuum and vending areas.<br />

Understanding the Lumen<br />

According to Sciencing.com, the lumen is a<br />

measure of luminous flux, or the “flow” of light<br />

through a specified geometric space. All modern<br />

measurements of light are based on the lumen, but<br />

the lumen itself is derived from the candela.<br />

“The candela (cd) was chosen long ago when candles<br />

were the main form of household illumination.<br />

It is the amount of visible light emitted in a given<br />

direction, from a source that emits radiation with a<br />

fixed frequency and intensity, that corresponds to<br />

one “typical” candle from back in the day.”<br />

The lumen, states Sciencing.com, in turn is the<br />

“light flow” of 1 candela through 1 square radian<br />

(sr) of space. A radian is equal to 360/2π (about<br />

57) degrees.<br />

Measuring the Footcandle<br />

The footcandle, according to Sciencing.com, represents<br />

the amount of visible light emitted from a<br />

1-cd source striking a surface 1 foot away: 1 footcandle<br />

= 1 lumen/ft2. Note that this is a “quantity”<br />

of light rather than a flow of light, inasmuch as light<br />

can be treated as something that be quantified in<br />

such a way. Light, by definition, is always moving.<br />

“The original footcandle meaning seems quaint<br />

today, in an era when the amount of light generated<br />

by a single candle is trivial compared to the<br />

output of modern human lighting equipment. Still,<br />

the candela, the lumen and the footcandle remain<br />

handy and are popular base and derived units in<br />

electromagnetic physics.”<br />

The lux, states Sciencing.com, is a unit similar to<br />

the footcandle, but using metric (SI) units. While 1<br />

footcandle is the amount of light 1 foot from a 1-cd<br />

source, 1 lux is the amount of light from the same<br />

source at a distance of 1 m. Because 1 m = 3.28 ft, 1<br />

m2 = (3.28)2 ft2. This in turn makes 1 cd equal to<br />

10.76 lux, reflecting the expected result that light is<br />

“diluted” as it travels outward from its source.<br />

SPRING 2021 • 61


Darwin<br />

DARWIN at<br />

the<br />

CARWASH<br />

The investment in security cameras pays off for carwash operators<br />

(and the readers of <strong>SSCWN</strong>) with these mostly frustrating, sometimes funny -- and always cautionary<br />

-- stories of Darwins Caught on Camera. Images of these criminals and/or their vehicles were given<br />

to police and the press. Many have been caught thanks to the prowess of security cameras.<br />

How is this for a tongue twister? Tucker of Truckee totaled<br />

a Toyota Tacoma truck.<br />

It’s not as family-friendly as Sally Sells Seashells, but it is twisty nonetheless.<br />

So, here’s the full story: A man named Tucker Andrews, of Truckee, California,<br />

is suspected of vandalizing the Surf Thru Car Wash car wash early in the morning<br />

on April 8 in Chico, California, according to the Chico Enterprise-Record.<br />

Chico police officers were called over a report “of a suspicious person on the<br />

hood of a pickup truck,” the story stated. The officers arrived around 5:40 a.m.<br />

and reported that a suspect had been there kicking out the windshield of a white<br />

Toyota Tacoma.<br />

A person also flagged down the officers and said the driver had just vandalized<br />

the Surf Thru Car Wash.<br />

“Officers responded to the car wash and discovered damage to the metal<br />

rollup doors. Officers believed the pickup drove through the rollup door on<br />

the west-side of the carwash and out through the rollup door on the east-side<br />

of the carwash. Several thousands of dollars’ worth of damage was caused in<br />

the process,” police said according to the story.<br />

Officers were then able to look at surveillance footage and released recovered<br />

video of a man they suspected of committing the crime. An hour or so<br />

later, police located the pickup truck and Andrews was arrested.<br />

Does anyone remember the story of the Butt Crack Bandits?<br />

If you do not, it’s from Christmas 2019.<br />

Two thieves in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, gained notoriety and the nickname, “The<br />

Butt Crack Bandits,” after car wash footage showed one of the two thieves repeatedly<br />

readjusting his pants as they slipped down, exposing a bare posterior.<br />

Well, this next story is a worthy additional to the “Criminals’ Body Parts Exposed”<br />

Hall of Fame. Last November, in Adelaide, South Australia, two men<br />

unsuccessfully tried to remove an ATM machine using a drill. A statement<br />

from police read, ‘They were unsuccessful on their first attempt, so they used<br />

a white Peugeot 206 sedan with fake number plates and rammed the machine<br />

until it became dislodged. They placed the pay machine into the rear of the<br />

vehicle and drove off.’<br />

Police added that the empty pay machine was found hours later. Footage<br />

shows one of the men wearing a cap, a surgical mask, black jeans, a black<br />

t-shirt and thongs. But that’s not all. The second man’s shorts fell down during<br />

the heist exposing his backside to the camera. The suspects have not yet been<br />

caught, but police are hoping the public will help identifying them thanks to<br />

the car wash footage.<br />

If anyone is driving through Sand Springs, Oklahoma,<br />

can you visit the Apollo Car Wash and give the<br />

poor owner a thumbs up or something. Or a hug?<br />

Or, better yet, if the owner is reading this, reach out to me and I will<br />

personally send you a batch of my famous “Tough Times Call for Tough<br />

Cookies” cookies. You gotta feel somewhat badly for Brent Burns, first the<br />

main water line froze up in February after a harsh winter storm, and then<br />

things warmed up and customers wanted to wash their cars, the line still<br />

had not thawed. On top of that, when things started to get better for his<br />

business, a man stole not only one of his change boxes, but ruined one if his<br />

bay walls. According to 2 NBC, car wash video surveillance shows a white<br />

truck enter the second vehicle bay just before 4 a.m. “The driver wore a<br />

reflective vest and black ski mask and hooked a chain around the change<br />

box. On the third try, he rips the box from the wall with his truck. A large<br />

portion of the wall tore away with the box,” the story said.<br />

After thieves broke into his equipment office from the roof of Apollo<br />

three years ago, Brent Burns spent a good amount of money on upgrades,<br />

including LED lights and cameras mounted in each bay. Thankfully, footage<br />

from one of the bays will hopefully help in catching the culprit and<br />

truck has already been located.<br />

“It’s the life of a car wash owner,” he said.<br />

The good news is that the damage will not stop him from getting the<br />

wash bay up and running again soon. Plus, let’s not forget about my<br />

promised batch of cookies!<br />

62 • SPRING 2021


SPRING 2021 • 63


A self serve car wash got national<br />

attention (not the type we want<br />

mind you), after it was featured on<br />

America’s Most Wanted.<br />

Also, as a side note, this is what scares me<br />

about those haunted car washes, because something<br />

like this could happen and I wouldn’t<br />

know what to do. Also, for the record, I do<br />

think a haunted self serve car wash is a very,<br />

very, very, very, very bad idea. In Littleton, Colorado,<br />

a man is now in jail after he targeted a<br />

woman who was washing her van back in January.<br />

According to 4 cbs Denver, the woman<br />

had pulled into the car wash when he walked<br />

in, opened the driver’s side door and pulled<br />

her out. “Video shows the woman parked at<br />

the Atlantis Car Wash... She tried to fight off<br />

the man but he ultimately grabbed her neck<br />

and bit her before pulling her to the ground<br />

and getting inside the van.”<br />

Thankfully, the woman was not seriously injured.<br />

Police in Littleton arrested the man, 51-yearold<br />

Phillip Michael Dent, on March 16, after<br />

the story was featured on America’s Most<br />

Wanted. According to the highly reputable<br />

magazine, Variety, it had only been a week<br />

since “America’s Most Wanted” returned to the<br />

air and already a viewer tip led to a new capture,<br />

marking the 1,187th one for the series,<br />

which originated in 1988.<br />

“And after seeing the ‘crime alert’ case on<br />

the show, that’s exactly what a local resident<br />

in Denver did. Contacting the Littleton Police<br />

Department with information that proved to<br />

be accurate and helpful, Dent was arrested,”<br />

according to the story. More details of Dent’s<br />

arrest were explored on the next new episode<br />

of “America’s Most Wanted,” which aired on<br />

Monday, March 29 on Fox.<br />

Dent is being held on charges of robbery, assault,<br />

motor vehicle theft, arson, second-degree<br />

burglary, theft and criminal trespass.<br />

I’m confused by this one. Does the car crashing<br />

into the car wash have anything to do with the<br />

driver bumping a woman’s car?<br />

If not, was he trying to get help? If yes, then why<br />

did he brandish a long gun? What constitutes a long<br />

gun? All I can think of is this:<br />

Or this:<br />

And, may I just take a moment to say, in no other<br />

publication will you ever see Elmer J. Fudd share a<br />

page with Nathaniel “Hawkeye” Poe.<br />

In Hinesville, Georgia, authorities say at 11 p.m. on<br />

March 31 was driving down a busy street when a vehicle<br />

behind her tapped her bumper. When she got to<br />

a redlight, the driver allegedly came out of his vehicle<br />

with a long gun.<br />

According to WJCL, police said she sped away,<br />

closely followed her before he lost control, hit a fire<br />

hydrant and ended up at a car wash.<br />

His vehicle burst into flames after he ran away, the<br />

story said.<br />

Thankfully, an arrest was made on April 6, according<br />

to WTOC 11, Christopher Sumlin was arrested<br />

on charges of aggravated assault and stalking.<br />

If you’re going to steal a<br />

bunch of money, you gotta<br />

go big and take it to a<br />

gambling paradise in Nevada.<br />

No, not, Las Vegas, and no, not Reno, but<br />

Mesquite, Nevada! Who doesn’t want to celebrate<br />

a successful robbery in good ‘ol Mesquite?<br />

These three criminals sure did. But, unfortunately,<br />

their wild ride has been upended<br />

as two of the men are now in jail.<br />

According to St. George News, police arrested<br />

two men, including Michael Gordon<br />

Sprague, 55, and Dylan Soracco, 28, who allegedly<br />

stole a change machine containing approximately<br />

$10,000 from a car wash in Cedar<br />

City, Utah, back on December 29.<br />

64 • SPRING 2021<br />

Police stated that Sprague and Soracco, along<br />

with a third accomplice who has not been identified,<br />

broke into a room at the car wash at approximately<br />

2:30 a.m. and removed the change<br />

machine weighing 500 pounds and loaded it into<br />

a Volkswagen Jetta.<br />

According to the story, the incident was recorded<br />

by the car wash’s surveillance cameras.<br />

“After taking the stolen machine to a storage unit<br />

in town, the men allegedly retrieved the money<br />

that was inside and traveled to a casino in Mesquite,<br />

Nevada, to cash in the change. They reportedly<br />

gambled with some of the money, according<br />

to a probable cause statement filed in support of<br />

Sprague’s arrest.”<br />

The story said that probable cause affidavits filed<br />

in 5th District Court allege that Soracco attempted<br />

to buy liquor with a counterfeit $100 bill at the<br />

state liquor store on Dec. 28. An allegedly, police<br />

also found another counterfeit $100 bill with the<br />

same serial number in Soracco’s possession during<br />

a Dec. 31 traffic stop in a grocery store parking lot,<br />

along with drugs and paraphernalia.<br />

And, back on November 15, Soracco was arrested<br />

after allegedly running a red light, after which<br />

police reportedly found heroin and a .38 caliber<br />

pistol inside his vehicle. When he was arrested in<br />

January, as officers conducted a traffic stop, they<br />

caught Soracco and allegedly found him to be in<br />

possession of heroin, marijuana, methamphetamine<br />

and oxycodone.


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More and<br />

More<br />

Video<br />

Victories<br />

CRIMES FROM THE ARCHIVES!<br />

Thank you, JJ Jakubowski for sending in this file from the<br />

June 2007 issue of Self Serve Car Wash News. Although<br />

these stories are 14 years old, the criminals are still dumb.<br />

It is<br />

getting to be a real phenomenon — carwash<br />

video security systems proving to be the key<br />

to busting bad guys and solving a number of<br />

aggravating problems. The more reports of<br />

success we hear and share, the more video<br />

systems are being installed ... and then even<br />

more reports of success are shared. It is a<br />

“vicious cycle” , but only for the perps on the<br />

wrong side of the lens. We’ve printed some<br />

already on previous pages of this issue’s<br />

Industry News column, but here are a few<br />

more examples:<br />

■ In Lehigh Acres, Florida, Rod Willis<br />

owner of the Gator Carwash, got a new IBA<br />

early last year that was plagued with chronic,<br />

mysterious shut downs ... about 3 times per<br />

week. The emergency shut-off button was<br />

being activated and needed to be physically<br />

reset. Willis was “losing a ton of money”, so<br />

he invested $9,000 and installed video surveillance.<br />

Soon after, in September, the mystery<br />

was solved. He got a tag number, description<br />

of the car and good shots of the guy pushing<br />

that button ... with his elbow, so as to not leave<br />

fingerprints. The perp was Tony Zimbicki,<br />

the owner of a competing carwash down the<br />

street from the Gator. Willis and the county<br />

prosecutor hope to be able to charge Zimbicki<br />

with a felony.<br />

■ Four men were identified and arrested<br />

in Tuscon, Arizona after video showed them<br />

washing a stolen BMW. A search of their home<br />

revealed that they were involved in many other<br />

crimes. They’re now all in jail facing charges<br />

of car theft, burglary, fraud, and operating a<br />

major methamphetamine lab.<br />

■ Eric Wilson is a multi-wash operator<br />

in Birmingham, Alabama and over the last 2<br />

years his video was used to • arrest and convict<br />

a ring of Russian counterfeiters. • Nab a guy<br />

who dumped his RV’s “black water” into a bay<br />

pit. He paid Eric $500 to have them cleaned<br />

out. • Convict an oil changer/dumper. • Identified<br />

and caught a trash dumper. “As time goes<br />

on”, Eric says, “we have fewer incidents. I can’t<br />

imagine how the old timers ever managed their<br />

washes without cameras and the internet!”<br />

66 • SPRING 2021<br />

You both got caught!<br />

In Gloucester, Virginia, two men<br />

have been arrested following a<br />

string of burglaries at self serve<br />

car washes throughout the area.<br />

According to WAVY, on March 27 the sheriff’s<br />

office began a multijurisdictional investigation after<br />

three self-operated car washes in Gloucester<br />

were struck by a string of burglaries by then two<br />

unknown suspects.<br />

The car washes suffered “extensive property<br />

damage and loss of revenue from their coin-operated<br />

vacuum machines,” as a result.<br />

After images of the suspects were captured and<br />

then shared on social media, several community<br />

members forwarded information regarding the suspects.<br />

Larry M. Davis, 40, and Marty J. Redmond,<br />

29, are currently being held on multiple charges.<br />

No criminal is safe when Taco Bell<br />

and a car wash pool their resources<br />

and nab a child abuser.<br />

In Billings, Montana, 35-year-old Willie Redd is<br />

now in jail after he made false claims to the police<br />

regarding the welfare of his daughter.<br />

According to a February 8 story from KULR<br />

8, an investigation began after police learned of<br />

a 3-year-old child being treated at the hospital<br />

for multiple injuries. Detective Robert Miller was<br />

assigned to the case after hospital staff said the<br />

child’s injuries were inconsistent with the account<br />

supplied by the child’s mother, the story said.<br />

“The mother told Detective Miller that she left<br />

her child in the care of Redd on Tuesday, Feb. 2<br />

while she went to work. She said Redd contacted<br />

her early the next morning, advising her that the<br />

child required emergency medical attention.”<br />

Redd told the mother that he was at Taco Bell<br />

with the child around 12:30 a.m. on February 3 and<br />

said an unknown vehicle pulled up next to his car<br />

while began firing at his car. Redd said he then accelerated<br />

away, almost reaching “100 miles per hour”<br />

even though the child was not restrained in her car<br />

seat. The child ended up being thrown around inside<br />

of the car. This is where Redd gets caught lying,<br />

thanks to Taco Bell and a car wash. Redd then<br />

claimed he pulled over at a car wash and called the<br />

child’s mother to inform her of the situation. He also<br />

said he switched out cars at the car wash.<br />

Detective Miller examined Redd’s vehicle and<br />

said two bullet holes were in the driver’s door, the<br />

windshield was fractured and there were minimal<br />

amounts of blood found in the car.<br />

Detective Miller obtained video surveillance<br />

footage from Taco Bell and the car wash from that<br />

night and said he could see a windshield fracture<br />

on Redd’s vehicle when he entered the Taco Bell<br />

drive-thru, but no bullet holes or other damage<br />

to the vehicle was noticed. Video surveillance at<br />

the car wash also did not show any bullet holes or<br />

damage to the vehicle.<br />

On February 8, the U.S. Marshals Montana Violent<br />

Offender’s Task Force (MVOTF) issued a<br />

BOLO alert for Redd for a violation of his probation<br />

connected to a prior weapons possession charge.<br />

He was apprehended on February 17.<br />

While apprehended, Redd was once again asked<br />

to outline the events involving his daughter on<br />

February 3. At the conclusion of the interview,<br />

Redd was remanded to the Yellowstone County<br />

Detention Facility, the story said.<br />

The child has since been released from the Denver’s<br />

Children Hospital.<br />

I suppose with all of the violent and<br />

brutal crimes being posted here and<br />

reported all over the news, a nice<br />

counterfeit money crime story is a<br />

welcomed respite.<br />

In Denver, Colorado, police arrested a man for<br />

allegedly using counterfeit bills at several businesses,<br />

including a car wash, according to a March 31<br />

Ski-Hi News report.<br />

Ronald Fleagle, 45, was apprehended after a Fraser<br />

Quick Stop employee reported a customer was<br />

trying to pay for gas with a fake $100 bill.<br />

Police said the employee refused the bill, and<br />

Fleagle paid with other cash, according to the story.<br />

“The Quick Stop provided surveillance footage<br />

of Fleagle and his truck. Police later spotted the<br />

vehicle at the Fraser Car Wash, where Fleagle was<br />

arrested around 5:40 p.m. on March 30.”<br />

When police searched Fleagle’s truck, they apparently<br />

found counterfeit bills and other related<br />

evidence. Two banks also informed police that local<br />

businesses had taken in numerous counterfeit bills,<br />

discovered in the businesses’ regular cash deposits.<br />

Fleagle was charged with forgery, obstruction,<br />

possession of forgery devices, possession of second<br />

degree forged instruments and displaying a<br />

fictitious plate and he remains in Grand County<br />

Jail on a $4,000 cash or surety bond. Police added<br />

that businesses should use caution when accepting<br />

large bills, especially $50 and $100 notes.


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