INDUSTRY DIRT ISTOBAL acquires Pacific Pride Carwash; generates turnover in excess of 128 million euros in 2020 As a distributor to over 75 countries, ISTOBAL Group of Valencia, Spain, announced on February 4 that it has acquired its distributor in Southern California, Pacific Pride Carwash Company Inc., strengthening its presence in North America. This acquisition represents the first of the strategic growth plan envisioned by ISTOBAL for the coming years with the aim of continuing to increase its sales in the countries in which it is present and consolidating its international leadership, a press release reported. Thanks to the strategic location of Pacific Pride Carwash Company Inc., this operation boosts IS- TOBAL in California, and enables the opening of new market niches with great potential in the Pacific region of the United States. Pacific Pride Carwash Company Inc. is one of the main ISTOBAL distributors in the US market. A leader in Southern California and with more than 20 years of experience in the sector, it is an approved supplier to the US Armed Forces and has a large ISTOBAL Customer base. After the acquisition of this company founded by Ed Staley and Lanai Staley, Pacific Pride Carwash Inc. is now integrated into the American subsidiary ISTOBAL USA. "We are excited to have Pacific Pride join IS- TOBAL USA. It is the next step in growing our worldwide company. Other acquisitions are underway,” stated ISTOBAL USA CEO Jimmy Sisk in a press release. Staley also stated, "We at Pacific Pride Carwash Co., Inc. are excited about joining the global IS- TOBAL team. We felt that the timing was right to team with an excellent organization to take this market to a new level." Currently, the United States is one of the largest export markets for ISTOBAL and represents one of the areas with the greatest growth potential for the Group, along with China, Germany and Poland. With a staff of more than 900 professionals, 9 subsidiaries (Spain, Portugal, Italy, United Kingdom, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, USA and Brazil), and three manufacturing and final assembly plants in Spain, USA and Brazil, together with a wide network of distributors, ISTOBAL exports to more than 75 countries across five continents and 70% of its production corresponds to international sales. ISTOBAL also reported that it achieved turnover of $128.3 million in the 2020 financial year, which represents a decrease in sales of 12% compared to the previous year, according to a press release. The impact that the pandemic had on sales was less than expected for the multinational group thanks to its great diversification in markets, products and sectors. An April 7 press release stated that in 2020, IS- TOBAL internationalised 76% of its production with France, the UK, Italy, the USA and Denmark being its main export markets. The UK was the second foreign market, while Norway entered the top 10 as an eighth-external market, thanks to the cooperation with the country’s largest food retail group NorgesGruppen, established through IS- TOBAL’s distributor in Norway, Holta and Håland. ISTOBAL believed that the performance of its foreign subsidiaries as a whole was positive given the pandemic, with turnover drops of 6% on average, but below the Group average, stated the press release. As an exception, they highlight the positive results of subsidiaries in the UK and Portugal, which saw an increase in turnover of 16.5% and 4.2%, respectively, thanks to agreements with large supermarket chains, as well as other oil and energy customers operating in these countries. By product divisions, rollovers continued to lead ISTOBAL’s sales, followed by jet wash facilities and the commercial vehicle range. However, chemical products, along with payment and connectivity terminals, were the lines with the highest sales growth in 2020. By 2021, ISTOBAL expects to reach 145.7 million turnover, 13.5 percent higher than the previous year, thus returning to its pre-pandemic turnover figures and to the growth path that has characterised the company in its financial years. It also maintains its strategic projects and expansion plans. In addition to the recent acquisition of its distributor in California (Pacific Pride Carwash) and the opening of a new subsidiary in China with assembly plant, ISTOBAL isn't ruling out other operations in order to further drive its internationalisation and strengthen its leadership in foreign markets. ISTOBAL also stated that it will increase its investment in RD&I by 11% this year compared to 2020 to boost its robotics lab and build on chemical product applications and new materials, the press release stated. It will also continue to develop its open innovation model, driving innovation from within and collaborating with universities, companies, technology centres and start-ups to develop projects in the areas of vision and artificial intelligence, security systems and robotics. Over the past five years, ISTOBAL has increased its investment in RD&I by 56%. In addition, the group is committed to digital transformation as another strategic focus in the development of its business, the press release stated. In this regard, it promotes Big Data, IoT and Machine Learning to implement Industry 4.0 solutions, as well as to optimise sector profitability and the experience of using and maintaining car wash equipment through its Istosmart by ISTOBAL connectivity system. The company continues to leverage cloud business solutions and data analysis and integration to improve efficiency and increase competitiveness. DRB Systems, LLC Acquires Washify Services, LLC DRB ® Systems, LLC of Akron, Ohio, a leading provider of software and hardware innovations to the car wash industry, announced on March 24 that it has acquired Washify®, an advanced car wash point-of-sale system. “Today, more than ever, we have assembled the best minds in the car wash industry,” said DRB CEO and President Dan Pittman in a press release. “We have not only joined two of the best car wash technology lineups, but we have also joined two of the most talented teams.” DRB and Washify represent two growing brands in the car wash space. By joining forces, they can offer car wash operators the widest set of technology solutions to profitably grow their businesses, the press release stated. “Our industry is rapidly transforming. Recent consolidations warranted a change,” said Washify President Adam Korngold stated. “We wanted to be aligned with a best-in-class partner that supports our growth. I wanted to work with an organization that had the best interest of our employees at heart and that would allow us to remain in the industry doing what we love. DRB is that partner.” Both companies will maintain their own brand entities and industry niches, leveraging synergies where possible to achieve the common goal of helping car wash operators sweat their assets. Korngold will continue to serve as President of Washify while Pittman continues to lead DRB as CEO. DRB acquired Washify from Adam Korngold and private equity firm Ambina Partners, with the help of legal services provided by Benesch and insurance brokerage and risk management consulting provided by Marsh, a business of Marsh McLennan. Legal services were provided to Washify by King & Spalding. 30 • SPRING 2021
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