Industry
Newsline
MOTIONS AND PROMOTIONS
Arvada, CO-based Mark VII Equipment Inc.,
the US subsidiary of WashTec AG of Germany, has announced that
Bill Mills joined the company as the Southeast regional manager.
Mills has 33 years of sales and marketing experience in both the
car wash and retail petroleum industries, including time spent
with Ryko Manufacturing and Phillips Petroleum. He holds a BA in
Behavioral Science from National Louis University in Atlanta, and
he will continue to be based in the Atlanta metropolitan area.
SUPER SIZE SELF SERVE
The grand opening of a huge new self-service
car wash in Dallas, TX was scheduled for May 21. The project was
put together by Pro-Tech Service Co., Inc. of Lewisville, TX for
owner Nick Rizos, a local restaurant and nightclub owner. The wash
features 15 self-serve wand bays, one touch-free in-bay automatic,
and 32 vacuums, eight of which are vac/shampoo/fragrance combo
units. With the exception of the Belanger Vector in-bay automatic,
all of the equipment is from Dilling-Harris.
According to Ralph
Nasca of Pro-Tech, the wash is located in a predominantly Latino
neighborhood with only one other self-serve car wash. The site
is fully bilingual — from the signage
to the voice-enabled bay meters that verbally advise, for example,
that “You’ve selected the wax,” in both English
and Spanish. At the end of the wash, customers are verbally thanked
for their business and prompted to move forward out of the bay — again
in both languages.
The wash shares a four-acre piece of property
with a Laundromat — another
Rizos venture. The Laundromat features 200 professional-grade laundry
machines, plasma TV, air conditioning, popcorn, and free wireless
Internet connections. There is music playing throughout the whole
site, inside and out. Adding to the aesthetic appeal is a wrought-iron
fence that runs along the entire perimeter of the four-acre lot.
Four handmade — and extensively decorated — steel gates
provide access to the site.
FOAM & WASH RAISES
$22,000! Foam & Wash and Oil Change Plus of Dutchess and Orange
counties, NY surpassed last year’s record amount in donations
collected for the St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.
St. Jude’s Hospital was founded by entertainer Danny Thomas
and opened in 1962. St. Jude is supported primarily by contributions
raised by its national fundraising events.
St. Jude is the only
pediatric research center where families never pay for treatment
not covered by insurance, and families without insurance are never
asked to pay.
The teams at Foam & Wash and Oil Change Plus
centers — with
the help of their customers — managed to raise $22,000 for
the cause. Owned and operated by Baright Enterprises, Foam & Wash
operates 12 locations in Dutchess and Orange counties. The company
consists of Foam & Wash Car Washes, Oil Change Plus facilities,
Foam & Wash Mobil gasoline stations, and the Foam & Wash
Laundromat.
DOSMATIC’S NEW WEB SITE
Dosmatic U.S.A./International, Inc.
has redesigned its web site (www.dos
matic.com) for faster and easier service to distributors and customers.
The updated web site includes helpful items such as chemical compatibility
charts, product selection guides, frequently asked questions, manuals,
training information, warranty information, and more.
The product
information page guides users to the best product for their application
and is very user friendly. It is easy to find and quickly download
information.
WOMEN’S BOARD TURNS 10
The Car Care Council Women’s
Board is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2006, according to
Katie Noga, Car Care Council Women’s Board president.
The
Car Care Council Women’s Board was formed in 1996 by
several women who saw a need for a different perspective on the
automotive aftermarket. Kathleen Schmatz, president and CEO of
the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association, served as the
very first president. The group understood that women motorists
didn’t
need different information on automotive maintenance than men,
they just needed it to be targeted more directly to them.
For the
most part, maintenance and repair information had gone through
traditional channels of automotive sections and publications whose
readership was primarily male. The Women’s Board is
dedicated to informing female audiences about proper vehicle maintenance
and safety. \
For more information about the Car Care Council Women’s
Board, visit http://women.carcare.org or e-mail womensboard@carcare.org.
NYSCWA
CAR WASH TOUR
The New York State Car Wash Association’s (NYSCWA)
Spring Membership Meeting, May 5, included a tour of three Long
Island car washes capped off with Diamond View corporate-suite
seats in New York’s Shea Stadium for the Mets vs. Atlanta
game.
The first stop on the car wash tour was Mark Tree Road Car
Wash, which features two Ryko in-bay automatics and three self-serve
bays, seven J.E. Adams vacuums, a Kleen-Rite pet wash and a Triad
Design bill breaker.
Cottage Car Wash was the second stop. This
new 95-foot tunnel is fully equipped with all new Belanger equipment,
Wunderbar’s
custom neon arches, a Hoffman wheel blaster, and Ecolab Rain X
arch.
Kings Super Wash II was the last stop. This new wash features
a 95-foot tunnel equipped with a mix of MacNeil and Econocraft
equipment. It is also one of the first washes in the Northeast
using the new Cobra heated CTA system. This wash also has Ecolab’s
new Rain-X on-line arch.
The association’s next event is a golf
tournament, August 29, at the Pompey Club in Syracuse. For additional
information, contact the NYSCWA offices at (800) 287-6604 or log
onto www.nyscwa.com.
EXPANDED MARKET FOR LITTLE TREES
“Little Trees” are
making their way into new markets as Watertown, NY-based Car-Freshner
Corporation — manufacturer of the famous “Little
Tree” air fresheners — sponsors the 2006 seasons of two popular
ESPN2 fishing shows.
Car-Freshner will once again sponsor the “Tools of
the Trade” segment
of Billfishing Xtreme Release League (BXRL), the only TV reality
show dedicated to competitive offshore big-game fishing. The company
will sponsor Big Game Fishing the World, as well. Car-Freshner
has also signed an endorsement contract with Captain Norm Isaacs,
the personable and charismatic host of both shows.
Big Game Fishing
the World airs on Sundays at 7 a.m. EST. BXRL airs Sundays at 10
a.m. EST. Both shows are on ESPN2.
GLASS REPAIR E-INVOICES
Electronic invoice processing — better
known as EDI in the glass repair industry — has been a recognized
practice by the networks and the insurance providers they represent
for many years.
The capability to communicate work dispatches, authorization,
and network prices electronically is essential to the survival
and growth of modern glass-repair businesses. Glass Technology,
the Durango, CO-based manufacturer of windshield repair kits and
supplies, has partnered with eDirectGlass to assists glass-repair
businesses in setting up the electronic process, which will allow
them to manage and submit invoices electronically with no additional
fees. Businesses will begin saving money immediately over the traditional
mailing and faxing of invoices
To ensure the success
of this program, Glass Technology provides assistance with special
startup training and in obtaining insurance network credentials
with LYNX, Safelite and others, allowing for a “no-hassle” process.
For information, contact Glass Technology at (800) 441-4527, or
log onto www.gtglass.com.
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