Industry Newsline

MOTIONS AND PROMOTIONS

Northville, MI-based Belanger Inc. has announced several staff additions. David Nugent has been appointed to the position of western regional manager. Nugent most recently worked for Continental Pipeline and previously spent 16 years with Gilbarco, a pump manufacturer. He holds a degree in Industrial Management from the University of New Mexico. Jill Marquette has been added to the company's marketing team as marketing coordinator. Marquette holds a degree in Communications, specializing in corporate communications and public relations, from the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Paul Kalscheur was recently hired to manage various Belanger distributors. Kalscheur graduated cum laude from the University of Wisconsin Stout with a degree in Industrial Technology. He came to Belanger from Cleaning Systems Inc. where he spent four years as a regional manager. Rich Andreas was appointed midwest regional manager. Andreas was previously employed with PDQ Manufacturing in Green Bay, WI as purchasing manager before forming Belanger of Wisconsin. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Stout and holds a degree in Business Administration.

Standard Change-Makers Inc. of Indianapolis, IN has announced the appointment of Michael J. Coons to the position of national sales manager. Coons joins SCM with over 18 years experience in various sales and marketing capacities in the industrial-process-controls and business-services industries, including 5-1/2 years in advertising.

Coons replaces Barry T. O'Brien, who retired effective February 1, after 16 years of service at Standard Change-Makers. O'Brien began his career with Standard in Philadelphia as eastern
regional sales manager. In 1990, he was promoted to vice president/national sales manager and moved to the home office in Indianapolis. "Barry has made many friends over the years, not only within our corporate family, but with the customers we serve. All of us here at Standard wish him nothing but the best in the years to come," said Jim McNutt, Jr., company president.

COLLEGE OF KNOWLEDGE

Jim Coleman Company recently hosted its third College of Knowledge Service School for car wash operators. The school is designed to educate and enhance service strategy, and be fun and
informative at the same time. During this event, Mark Curtis, representing WashUSA/Make-A-Wish, shared the many marketing advantages of an association with Make-A-Wish.Everyone in attendance - 36 individuals from 19 different states - had a chance to "see it, hear it, and feel it," and to go away from Houston with more tools and strategies to better serve clients. Clients are the real beneficiaries of the efforts made by all involved with the College of Knowledge.

R.W. MERCER TO DISTRIBUTE BELANGER

The R.W. Mercer Company in Michigan has become an official distributor of Belanger car wash systems and equipment, including the Vector Rapid Wash. R.W Mercer, founded in 1960 by Robert W. Mercer, was established to provide maintenance service to gas station equipment, including gasoline pumps, car washes, and air compressors. The company has seen steady growth and has expanded to cover areas of construction, petroleum sales, electrical contracting, and general contracting.

NEW CAR WASH IN BONITA SPRINGS, FL

Bonita Bubbles, a modern car care center on the Tamiami Trail in Bonita Springs, was recently completed by Brooks & Freund, LLC, a commercial construction company.

The state-of-the-art car wash facility occupies a 3-acre corner site and includes five bays for detailing and hand waxing services, an automated wash tunnel, offices, customer lounge, and auto accessory boutique. The southern-style buildings feature green metal roofs with a large white gazebo in front. RTN Holdings Inc. owns the building.

QUALITY SYMBOL

John Guest USA has announced its Genuine JG program to highlight the benefits John Guest brings to
business: quality, reliability, and support across a broad range of products.

The Genuine JG symbol helps customers to identify distributors, OEMs, and installers who care enough about their customers to provide "Genuine JG" products. The symbol assures customers that they are truly receiving John Guest products as ordered not substitutes.

MARK VII/ WESUMAT ALLIANCE

Mark VII Equipment of Arvada, CO has announced a strategic partnership with Wesumat Cleaning
Technologies, a wholly-owned subsidiary of WashTec AG of Augsburg Germany. Under this arrangement, Mark VII becomes the exclusive USA distributor of Wesumat friction car wash systems.
Mark VII manufactures the AquaJet GT(tm) series of touch-free automatic rollover car washes. The new agreement will allow Mark VII to distribute Wesumat's state-of-the-art friction machines - SoftWash, SoftWash High Speed, and Choice Wash - increasing the German company's presence in the USA while strengthening the Mark VII product offering. Likewise, Wesumat and the WashTec network will have access to Mark VII touch-free products for multinational offerings.

"Our decision to integrate advanced German technology alongside our own advanced product offering creates a new, full line of top products in both touch-free and friction. This agreement also furthers our number one strategic priority of strengthening our distributor network," said Rick Green, Mark VII president and CEO.

WashTec is the largest car wash manufacturer in the world, with market share of over 50 percent in Europe and 30 percent worldwide. The company employs 1,650 and distributes its products in more than 60 countries.

TIM McELROY FOUNDATION ESTABLISHED

Proto-Vest Inc. and the McElroy family are proud to announce that the Timothy McElroy Foundation has been established. Timothy McElroy was president of Proto-Vest, Inc. from 1995 until his death in 2001. After lifelong involvement in all facets of the car wash industry, he held four of the many patents on drying equipment manufactured by Proto-Vest, Inc.

The purpose of the foundation is to receive and administer funds for educational purposes in memory of Timothy McElroy. Scholarships are available on a non-discriminatory basis to full-time students in the general public who have limited income and resources. All administrative fees to maintain the fund will be paid by the McElroy family allowing 100 percent of the fund to be used for educational needs. All donations to this 501(c)(3) foundation are tax deductible.

To make a tax-deductible contribution or to receive more information, please contact the Timothy McElroy Foundation, Proto-Vest, Inc., 7400 N. Glen Harbor Blvd., Glendale, AZ 85307, or call (623) 872-8300.

ROWE to RETAIN CHANGER BUSINESS

Rowe International Inc. of Grand Rapids, MI, the global commercial music and amusement technology company, has announced that it will retain its currency changer business and devote full resources into rebuilding it. Rowe announced its intent to divest its vending and changer businesses in October 2002 as an initial phase of the company's strategic refocus on opportunities in the emerging digital pay-for-play entertainment market. Rowe is completing the sales transaction of its vending business, which will enable the company to retire senior debt and apply all investment, engineering and marketing resources to aggressively pursue its new business direction in the music, games, and money-changer sectors.
Rowe recently introduced several major improvements to its changer software and will be adding other new features in the months to come. "Our decision to continue in the changer industry is a positive development for Rowe equipment distributors and operators," said company chairman and CEO J. Douglas Johnson. "We are excited about our renewed commitment to the money changer industry and we believe greater market share and profitability will be achieved," he added.

Distributor information is available at (616) 243-3633 or at Rowe's web site, located at www.roweinternational.com.

CHEMICAL SAFETY SUMMIT

The International Carwash Association sponsored the first Chemical Safety Summit, held February 10-11 in Hollywood, FL. Thirty-five leaders, representing 25 different companies that manufacture and supply chemicals to the car care industry, met to discuss what can be done to improve product safety and how the industry can address related safety issues.

This event promoted open and candid communication between fiercely competitive companies and established several "action items" to be implemented in the coming months. Among these are:

• A commitment to educational programming at Car Care World Expo and other industry venues.

• Improving the collection and dissemination of knowledge in the handling and application of chemicals.

• Improving communication with automobile manufacturers.

For further information contact ICA at (888) ICA-8422, or visit www.carcarecentral.com.

NEW SELF-SERVE WASH FOR TRIANGLE
The Triangle Park Region in North Carolina has long been known as a bastion of high technology, Now it has a premium car wash that is appropriate to its reputation. McCuller's Car Wash, a new high-tech wash located at McCuller's Crossroads Shopping Center, opened late last year to long lines of enthusiastic customers.
The wash features six self-serve bays and one in-bay touchless
automatic Water Wizard by Jim Coleman Co. According to co-owner Ronnie Currin, all of the equipment was recommended, supplied, and
installed by Howco. The site also boasts eight vacuums, including a super vac and a combo vacuum with shampoo and fragrance, plus a "Swipe & Clean" credit card center, which has been a huge hit with customers.

The new high-tech McCuller's Car Wash in Garner, NC has an appraised value of $1.25 million.