ISTOBAL, an automotive wash and care solutions based in Spain, increase its sales by 12% in 2022 to €163.9 million, according to its pre-audit results. An EBITDA of €14.8 million reflects an increase of 2.3% compared to the 2021 financial year.

In 2022, the main market for ISTOBAL was Spain, which had 11% growth last year. The United States and United Kingdom became the main export countries in terms of turnover, followed by Denmark, France and Italy. Turkey is a top 10 key market, which is a new development as is the growth of ISTOBAL Italy. The 44% increase there is partially due to the country's National Industry 4.0 Plan, which boosted sales of connected washing equipment. Brazil, Portugal, Denmark and the U.S. were also among the subsidiaries that increased their turnover the most, with increases of more than 20%. Israel experienced a 31% increase in turnover.

The business line with the highest turnover continued to be the sale of machinery, with the leading sales of washing bridges, while the service and consumables lines (such as chemical products) occupied second and third place, respectively.

ISTOBAL’s range of services in the car wash arena experienced consolidation. Spain, U.S., Denmark, Italy and U.K. are the markets where this line of business has grown the most, increasing by 12% compared to 2021.

Another trend was an 8% increase in the private car wash market compared to the previous year.

ISTOBAL’s strategic plan for the coming years envisages increasing turnover in the countries where it is already present, mainly in the U.S. and China due to their great growth potential, as well as opening up new markets in other parts of Asia. With 10 subsidiaries and four manufacturing plants in Europe, America and Asia, ISTOBAL is currently the second largest manufacturer of car wash solutions in Europe and the fourth largest in the world.