Learning how to identify what makes for a symbiotic relationship helps in picking the right partners for your operation.

If you are planning to build and operate a new vehicle wash business, there are plenty of companies that will gladly sell you a vehicle wash system, install it, then leave you to fend for yourself. Or they may dictate what you should buy, who you should buy it from and how you should market it.

Sure, there’s every chance in the world that these types of approaches will result in a successful and profitable vehicle wash business. However, the power of partnerships and a collaborative, give-and-take approach are the best way to build a vehicle wash business.

It is important that your partners are prepared and equipped to collaborate as needed to meet the specific individual needs of each client. Doing this enables the construction of the ultimate outcome, which is the creation of a business that will be successful, profitable and sustainable. It allows for the crafting of unforgettable wash experiences for drivers and their passengers and building something that the owner can be proud of. Your partners shouldn’t just be suppliers to your business, they should be advocates.

But why does this matter?

All vehicle wash owners – whether new to the game or a veteran operator of numerous locations – face many challenges before their vision can be turned into reality. The crux of these challenges are the dizzying number of decisions that need to be made many months before the first vehicle enters the wash bay or tunnel: site location, type of wash system to deploy (touchless or soft-touch in-bay automatic, conveyorized tunnel, a combination of both?), type of POS/back-office system, which chemicals to use, what ancillary offerings to feature.

These decisions have many possible answers, but an optimized business will only be achieved if all possible solutions are identified and weighed before any final decisions are made, all while realizing that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. This is where the capabilities of the manufacturers become paramount. Chief among these capabilities is the capacity to hone in on specific customer needs and then working toward creating solutions that solve any operational problems or challenges.

With that in mind, your suppliers’ engineering philosophies should revolve around two questions: What challenge does it solve and how does it make the operator’s business better? Because, if the wash system doesn’t solve a challenge, what’s the point? And if it doesn’t make the business better while solving that challenge, what’s the point?

At OPW VWS, we believe in this collaborative mindset, even if it extends beyond the products we offer. The bottom line is that we want to set up our customers with the right mix of products that fits their needs, no matter the supplier. This means that we are also open to any ideas the customer presents, even if it means using non-VWS equipment or systems that are in the best interest of the customer. In that case, we will reach out to our vast industry network for solutions that make sense and no matter if you end up buying from one VWS brand or multiple VWS brands, we are committed to your success.

Your supplier partners should also have a steadfast commitment to customer collaboration that extends to the front end of your vehicle wash development process. For example, many of the equipment and systems that have been built by the OPW VWS product brands over the years have come as the result of a suggestion from a customer. One such time had to do with feedback we received regarding the operation of our original wraparound front, side and rear wash technology. By listening to and analyzing our customers’ comments, we determined that there were logical updates that could be made to this legacy technology. Now, the new version is one of the industry’s most effective front, side and rear vehicle washers.

This willingness to listen to any and all ideas, weigh their pros and cons, and act decisively on the best ones gives the customer a sense of belonging, which is important in a business partnership. It also increases the customer’s level of confidence in the partnership and your company’s ethos, which will result in an even stronger, more collaborative relationship that can continue to produce many more positive outcomes in future years.

Ultimately, your suppliers’ products are accountable for meeting your needs at the car wash. At OPW Vehicle Wash Solutions, we feel our drive to maximize collaborative accountability is one of the company’s true differentiators. After all, our company motto is “United We Wash.”

Building a vehicle wash business is challenging, but we strive to make it as simple and easy as possible, not by forcing the operator into accepting what we think is best, but by working together to arrive at an exceptional solution for all parties.

OPW VWS doesn’t just want to sell vehicle wash equipment and systems. In that vein, we don’t consider ourselves a “one-stop shop,” we’re a “your-stop shop” that focuses on providing equipment and systems that has one bottom-line outcome in mind: making your business better. We want to deliver vehicle wash systems that reflect the personality and ambitions of the owner, knowing that only through truly collaborative communication and goal-setting can the owner’s dream of building a successful vehicle wash business be fulfilled.

This article was written and contributed by Warren Day, General Manager, VWS Tunnel Equipment.

Formed in 2019, OPW Vehicle Wash Solutions consists of PDQ Manufacturing, Inc., Belanger, Inc., Innovative Control Systems (ICS), Kesseltronics and the Transchem Group. Together, they form a revolutionary customer-focused solution for all vehicle wash needs.

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