“It's big. It's huge. There are a million different things here to look at and different people to talk to. It’s even a little overwhelming when you first walk through the door.”

This comment by Matt Quiggle of Big Fish Tuna Car Wash sums up what a lot of people were thinking at The Car Wash Show 2024. With the final numbers coming in at a record-breaking 9,600+ attendees and more than 420 exhibitors, there were a lot of people in Nashville, all looking to expand their horizons when it came to the art, science and business of washing cars.

“This is such an amazing gathering of professionals, experts in our field and emerging leaders who come together in one place,” Lanese Barnett said. “We’re all here because we're passionate and we care about the car wash industry. Everybody has a baseline commonality, and so it's being able to share ideas, build relationships and continue to grow and learn from each other that I just love.” Barnett, who has attended at least 15 shows, said she comes back every year because she looks forward to seeing the new products that are on The Show floor and, most importantly, the people.

“Seeing the industry come together in one spot always reminds me of the amazing opportunity it is to create an experience that keeps our attendees and exhibitors at the forefront of the industry,” said Kim Vinciguerra, chief experience officer at International Carwash Association.”

Education

With more than 60 hours of training delivered by experts in and outside of the industry, The Show’s education sessions reflected learning options that were diverse, comprehensive and engaging.

As Debra Jasper put it during her session, “To inform, you must first engage.” Which is why she doesn’t send a message until she can answer these three questions: What? So what? Now what? Jasper, who was named one of the top 12 female entrepreneurs in North America by Ernst & Young, had “one of the most engaging presentations I've ever seen,” said Brian Spongberg of Carwood Car Wash. “The average person has an eight second attention span and she kept your attention the whole hour. She had 368 slides and you couldn’t take your eyes off them. Plus she had a lot of great takeaways.”

Rob Williamson from Bubble Bath Car Wash heads to The Show every year with the goal to see what he can learn. “What's a new perspective really that I can gain from this trip? That's one of the things I value the most.” He lauded a session on retaining customers by Joey Coleman: “I learned some new things that I hadn't actually thought about.” The discussions in this session centered on retaining customers. “20-70% of customers leave in the first 100 days,” Coleman said. “They quit before the relationship has any type of momentum.” Coleman also shared the importance of sending thank you notes to your customers. “Human beings are dying for physical proof that they matter.” 

Rebecca Woolman of PDQ Car Wash said that one of the learnings she’ll be taking home this year was related to a session about people. “The biggest thing that I loved is that they talked about how people matter and to slow down and to really hear what your employees like, have to say and think. That way they don’t feel forgotten and they feel valued.”

Zombies were the topic in another session. These are the people who aren’t motivated and we need to get them motivated — or find someone else to get the job done, said Brandon Bemis at Platinum Car Wash about what he learned at this session. “If we're all on a bike, we all have to work together. And those people that aren't pedaling for us, we have to find ways to change,” Bemis said.

Another popular session addressed the state of today’s car wash industry. Eric Wulf, CEO at ICA, Marcus Kittrell of Mammoth Holdings, and Tom Hoffman Jr. of innovateIT Car Wash Equipment, guided attendees through the intricacies of gathering and analyzing the research that is most relevant to the success of those in the car wash industry. 

“When ICA first started our research in the ’90s, the most telling piece of data was the percentage of people using home versus professional washes,” Wulf said. “We’ve now shifted most of our focus with our Pulse research to what we believe is one of the most important dynamics in the industry, the subscription model, and membership.”

Ed Ouellette and Emily Kortman from Tommy's Express Car Wash commended the session for its value and interest. “It's hard to give really specific answers to some of those questions because it's really hard to nail it down. But, overall, I'd say it was an awesome, awesome bit of information,” Ouellette  said. Both mentioned they gleaned some fascinating data about close competition and site selections from this session. “I thought the data and all the effort put into getting all those analytics was exceptional. And I think it was very informative,” Kortman said.

When it came to the education sessions, both the breakout ones and the PITCH options, a comment shared by Kris Woodard with Camel Express Car Wash probably sums it up best: “Every year it just gets better and better.”

Trade Show

“Out of a scale of 1 to 10, I’d rate the show as an 11,” said Jason Marlow at Mammoth Construction. 

With more than 190,000 square feet of sold-out trade show space, the floor was the largest in The Show’s history. It featured some pretty fun exhibits, this year, as well. At Rinsed: The Car Wash CRM, attendees were taking a swing at golf balls. At Factorymation, a baseball pitching station was measuring speeds. At Daiwa, attendees were taking their turns relaxing in high-end massage chairs. There was a Tesla Cybertruck at AVW Equipment Co., a BMW M4 GT3 race car at AP Formulators, a unicorn at Synergy Solutions, an AccuDose drinks menu at National Carwash Solutions and a miniaturized sensor model at Pantron Automation.

Many of the exhibitors were offering show specials, as well, some tied to their PITCH sessions. A customer data analysis worth $4,000 was available at Cinch, and was promoted at the PITCH session they sponsored. “A lot of our customers have previously told us that they have dirty data. They don't know what to do about it and it frustrates them with marketing. So we're doing a free data analysis,” said Wesley Wright. A trip over to National Carwash Solutions could have landed attendees savings ranging from $250,000 to 30% off. At OptSpot, another exhibitor involved in a PITCH session, Charlie Brichta said, “I could actually tell the moment the PITCH was done because our booth was flooded. We must have had 30 or 40 people in here, all at the same time.” It was a similar situation at DRN Data. “We did a PITCH session that resulted in a lot of inquiries about what we do,” said Noel Pena. “It’s been absolutely amazing. We were in Innovation Alley the first two years. This is our first year out in the wild and we couldn't be happier.”

Innovation Alley is an area of The Show floor that is devoted to first- or second-year exhibitors — and this year it featured more than 40 companies showcasing the latest innovations from 3D signage to preventative maintenance technology. “Innovation Alley was designed as a ‘can’t-miss’ destination,” said Kendra Johnson, vice president of business development at ICA. 

Booth Awards

The Brian Campbell Best Booth Awards have been coveted exhibitor awards since their debut at The Car Wash Show 2015. 

The awards honor the legacy of longtime show attendee and car wash aficionado, Brian Campbell. There are lots of things that make Brian special, but one of the things that stands out is his love of car washing. From an early age, Brian was fascinated by the colors, movement and excitement of car washes. In 1993, he attended his first Car Wash Show and has joined us countless times since then.

These awards were created to encourage and support the efforts of exhibitors who go above and beyond normal expectations to deliver outstanding exhibit experiences to attendees.

This year, The Show featured two Brian Campbell Best Booth Award categories (Large and Medium/Small). Plus, a brand new booth award was added: Stand Out Exhibit Award. 

Another new aspect for this year was the selection process. An independent panel of professional trade show experts served as judges and provided feedback to the winners on what made their booths stand out. Final decisions were based on specific criteria, e.g. booth display, product promotion and customer engagement.

Best Large Booth Award
National Carwash Solutions (NCS)
Runners-Up: Sonny’s The CarWash Factory, Motor City Wash Works, Washworld

National Carwash Solutions’ winning booth design was about more than their products, it was about forming a connection with every attendee who visited. Andrew Clark, senior events marketing manager, said it was about interacting with everyone and “not just in a business sense, but in fun way to keep them excited about being here, being in our booth and being part of The Car Wash Show.”

“NCS is always trying to be the forefront of connected technology and connected solutions in the industry, and we tried to design a booth that provided the essence of connection of our team,” Clark said.

The judges agreed. “The NCS exhibit was outstanding in so many ways, featuring technologies and experiences that wowed visitors at every turn.” Each area was designed to mimic the actual setting in the world of a car wash owner and even the flooring changed both color and texture in different sectors of the booth to change the look and feel of each section.

“We’ve had so much good feedback from everyone,” Clark said. “It's just really surreal to see people so excited to be in our booth and be in the space, and it feels good to have been able to provide that enjoyment to them.”

Best Midsize Booth Award
Big Dot Lighting and Electric
Runners-Up: Aerodry Systems, AutoBrite, JBS Industries

“We were trying to be creative. We’re a lighting company and our biggest thing is perception. So, what we're looking for is, ‘How can we really wow customers? How can we impress them?’” said Zach Gatheridge of Big Dot after accepting the award. “The lights do the speaking for themselves, but simplicity is really what it came down to for us. We’re always looking to impress them a little, then let the lights do the rest of the job for us.”

According to the judges, they accomplished their mission. “Effectively showcasing lighting effects can be a tricky business, but the Big Dot exhibit was a shining example of excellent display techniques.” Plus, a virtual reality set up enabled attendees to go for a tour of a car wash facility equipped with Big Dot’s various lighting options, which encouraged attendee engagement. 

Gatheridge said the award means a lot to them as it shows that they are on the right track. “I think it means we're doing something right. And we are looking forward to next year. We're already planning and designing in our heads what we can do and how we're going to really wow everybody once more.”

Stand Out Exhibit
Nuform Building Technologies
Runners-Up: Kaeser Compressors, Blue Square, Wash Brands

“This is an awesome honor for us and the whole company,” said Lorenzo LaManna of Nuform Building Technologies after accepted their award. Nuform has been exhibiting at The Show for at least 25 years, so appreciated what the judges found most noteworthy about their booth: “Beautifully lit, with a clean and open space, Nuform effectively communicated their message using a visual that immediately drew your eye into the exhibit.” Plus, the layout was constructed from the Nuform product, encouraged interaction and provided a moveable demonstration, according to the judges. 

LaManna said the primary objective of the booth was to show off their products and that they spent months coming up with just the right layout.  “It's a collaboration of a bunch of people to get the design together,” LaManna said, starting on paper and culminating with the booth building on site. “I'm very proud of what we've done this year,” he said. 

“This has been one of the better shows that we've been to, for sure, and now with this award, this makes it the best show we've had so far,” LaManna said.

Hall of Fame

At The Car Wash Show 2024, ICA welcomed an industry icon to the ranks of Car Wash Hall of Fame: Lamar Beck of Goo Goo Car Wash.

Since 1962, ICA has presented the Hall of Fame Award to car wash professionals, operators and suppliers who have made a lasting impact on the professional car wash industry. 

“Every year we get the opportunity to induct a deserving recipient into the Car Wash Hall of Fame. These are always people who have made a tremendous impact in our industry, and who have always been willing to help others,” said ICA President Marcus Kittrell of Mammoth Holdings.

The Hall of Fame Celebration at The Show was an opportunity for ICA members to toast and reflect on Beck’s accomplishments — both in the car wash industry and in life; Beck passed away in November 2023.

In a memory-filled introduction that shared some of what made Beck such a legend in the industry, Kittrell shared: “One of my favorite memories of Lamar Beck is he and I sitting on five-gallon buckets in his equipment room at his first express in Montgomery, Alabama,” Kittrell said, sharing that he had been nervous at the time about the success of his first express wash. “He told me, ‘Marcus, you’ll be fine. Just take care of your customers and never be satisfied.’” 

Those words are a pivotal park of Beck’s story, as was apparent in the video that followed, which highlighted Beck’s contributions to the industry and the lives of everyone he touched.

“Never satisfied. It should be on his tombstone,” said Darren Bradham, his partner. He also wasn’t scared to try something new, he said, which was the case with their first express wash in 2001. “We rubbed our nickels together and decided to try it.” 

Beck had been about ready to retire to his fishing boat when this opportunity arose.

“The plan was we were going to do this first express wash, then he was going to get on his boat and Darren and I were going to run the car washes, and that was going to be the end of it,” said his son and partner, Roger Beck. “But then it started doing so well and then we did another one, then another one. He just caught fire.”

“He was never afraid to take a chance,” said Justin Alford of Benny’s Car Wash. “If he saw something, believed in it and had a vision, he went for it.” 

Sixty express car wash locations later, Goo Goo Car Wash and Lamar Beck had changed the car wash industry forever. 

It made an impact on his family, too, especially his relationship with his son. “Us getting into this business and doing all of these locations, is probably the greatest thing that could ever happen for a father and son,” Roger said. “The greatest gift my father gave me was teaching me how to work,” Roger said. “I’ll treasure it forever.”

Beck knew how to treat people and help them achieve their greatest potential, which is something he always practiced in his own life, as well. “Lamar was always planning on doing something else — and doing it bigger,” said his wife, Sandra.

Selection into the Car Wash Hall of Fame is based upon candidate attributes in the areas of leadership, collaboration, industry support, longevity and innovation. See a full list of Hall of Fame recipients at www.carwash.org/ica-hall-of-fame.

Networking

Networking didn't just happen on The Show floor and during education session. Lively and engaging events were held all week, at all hours, from car wash tours, to evening festivities such as The Big Bash and the Car Wash Hall of Fame Celebration, to adventures downtown with The Car Wash Show After Dark.

Save the Date

The Car Wash Show 2025 will be in Las Vegas, April 26-28, 2025.