With a full complement of Car Wash Shows across several continents, International Carwash Association continues to expand its reach. The organization now has partnerships in place that provide Car Wash Shows in the United States, Europe, Australia, and now, China.
According to ICA Chief Executive Officer Eric Wulf, the involvement in China started as it has with most other international relationships, through the domestic trade association. “Our conversations began with China Car Wash Industry Alliance (CCIA),” Wulf said. “They evolved to include Yasn, the trade show producer who partners with CCIA for the CIAACE Expo each year in Beijing and Guangzhou.”
Those conversations led to the mutual agreement in February 2019 to launch Car Wash Show China. “Car Wash Show China provides an identity for the car wash component of the CIAACE shows and aligns that market with our global Car Wash Show brand,” Wulf said.
The move aligns with ICA’s vision to contribute to the global car wash community. “To ignore what will one day be the largest market in the world would be an obvious miss,” Wulf said. “We think there are some short-term opportunities for suppliers in particular. China could provide new options for sourcing or manufacturing, and in fact there are already examples of this in the car wash industry.”
The car wash industry in China should afford new opportunities for car wash professionals to learn and improve their businesses, regardless of geographic location. For example, payment practices in China are advanced as anywhere in the world, with mobile payment being the norm. “I would not be surprised to see the Chinese market ‘leapfrog’ the cash and credit card phases that the American market has processed through and perhaps chart a course that other markets could follow,” Wulf said.
The work done to date in the European market provides a roadmap for what might come from the involvement in China. “When we look at what has happened since our time in the European market, the results are very apparent,” Wulf said. “We’ve seen American car wash operators implement European market ideas, and vice versa. We’ve also seen suppliers develop new partnerships on both sides of the Atlantic. These outcomes don’t show up in our financial or attendance reports, but they are the most important and lasting returns on our event investments.”
The next edition of CIAACE in Beijing will be in March of 2020 and ICA plans to host a delegation to participate in the event. The trip will include a mix of trade show, car wash and cultural visits. “If you’re interested in joining us, please let us know,” Wulf said. “If there are exhibitors who would like to develop connections to the Chinese market, we will also be considering a pavilion at CIAACE.”
