The Carwash Operators of New Jersey (CWONJ) headed west to tour a site just outside of Pennsylvania and two in the state on Tuesday, June 12. The full bus load of attendees got to experience a lot of innovation that day, according to CWONJ President Doug Rieck. “Every site we visited provided our attendees with something new and innovative to see,” he said. “Our annual wash tour is a great opportunity to keep thinking out of the box and trying new things based on what other operators are doing.”

The first stop was a Shammy Shine location in Phillipsburg, NJ, owned by Craig Stem. The express wash & lube opened in 2014. This short-sale property received a gut renovation and features a 110-foot tunnel, ICS auto gates, 14 free vacsi and a two-bay Quaker State branded lube. The site also houses some of the company parts storage and is centrally located between the company’s 15 locations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The next stop was to a Shammy Shine still under construction but with lots to see. This site in Easton, PA, is a total site development with a 3,000 square foot building with many “green” features, an express wash with a 120-foot tunnel, a Con-Serv rain recycling system, 16 free vacs, ICS Auto Gates, Hanna & Sonny’s equipment and Zep and Simoniz chemicals. Owner Craig Stem guesstimates the site will open in less than 60 days.

Next on the tour was the two-year-old Sparkle Car Wash, also in Easton. This ground-up state-of-the-art express exterior is owned by Innovative Control Systems’ founder and carwash owner Kevin Detrick. Through repeatable quality and automation the wash can handle 115 cars an hour with no hand prepping. It also adapts its blowers to run at different speeds based on the type of vehicle it is drying and includes vehicle profiling arches that scan the size and shape of the vehicle allowing a more precise targeting of water and soap. The company also operates a wash in Stroudsburg that adds self-service washing to its service options.

The group was then treated to an extensive barbecue buffet lunch at ICS’s Production Facility at Fox Hill, also in Easton, and then a tour of its headquarters in Wind Gap, PA. The cherry on the day was an ice cream truck the company had on site to cool everyone off after a long day of touring.

Sponsors included Bus Tour Sponsors Simoniz USA and Sonny’s; Lunch Sponsor ICS; Event Sponsor Vacutech and Snack Sponsor the Northeast Carwasher magazine.

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