Kärcher Cleanpark in Borgholz opened
A mineral oil dealer in the German town of Borgholz wanted to open a ‘no hassle’ car wash. So they chose Kärcher, who set up a self-service car wash. Customers seem very satisfied with the Kärcher Cleanpark. “Everyone knows Kärcher,” says Kai Dierckes, summing up the decision in favor of the washing technology manufacturer.
The family-run heating oil company Rudolf Hoppe GmbH in Borgholz in the northern state of North Rhine-Westphalia has been on the market for more than 60 years.
They sell heating oil, diesel and lubricants as a sales partner of ARAL. Nevertheless, the desire arose to build up a second mainstay to spread the risk. The condition was it should be operated without personnel. So Hoppe decided in favor of a self-service car wash.
There are already a number of Kärcher Cleanparks in the area around Borgholz, and Kai Dierkes, the third-generation managing director, saw that good things came from that.
Decision made quickly
The self-service wash station consists of two covered wash boxes, an open-air wash station, four vacuum cleaning stations, a mat cleaner and a gantry washer. A compressed air cleaning unit for interior cleaning will be added soon.
The gantry washer has five wash programs, but these can be customized by the operator. “We manage quite well with these wash programs,” explains Kai Dierkes. He adds that customers take to the wash offer very well and also wash very intensively.
Even though the site is intended for unmanned operation, staff are currently sometimes present during the initial phase to check up on things. Not a problem, since the company headquarters is only a few minutes’ drive from the self-service wash site.
One year
The entire preparation time up to the start of construction comprised only one year and the construction delays were also manageable. During the construction of the hall, steel was not available at short notice and so in the end there was a construction delay of about 5 weeks. Now, the self-service wash bay was opened with a soft opening so that adjustments could still be made without disrupting the wash operation, despite the first customer wash.
“We were able to watch the construction of a Kärcher Cleanpark live at one of our customers’ facilities, and that’s when the idea of opening our own wash park was born,” says Kai Dierkes, summarizing the company’s decision.
Digital management
Further adjustments are currently planned, such as connecting the site to the Internet so that the facility can also be managed digitally in the future.
Due to the requirements of the municipality, washing can be done at this location from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays, and on Sundays and holidays the facility is open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
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