Cross-border car washing
In a week where Europe will choose a new parliament, ProMedia visited a transnational car wash. Perfect Carwash operates both in The Netherlands and in Germany, simply ignoring any borders.
Anyone driving into the Enschede city center from the west side will notice a striking building alongside the road. It’s the flagship of Perfect Carwash: a state-of-the-art car wash in the East of The Netherlands.
We caught up with general manager Rutger Hulshof and asked him how he wants to be addressed? As ‘managing director’ or as ‘Geschäftsführer’? Hulshof: “Ha, yes, well ideally I don’t want to be seen as a boss at all,” and then continues in a more serious tone: “PerfectCarwash now has six car washes, two of which are just across the border in Germany, so in Germany I am Geschäftsführer.”
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The Poolman 1
During our visit, we focus on the facility at The Poolman 1 site. A beautiful car wash. “We did our best to achieve that”, Hulshof beams. “We had the great advantage of being able to start from scratch. This means we could do it completely the way we wanted it, without being hindered by physical limitations.”
But you need to have the space for that. Hulshof: “That’s true. That’s why we chose this location. Coming from the highway on the west side is an ideal approach route to the city center, where you can hardly miss our car wash.”
Plenty of space
So the chosen location was on a spacious lot and Perfect Carwash took full advantage of that. Hulshof: “We wanted a large indoor car wash so the vacuum facilities could also be inside. The core of the company is an express wash of sixty meters. In addition, we also have a separate detailing lane, where vehicles are pulled along on a belt while being extensively polished.”
The space is completed by a very extensive vacuuming area with as many as 32 vacuuming spots. Thanks to a partially glass roof covering, the space has a very light and open appearance.
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Starting small
The location we visit today has a very professional feel to it, in many aspects. You don’t set up something like that just like that, it seems to us. Hulshof: “No, it doesn’t. We once started small. It all started with Hulshof’s oil business in Haaksbergen. There, my father owned a gas station with a small car wash. My brother and I also entered the business at some point. He focused more on the oil business and I took care of the gas station.
“At one point we had about fifteen gas stations. That was nice, but I didn’t want it to be any bigger than that. Then we decided to sell the whole business and focus entirely on car washing. Setting up a modern car wash was my big ambition. After Haaksbergen came Gronau and later Dulmen.”
Gründlich glänzend
How exhilarating was it to enter the German market as a Dutch entrepreneur? Hulshof: “It was pretty exciting. The car culture is very different compared to The Netherlands. Then again, at our Dutch branches we also welcome a lot of German customers. Let’s just say we already know each other pretty well. We know and understand what a German customer wants: the best service and a super clean car.”
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Future plans
So what’s the next dream? “Ha, we are still working hard on improvements”, Hulshof replies. That never stops. Last year we took a big step forward in automating payment systems. We also rounded up two acquisitions: one in Oldenzaal and one here in Enschede-Zuid. We actually reeled in our big competitor. When the opportunity arose, we decided to do it. Right now we are working hard to rebuild it in our own house style. We want to finish that as soon as possible. And after that, we’ll see what comes along.”
This interview was done by freelance journalist Menno Bonnema.
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