Superoperator celebrates tenth anniversary
Superoperator entered the car wash market ten years ago with technology for license plate recognition and contactless payment. Since then, the Finnish technology company can’t be overlooked in the international market.
This year’s anniversary is marked by a patent on the technology for Superoperator. On the German market, Superoperator is also cooperating with Clever Waschen, together they have an app that allows customers to see which car washes are available nearby. The cooperation will cross the borders to Scandinavia this year.
Erkki Aminoff is general manager at Superoperator. He says: “We have been disrupting the industry for ten years, and now the market is starting to become ready for digitalisation. Operators have started to understand the importance of customer experience, and more digital service providers are entering the market.”
Harnessing washing capacity
Superoperator’s story began in 2011 with the digitisation of the so-called customer journey. Their digital solution automatically recognises cars by their license plate and gives customers access to the car wash and lets them pay via a smartphone app without having to get out of the car. The technology should help bring in more customers and maximise the use of existing car wash capacity.
Superoperator began the research and development in Finland by building its own digital car wash network, Juhlapesu, which brings together the services of several car wash operators. The first customer was Benzina, which operates a network of service stations in the Czech Republic. In the United States, Superoperator’s solution brought in Tommy’s Express, one of the largest carwash franchises in the country.
Patent
In 2019, the innovation received an enforceable patent in its original form. This gave Superoperator confidence in the scalability of their solution and was the start of international expansion.
Since the corona pandemic, digitalisation has accelerated. Shortly before that, Superoperator entered into a partnership with the German media house Axel Springer to build a European-wide car wash network. The two companies jointly developed the Clever Waschen platform.
Asked to take a look into the future, managing director Aminoff says: “The latest trends in car manufacturing are moving towards turning the car itself into a user interface that connects you to digital services, such as a car wash. Today, most businesses still lean on apps, but in the future your car dashboard could provide a hands-free customer experience instead. Our technology is ready and the customers are ready. Superoperator is eager to work with like-minded people who want to ride the first wave,” says Aminoff.
Also read:
