The second day of the Carwashpro Forum in Cologne was all about the technical part of a car wash. Digitalization, increasing sales, successful damage management and sustainability were discussed intensively. Here’s a report.

After the successful car wash tour and the relaxing networking dinner on the opening day of the CarwashPro Forum, the second and final day focused on professional exchange. Well-known speakers from the German car wash industry presented some of the solutions to current challenges facing our industry.

Digitalization

First of all we witnessed two presentations on digitalization. Nicolas Meibohm of UUNO explained to attendees how digitalization can help car washes to increase their capacity utilization while at the same time improving customer satisfaction.

Next up was Artur Gelbert of WashTec. Who showed us a few very practical examples how car wash operators can easily benefit from digitalization. For example, the participants were able to see how car wash owner Thomas Scherer digitally manages his location. With just a few clicks he is in direct digital contact with WashTec, in the event of malfunctions.

Increased sales

Participants of the car wash tour the day before had already seen a practical example of increasing sales, by adding cycleWash to the production. Today the possibilities were discussed in even greater detail. Klaus-Peter Klaeser reported on his experiences at his car wash, where he uses, among other things, a cycleWash bike wash system and a dog wash system. Some argued that thes extensions do not fit every location.
But if you are considering it, now is the right time to implement them. The window of opportunity for German car wash customers will not stay open indefinitely. Once bike and dog wash facilities become widely available to end customers, it will be too late to hop on the bandwagon.

Panel discussion: Damage management

In the afternoon, a vexed topic for ca rwash operators was discussed in a panel discussion. Customers who complain about damage to their own vehicle or cause damage to the car wash are part of the everyday life of a car wash operator. How to deal with such challenges and which legal and financial aspects to consider resulted in a very practical “first aid plan” for car wash operators.

Sustainable use of water

After an intense summer of drought, the resource-conserving use of water was also on the agenda. On the one hand, the presentations by Klaus Steiner, Sales Manager of INOWA, offered important insights on the subject of fresh water treatment.

On the other hand, Fabian Sterzenbach presented the X-Jet nozzles from Caramba in detail, with which the water consumption of a plant can be significantly reduced.

Both presentations made it clear that saving water is not only good for the environment, but also has a positive effect on the economic efficiency of car washes, for example when energy can be saved by using water more consciously.