‘Mobility hubs will soon replace gas stations’
Gas stations will soon be a thing of the past, we learned on the first day of the trade show Tankstation Vakbeurs in Utrecht. “In its current form, the gas station will last another 15 to 20 years. Mobility hubs have the future.” What other news did we find on the trade show floors?
The new innovation ERGOX Kiosk certainly drew a lot of attention. The first twelve kiosks will soon be located at XL Carwash Heerenveen, in the north of The Netherlands. “You have to have more than one to make it profitable,” says ERGOX owner Henk Wildeman. “And to motivate customers to start using it. When it is in sight of the customer, it will also be used faster.” According to Wildeman, it can be an interesting revenue model for car wash entrepreneurs. “There are a lot of extras on it, like wiper fluid, tire cleaner and gloves. Things that makes money.”
Dutch car washes and gas stations are paying more and more attention to appearance in addition to service and quality, and Cleanbuild is reaping the benefits. “It is becoming increasingly important how a shop or car wash looks,” says the Cleanbuild team.
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Christ Wash Systems still sees plenty of opportunities in the Dutch market. Especially in the area of rollovers, wash boxes, vacuuming and truck wash. “We’re pretty busy, so that’s good news,” Pierre Krieger said at the fair.
During the charging & refueling talk, there was a roundtable discussion with Jan Paul Kerkhof of BP Kerkhof & Zn, Hidde van der Maas of Over Morgen, Jan Harmen Akkerman of TanQyou and Theo Thuis of Q-Park, Shell. The main question being: what are the advantages and disadvantages of the different fuels and charging infrastructures? When asked whether the traditional gas station will disappear and make way for a mobility hub, opinions were far apart. Jan Harmen Akkerman thinks the gas station will disappear and make way for a mobility hub. “In its current form, the gas station will last another 15 to 20 years. Hubs have the future.”
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When Piet Kruissen of Air Serv is asked what the innovations are, he has to laugh. They have had the same vacuum and air devices for 25 years, and he is proud of that. “It’s a piece of conformity, everyone recognizes our devices,” he says.
Within the cleaning department, Imbema provides the technology for the German brand Ehrle, among others. The MatCleaner caught the eye. “What is unique about this mat cleaner is that it has multiple functions,” says Imbema. “The mat is brushed, rinsed with water, scented and dried.”
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CMPS offers payment solutions for the carwash market and showed the possibilities at its own booth. The company notes that there are many changes in “payment terminal-land,” and is responding well to them.
The Rulomatik Dry & Go dispenser with multifunctional drying and care cloth is new on the Dutch market. With this cloth the entire car can be dried. Carwash Overvecht is the first location with this device, says Ramazan Paraziz.
The trade show ends on Thursday 16 november.
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