“WashTec is in a transition”. Interview with Thomas Brenner

Thomas Brenner, Head of Marketing and Sales Support at WashTec, discusses the launch of the new Four Dimension concept at UNITI expo, the company's new customer-centric approach, and general trends of the car wash market.

WashTec will be having one of the biggest booths in whole of UNITI expo 2016. Why has the company decided to make such a large investment in the trade fair?

We are in a transition phase from an engineer-based company to a more customer centric approach. For this new focus, we have created a Four Dimension concept that we´ll be launching at UNITI expo. We wanted a big booth to divide it into four areas – each for one of the dimensions. We also needed space to present our products, such as the jet wash, our chemicals and the foamcurtain “FoamSensation”.

Are visitors going to be able to see new WashTec products at UNTI expo?

Although we are presenting products, that will not be the main focus. What we want to do is talk about the business case of our customers, and discuss how to get more out of their car wash business. For that we will use our Four Dimension system. We will no longer go to a customer and present a machine. We want to go into discussions with customers about how to differentiate from the competition, current machinery, what products suit them best, etc.

It seems like WashTec is changing its whole business approach. What has pushed WashTec into this new customer-centric model?

Our Four Dimension model seeks to find the best car wash business for each customer. The four dimensions are quality, speed, convenience and look & feel. If you’re only focused on the quality of the machine, then you may have problems with timing – the washes can take too long. So we need a balance between the wash quality and the speed of the machine.

The next step is taking care of the convenience for customers and operators. For the operator, it must be easy to manage the machine, change the chemicals, etc. And for the driver we have developed features such as ‘wash & pay’ or staying inside the car during the roll-over wash.

Look & feel, the last dimension, is about customers choosing your car wash over that of the competition. Is about making the car wash more attractive, for which we have features such as the foam curtain that will be presented at UNITI expo. You need features that create awareness about the wash site. Make the car wash more attractive and entertaining for the driver.

This is an integrated process of the whole company – we are transitioning from an old WashTec to a new customer-centric WashTec.

WashTec launched the iWash concept some months ago. What kind of reception have you received from the market?

Great. It has been that successful that we will present the new iWash 2.0, an enhanced version of the original, at UNITI expo. It fits perfectly into the convenience dimension of our concept. It allows drivers to decide how they want to clean their car. If you live in the city, maybe you don´t want to clean the top of your car so often. It allows customers to have individual services suited to their needs and preferences.

How would you asses the current situation of the European car wash market?

The general behaviour of car drivers has changed. Due to the cheap fuel motorists have more money to spend in car care. We see a little increase in the use and number of washes across Europe, which is great for the industry. We also see a good investment ration for new machines. WashTec had the best year ever on 2015 with an increase of more than 10% of the global turnover. The whole market seems to be quite positive.

What would you say are the current major trends in the car wash industry?

First of all car wash has to be more convenient. It’ll become easier and more attractive for operators and customers with innovations such as Wash&Pay or Drive-In. From a product perspective there is a bigger focus set on the wash quality. There is a trend to reinvent the car wash as we know it, which has to do with customer needs and developing the market to make the car wash sexier and increase customer fidelity. We also want to get rid of the hand car wash which is still quite strong in some European countries, such as the UK. But governments are already trying to regulate those not fully legal enterprises. People think that cleaning with a sponge is better for the car, but it is a very misguided belief. Automatic car washes are also a lot faster.

Why did you choose UNITI expo to launch your new Four Dimension business concept?

We had positive feedback from two years ago in the first UNITI expo. We have a target group of visitors at UNITI expo which makes it the event for us this year. That is the reason why we will be presenting the latest innovations and introducing the Four Dimension.