The Car Wash Show 2018

LAS VEGAS — The Car Wash Show™ 2018, hosted by the International Carwash Association (ICA) lit up the Las Vegas Convention Center from April 26-28 and proved to be one of the association’s largest shows yet. With over 380 exhibitors and more than 8,000 attendees who represent nearly 10,000 car care locations around the globe, this show was certainly one for the books.

The show was at least the second biggest show in terms of attendance and exhibit floor that the ICA has ever had. A spokesperson for ICA also announced the first Car Wash Show™ Australia being held later this year in Melbourne.

Over the course of three days, car care professionals have hours to talk with 8,000+ attendees who are experiencing similar business ‘pain points’ and navigating through industry challenges.

The show also hosted over 70 educational sessions with topics that ranged from attracting and retaining employees to understanding new car technology. Some sessions hosted roundtables aimed at specific markets, such as self serve operators or women in the industry.

This year Prowash was represented at the show by; CEO - Scott Bristow. “Whether it is your first show or you have been attending The Car Wash Show for decades, professional carwash owners and operators can simply never stop learning when attending this special show.”

Prowash attendees to the show use the time to be Australian and New Zealand representatives. Albeit a solo mission this year Scott said “It’s a busy few days as we try to meet with US distributors to say G’day and see how their business is going. We also love learning about what’s happening in the USA car wash industry.”

The talk of the town in the US appears to be the continued growth of the tunnel wash industry. The tunnel industry continued its buoyancy with many acquisitions continuing to happen in an industry that is cash flow positive and profitable to investors. Companies such as Zips continues to drive its acquisitions; buying and expanding its operations. Thus the show was flourishing with an increase in tunnel technology. While it was interesting to see tunnels expanding in the US, Australia will still need to prove its industry demand before this market thrives downunder.

Other interesting technologies observed was an increase in marketing, website, apps (i.e. wash clubs) and SEOs where technologies are looking to collate data on customers to drive your business. There are also now monitoring capabilities to look at how well your soaps are performing in your washes.

Be sure to mark the dates for The Car Wash Show™ 2019, which will take place from May 13-15 at Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee.