Looking back at SHINE: ‘Polish market can’t be ignored’
A networking reception brought the first edition of SHINE Car Wash Show Europe to a close Wednesday evening, and it tasted like more. Exhibitors were enthusiastic about the many opportunities offered by the fast-growing Polish market, although for now it is still difficult to make car washes popular with Central European consumers. CarwashPro walked around the networking floor and spoke with several exhibitors.
“Satisfied owner is best seller”
“This is where the countries are still growing. So of course we want to be here, because here people have something to spend,” said Ruby Kamerbeek at ACE’s booth. ACE builds car washes around the world and does see the potential of the Central European country. Yet Kamerbeek also sees he how the market for wash tunnels there is still nascent. “In Lithuania we already built two branches, but Poland? No. You feel that the interest in it does start to grow, especially when you tell that such an installation as ours can process as many as one hundred and forty cars per hour. Then, of course, it looks like interesting business. And you know, a satisfied owner is the best salesman for us. If he or she tells how his stainless steel car wash never shuts down, then of course that’s good advertising.”
A hit in America
“Apparently, through a distributor, we already supply brushes to two out of 32 car washes. That means we already control eight percent of the market,” grins Lance van Hees of Brushcom confidently. However, he understands that it will take time for their company specializing in brushes for carwashes to really gain a foothold here. “Usually carwash owners stick with the installer of their machine for some time before they switch to secondary suppliers.”
Things are already easier for Brushcom in countries east of Poland as well, he says. “Everyone sees Poland’s potential, of course, but in Estonia and Lithuania, car washes are already much more established. I have even been told that there is one in Vilnius that processed 65,000 cars in one month. Anyway, our focus is mainly on Germany, a huge growth market for carwashes, and especially on the US. After all, that is the carwash country par excellence, but also a country where a carwash owner moves freely among numerous suppliers. Instead of being stuck with one manufacturer, he will, for example, order his chain from one company and his brushes from another.”
The commitment to the U.S. market is paying off for Brushcom. “Two years ago we developed a foam brush for that market,” says Van Hees. “There people use it more often than the textile brush preferred in Europe. In doing so, we gave the foam a texture similar to that of textiles. That relief makes brushing much more effective. Moreover, we have given the foam an extra heat coating, so that even less dirt can creep between the cells. So you clean the brush very easily. In Los Angeles, a car wash has thus passed the milestone of 1 million washes, which is quite a bit more than the 800,000 of our competitors. Our new dry brush is also a great success, thanks in part to the wide color variety in which we offer it. In the US, competition is very strong, so it is important that they can customize the installation to their branding.”
A product for Poland
Kenotek has been operating in Poland for 26 years, so no one knows the market better than Louis Vynckier of the Belgian company. That even launched with Cargo 2600 a new product specially tailored to the Polish market. “We’ve had a team in the country for years,” it sounds, ”and when it came with the request for a high-foaming product with good cleaning power, we responded. Our Polish people came to test that in Ypres at our R&D department, and then further tested the product with them locally.”
Poland therefore remains a growth market, says Vynckier. “After all, the population is still increasing there, but so is the number of cars on the road and also the prosperity, which means that people have a chunk of disposable budget left over to take more care of their cars.”
Whether the Polish market is ready for a shift to tunnel-carwashes? Vynckier brings in his local Polish manager Radovan Kiezik, and he doubts it. “Car washes are still too expensive in the eyes of Poles. Also owners still find it easier to plant six wash boxes, and make money, than to invest in such a facility. And yes, there are already too many selfwashes as far as I’m concerned, and the market is not growing as fast as it used to, but you notice that the old ones are getting sold and refreshed and renovated anyway. So I don’t see any disappearing any time soon.”
Interest from the U.S.
American AVW is watching the opportunities in Central Europe with interest, as are other big names from the U.S., such as Tommy’s Express, Coleman Hanna and Motor City Wash Works. Tom Essenburg, owner of Tommy’s Express, came to SHINE to explore opportunities for the carwash industry in Poland. “I am curious to see how this market will develop,” he says.
“Thirty percent growth”
Also Belgian and also active in Poland for years: Nerta. “First it was through distributors, now we have our own team there and a local warehouse from which local dealers are supplied,” says CEO Christian De Munter. “You can’t not be here: we grew by thirty percent here just last year, you don’t leave that out. Much of that increase, by the way, was organic, because the market itself is expanding, but we also gained some additional market share from our competitors.By the way, we notice that pre-washing with powdered detergent remains very popular there, which you hardly encounter in the Benelux. But the plants in Poland are set up for that, so you still have to supply that.”
“That it’s a selfcarwash market, by the way, I attribute to the fact that Poland really only has two highways,” De Munter continued. “The smaller local lanes that the country otherwise consists of do not lend themselves as much to the installation of a car wash. Those caught in traffic jams there are less likely to be tempted to make a quick wash stop.”
At Nerta itself, everything is currently dominated by the commissioning of the new plant in Lokeren. “We are now running the final tests there. It was necessary to have a new plant because the old one dated back to the year 2000. Since then, regulations have changed considerably. We also want to focus more on automation at this location and have also opted for a large tank farm so that we can purchase and store ingredients at the most advantageous times.”
“Furthermore, in the near future – early 2025 – we want to launch a new line for car washes, with which we are now doing the final tests, but I don’t want to say too much about that yet. What I can say is that we have just released a new wax with high fragrance. Because that is becoming more and more important after all, that fragrance experience.”
Dry car is important
For Polish manufacturer Euro-Ekol, coming to SHINE is a home game. Poland is obviously their largest market, with as many as 700 self-service car washes spread across the country. Most of these locations are stand-alone car washes; only 50 are linked to a gas station. In addition, Euro-Ekol works with distributors in several Central European countries, such as Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Georgia and Russia.
At the booth, the focus was on the washbox constructions supplied by Euro-Ekol and the Euro-dry, a machine that works with disposable drying cloths. In many Central European countries, customers find it important that their cars are not only clean, but also dry. According to the company, this machine offers the perfect solution for that. The investment of 3,500 euros is quickly recouped, according to the manufacturer. “In Poland, the machine generates 200 euros per month, while in Georgia, where customers attach even more importance to a dry car, that rises to 4,000 euros per month.”
“Huge potential”
Cleanbuild was also present at the event and caught the attention of many a visitor with their plastic panels and wall systems. “Poland is a sales market where we are not yet very active, but it connects enormously well with markets that are important to us, such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania,” say Cleanbuild’s Bart Bloemendal and George de Jong. In these Central European countries, the company works mostly with oil companies.
The market in Poland is “very interesting” for Cleanbuild. They see a shift toward more quality and a growing need for innovation. “In many Central European countries, including Poland, prosperity is increasing. The infrastructure is good, many people have cars, and the demand for good carwashes is rising.”
Detailing business
Allegrini, an Italian company specializing in chemicals and carcare products, was also present at SHINE. On their booth, the Polish distributor was ready to answer questions from interested visitors. From the Polish market, they see a growing interest in the detailing sector and great potential, both in direct sales and through companies. Still, the sector is inhibited by the situation in Ukraine, making consumers and entrepreneurs more cautious about spending and investing.
Focus on low-maintenance brushes
BrushTec, a company of Czech origin, supplies its brushes throughout Europe. In Poland, they have an important partnership with oil company Orlen, which operates a network of gas stations throughout the country. At these gas stations, Christ installations are equipped with BrushTec’s brushes. At the moment, according to the supplier, there is high demand for brushes with an intelligent click system, which enables significant savings on maintenance. Thanks to this system, carwash operators can easily remove and reattach the brushes, reducing maintenance time from 3.5 hours to just 1.5 hours.
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