The International Carwash Association (ICA) recently featured Momentum Car Wash Specialists in its article, The Winning Car Wash Playbook, highlighting the trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping the future of the car wash industry.
As part of the article, Momentum's Chris Hovinga shared his perspective on how rising construction costs, changing capital markets, automation, and membership growth are transforming the way operators build and grow their businesses. While much of the industry conversation has focused on expansion, our view is that some of the biggest opportunities today exist inside the four walls of existing operations.
Read the original ICA article:
https://www.carwash.org/car-wash-magazine-complimentary-content/the-winning-car-wash-playbook
Key Quotes from the Article
"The car wash industry looks very different today than it did five years ago. The post-pandemic world, rising construction costs, and a dramatic shift in interest rates have reshaped how operators build, invest, and grow."
"Some of the smartest operators are putting capital to work inside their existing footprints. They're upgrading equipment, improving site flow, increasing capacity, and investing in technology that drives throughput without adding headcount."
"The single biggest shift in the business over the last five years isn't operational—it's the membership model."
"The bar has been raised. Customers are more sophisticated, competition is more intense, and the margin for operational sloppiness is thinner than it used to be."
Why Memberships Continue to Matter
Unlimited membership programs have fundamentally changed the economics of the car wash business. What was once a weather-dependent industry is increasingly driven by recurring monthly revenue.
Strong membership programs provide predictable cash flow, improve customer retention, increase site valuations, and create a more stable operating environment. The operators seeing the most success today aren't simply selling washes—they're building relationships that keep customers engaged month after month.
As competition increases, membership growth becomes less about discounts and more about delivering a consistently great experience. Site appearance, wash quality, speed, technology, and customer service all contribute to a customer's decision to stay enrolled.
Automation is No Longer Optional
Labor challenges continue to affect operators across North America. At the same time, customers expect a faster, more seamless experience than ever before.
Automation allows operators to improve consistency while reducing dependence on labor-intensive processes. Modern payment systems, license plate recognition, automated chemical delivery, tunnel controls, and advanced monitoring tools help sites operate more efficiently while improving the customer experience.
The goal isn't to remove people from the process. The goal is to allow employees to focus on higher-value customer interactions while technology handles repetitive tasks more effectively.
Operators who embrace automation strategically are often able to increase throughput, reduce downtime, and improve profitability without expanding their footprint.
The Biggest Opportunity: Optimizing Existing Sites
The industry spent years focused on development and expansion. Today, many operators are finding stronger returns by improving the assets they already own.
Increasing conveyor speed, eliminating bottlenecks, improving vacuum layouts, upgrading aging equipment, reducing maintenance downtime, improving traffic flow, and enhancing customer experience can often produce significant gains without the cost and risk of a new build.
The operators creating the most long-term value are continually reinvesting in their facilities. They understand that equipment upgrades, membership growth, automation, and customer experience are all connected.
Better operations lead to happier customers. Happier customers lead to stronger membership growth. Stronger memberships generate cash flow that can be reinvested back into the site.
That continuous improvement cycle is what separates industry leaders from everyone else.
At Momentum Car Wash Specialists, we believe the future belongs to operators who focus relentlessly on maximizing the performance of every asset they own. Whether through equipment upgrades, capacity improvements, automation, or membership growth strategies, the opportunity isn't simply to build more car washes—it's to make existing car washes perform better than ever before.
