Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 13, 1994 TAG: 9401140040
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By NANCY GLEINER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Roanokers Michael Hunter and Thomas Daniels have taken the old-fashioned car wash into high-tech territory. Their business, Car Wash On Wheels Inc., is just that - a self-contained mobile unit that does everything a stationary car wash does, but it comes to you.
The car-washing vehicle, as Hunter and Daniels call Daniels' invention, provides personal service to professionally clean any vehicle, inside and out - even the engine - wherever it is parked. The two men do most of the work by hand.
``This is something so new,'' Hunter says, ``people don't understand it. But it really is just what it says.''
Car detailing services, as this convenience is called, have sprung up in many areas over the past few years, but this one is different because it's self-contained. It's so different, in fact, that the two partners have a patent pending.
Rob Storch, editor of Auto Laundry News, a car-wash trade journal, says the concept is so new, ``I've never heard of anything like it.''
With the recent snows, concern with removal of road salt and chemicals from vehicles has created long lines at many conventional car washes. But Car Wash On Wheels recommends elbow grease as the key for proper winter auto exterior maintenance.
``You really need manual labor to get to the worst parts,'' Daniels says. Car washes often don't thoroughly clean the undercarriage and fender wells, the most likely spots for corrosion from road surface treatments.
For 15 years, while working evenings as a custodian and maintenance worker, Hunter had a part-time business driving customers' cars to car washes. He wanted to find a more efficient way to build up the business, which started from just two notices placed on doctors' cars.
It took three years for Hunter and Daniels to design and rebuild a dilapidated van. Daniels did a little of the work each day after working at Richardson-Wayland Electrical Corp., where he learned about business management and finances. He also studied pressure washers, square footage and weight-bearing limits.
When he was laid off in July 1992, he devoted himself full time to his invention and to launching Car Wash On Wheels.
``Since we are doing everything ourselves, we've had to learn as we go,'' Daniels says. ``We've learned you need to check out things for yourself and don't rely on other sources for information.''
``We've tried to do everything right,'' Hunter says. ``That way, no one can come back at us.''
The partners have been careful to incorporate, to obtain all necessary licenses, permits and insurance, and to use biodegradable detergents.
The hardest part of birthing a business is knowing what questions to ask, the men said. It has taken a lot of legwork, phone calls and getting advice from contacts, and ``a big part of it has been sticking together through thick and thin,'' Hunter says.
The two men didn't realize they should apply for a patent until a customer told them such a good idea should be protected from being copied. Now they even have applications for patents in foreign countries.
Getting insurance also was difficult; the concept was so new, there were no categories for it.
The Car Wash On Wheels van includes a 220-gallon water tank; a compressor to siphon water; a gasoline-powered generator to run the compressor, electric polisher/buffer and portable vacuum; and a premixed soap tank. Ladders can be placed on the steel mesh platform mounted on the roof of the van for washing larger vehicles, decks and even buildings. The high-pressure washer will even clear snow from sidewalks.
The vehicle is also equipped with safety features, including a fire extinguisher, traffic cones, backup alarm and yellow caution light on top.
After 18 months, Car Wash On Wheels has a number of regular customers, from individuals and businesses to car dealers' lots. Some workplaces have sign-up sheets posted. Employees leave their keys at the front desk - if they want interior work done - and their cars will be spotless, never having been moved from where they left it, at the end of the day.
During the normally slower winter months, the two partners keep busy clearing snow and ice from sidewalks in front of local businesses as well as cleaning awnings, doorways, exterior sign and windows.
Because Hunter and Daniels stress personal service, customer satisfaction is high. But seeing is believing.
Daniels considers his invention a prototype and has another concept for a smaller van with more high-tech equipment. Ideally, the men would like to either design more vans and sell them, perhaps to conventional car washes, or sell the rights to their patent to a large automaker.
At a recent International Car Wash Association convention, Hunter and Daniels received an overwhelming response to their vehicle from suppliers, distributors and manufacturers. Two national trade magazines were vying for a story on the invention.
The men are negotiating with a marketing firm in North Carolina and are planning a video to show at future conferences because, ``you can't really understand what it is until you see it in operation,'' Daniels said.
By the way, those ladies with the curlers in their hair had their cars cleaned, too - while their hair was drying.
by CNB