Consumer Services
Henry Richard
General partner, Car Wash Technologies
Smart Business Pittsburgh | October 2007
Technological wizardry has done wonders when it comes to providing convenience in the modern motor vehicle. At the
leading edge are cars that virtually park
themselves, and the time between introduction and ubiquitous availability for
most advances is closing with each new
innovation.
But a sedan or an SUV that keeps itself
clean has yet to roll off any assembly line,
and it’s unlikely that one will be on the horizon any time soon.
That fact hasn’t been lost on Henry
Richard, who has found a lucrative enterprise in providing products and services
to existing and prospective car wash
operators, a market he found was under-served. A veteran of the service station
business, Richard launched Car Wash
Technologies in Cranberry Township in
1998.
Car washes employ lots of motors and
moving parts, and the failure of even the
smallest component can bring the whole
system to a stop. More than anything
else, Richard found that operators needed a quick turnaround on service and
parts, something that wasn’t readily available. The key to Car Wash Technologies’
success has been fast response to service
calls, minimizing the time that a customer is out of action.
The business, on the Inc. 500 list of the
fastest-growing companies in 2004, has
expanded into providing turnkey services, including site selection, financing,
project management, installation, marketing and maintenance for entrepreneurs who want to open car wash facilities. Richard has grown the company,
which has enjoyed an annual revenue
growth rate of more than 25 percent, to
nearly 50 employees.
HOW TO REACH: Car W ash Technologies,
www.carwashtech.com
