high-tech ones. they are conceived in a
3-d environment using stainless steel,
aluminum, polycarbonate and hardened
glass materials. their models can be found
in belgium, the netherlands, france,
germany, great britain, italy, scandinavia
and other european locales, and now an
american location is added to the list in
Clifton forge, virginia.
the Clifton forge building is a
combination of an automatic and a
self-serve wash. its owners are clearly
enthusiastic.
"i love it," says owner Matt garten. "it's a
real eye-catcher."
the garten family has been involved
in several businesses involving real estate,
car sales, and an auction house since the
1970s. Matt and dizzy garten graduated
from college in 2004 and went into the car
wash business. they own three pre-existing
traditional brick washes in Covington,
virginia.
the new Cavale car wash was a result
of their desire for "something new,
eye-appealing, and clean looking," says
Matt. also, maintenance has been easy
so far, he says. "you just have to wash the
windows off."
"there are other car washes in the area
says. "it's drawn a lot of attention."
Jonathan braun of Washtech, who
sold the wash to the garten brothers,
appreciates its unique european design:
glass, futuristic, curvy. "you can pick any
color in the world, glass color, stainless
steel or regular steel. they are very quick
to put up--after the concrete pad is set,
we can have the building up in a week,
whereas a block or concrete wash would
take a month or two."
braun also talks about the benefits of
tax saving, explaining that the washes can
be depreciated like equipment because
they are considered equipment, not a
building.
art, inspiration, technology and
efficiency have brought a new contender
to the car wash industry in america. a
trend to watch and in this case enjoy.
distinguished background as a writer
and editor. She lives in the annapolis,
Maryland, area.
States; located in Clifton Forge,
Virginia.
Building Components, LLC