Gallery
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ — The 35th Northeast Regional Carwash Convention (NRCC), at the Atlantic City Convention Center, continued to raise its educational bar and showcase the industry’s best suppliers and manufacturers, October 6-8, to a crowd of nearly 1800. “As we wrap the 35th NRCC, I want to thank and congratulate the NRCC board, suppliers, manufacturers and attendees for helping us raise the bar yet again,” said Co-Chairman Walt Hartl of Hoffman Car Wash in Albany, NY, and the New York State Car Wash Association, this year’s host. “This show offers outstanding networking opportunities with the Simoniz and ICS events, that were standing-room only, and open to all attendees and vendors,” he said. “It also features exceptional educational tracks with topics covering website design, how to increase sales and the importance of having difficult conversations with your staff and customers, to name just a few.” Added Hartl, “Top that off with an engaging and charismatic Keynote from WD-40’s Garry Ridge on how his ‘Any Dumbass Can Do It’ approach to leading can be applied in multi, as well as a single-location washes, and you have a great formula for success.”
WD-40’s Garry Ridge Keynotes
Expanded Education
Always striving for a better and more comprehensive show drives the NRCC board to push the envelope annually, said Co-Chair Chris Kubarek of K & S Car Wash in Auburn, NY. “We strive every year to improve not only the exhibit floor, but our world-class education and this year we tried to spotlight self-service programming.” In doing so, the NRCC teamed up with self-service experts Kleen-Rite Corporation to put together two seminars that would appeal to that market. “We wanted to expand our footprint and make sure to provide our self-service and inbay attendees with cutting-edge education,” said Education Chair Suzanne Stansbury. “The programs our partners put together were non-promotional and really addressed the current concerns facing the market, while spotlighting the innovation available to build volume and profits. The collaboration was a home run we plan to further expand upon in 2026.”
At one point during the education track on Tuesday there were three concurrent seminars to again address the needs of several industry segments, as well as younger managers. “We expanded our Manager’s Track with a program put on by Retired Colonel Pilar McDermott of Thayer Leadership who spoke to how to have difficult conversations at the manager level,” said Stansbury. “It was such a success that we plan to bring Col. McDermott back in 2026. She was impressive.”
During that segment of programming Kyle Doyle with IgniteWash/Rinsed spoke on effective sales presentations and what the best run teams are doing to achieve maximum profits for our tunnel operators, and Keith Lutz with Kleen-Rite ran a self-serve program featuring what successful operators are doing to drive volume and create customer loyalty. And, of course, the popular Virtual Carwash Tour spotlighted four outstanding operations to kick off the event and let’s not forget about the traditional Early Bird Panel that touches on all aspects of washing on Tuesday morning.
crowd mike mel ohl
Networking Abounds
A staple of the three-day event, as Hartl mentioned, is its networking opportunities which are open to all attendees and vendors no matter their level of registration. The first event included a “Celebration” put on by Simoniz USA on Monday evening at the Hard Rock’s Hollywood Ballroom attracting more than 500 attendees. “What a great event,” said Will Gorra, Simoniz USA CEO. “We look forward to it every year and couldn’t do it without the NRCC. We truly value that relationship.”
The show’s Welcome Reception, sponsored by long-time exhibitor ICS, is an opportunity to unwind after show hours on Tuesday before heading out to dinner. The event includes ‘Jersey snacks, two drinks and several raffle prizes including a $500 cash giveaway. This year’s cash winner was Professional Carwashing & Detailing’s Rich DiPaolo.
ICS’ long-term relationship with the NRCC on this event has been integral in the show’s success. “ICS has sponsored the Welcome Reception for many years,” said Scott Friedman, Marketing Director at OPW Vehicle Wash Solutions (ICS, PDQ, Belanger and Turtle Wax Pro). “We’re exceptionally proud of our close and long relationship with the NRCC and this event enables us to show our appreciation for our industry and the people who make it special.”
ics welcome reception
Intimate Show
But what also makes the NRCC a truly unique event is its welcoming and intimate nature, according to first-time attendees Denisa and JD Goad. “We had a great time and got to meet a lot of people who were so sharing and generous to us as we are new to the industry,” said Denisa. “We really enjoyed the social aspect of the show, the food was really impressive, but what really stood out was just how welcomed we were made to feel. We have never felt so welcomed.”
denise, jd gode, va, pcd
Sponsors
