California’s largest independently owned car wash company continues to grow. And with that success has come additional community recognition in the form of a prestigious business award.

Prime Shine now has 17 car washes in San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Merced counties after opening its second facility in Manteca on Sept. 1. Two more sites still in the development stage are expected to launch in 2017.

Prime Shine also recently received the first-ever Excellence in Business Award from The Modesto Bee newspaper, which is part of the McClatchy Company. The judges selected Prime Shine out of potentially thousands of other companies in the retail/wholesale/general business category.

Prime’s Shine’s expansion and community recognition comes as the company celebrates its 25th anniversary. Starting from a single location in Modesto in 1991, Prime Shine has grown into one of the 15 largest car wash companies in the country and now has 180 employees.

“We take our responsibility toward our environment and water usage very seriously,” said Evan Porges Prime Shine’s president and the son of company founder Norm Porges. “The drought certainly has given us another reason to continue to evaluate and improve on what we do.”