The Southwest Car Wash Association’s Annual Convention and Car Wash Expo for 2019 took place in Arlington, TX Sunday, February 24 through Tuesday, February 26. It was another record-breaking event with more than 2,100 attendees, besting last year’s number of 1,985.
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| Roundtable discussions in progress.* |
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Michael Dominguez, senior vice president with MGM Resorts International and 30-year veteran of the hospitality industry, was the speaker at the CEO Leadership Forum, the opening session on Sunday. He shared his insights on trends and building new and different customer experiences.
During the general session on Monday morning, the association bestowed its highest honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award on Ben Alford of Benny’s Car Wash & Oil Change, Baton Rouge, LA. The family-owned business, started by Alford’s father in Florida in 1951 and relocated to Baton Rouge in 1953, has grown to eight locations with a ninth under construction. Alford is widely credited with introducing the express-exterior format to the American market following a trip to Europe where he studied the gated-access, free-self-vacuum concept. Alford is a past president of the Southeastern Car Wash Association and the International Carwash Association and has served on the SCWA board. In 2004 he was inducted into the ICA’s Car Wash Hall of Fame.
Divided into two areas, the tradeshow floor offered a total of 75,000 square feet of exhibit space occupied by more than 320 booths. In all, attendees had eight and a half hours to visit with vendors and gather information on the most recent innovations in commercial car washi
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| Attendees await the opening of the exhibits. |
On Monday, the Fast Track Roundtables, offering 15-minute discussions on a variety of subjects, were well attended. During the Car Wash Academy on Tuesday morning, 12 educational sessions were presented across three time slots. This year, auto-detailing education was integrated into the overall schedule.
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| Fun at Texas Live! during the Celebrate SCWA event.* |
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| Tradeshow floor.* |
The SCWA 2020 Convention & Expo is scheduled for January 29-31 at the Fort Worth Convention Center.
For further information, visit www.swcarwash.org or call the Southwest Car Wash Association at (800) 440-0644.
* Photo courtesy of the Southwest Car Wash Association.
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| Explanations at the Vaughan booth. | Simoniz makes your business shine. |
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| DRB, still inKNOWvating. | Washworld: soft touch Profile or touch-free Razor. |
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| Carolina Pride offers solutions. | Kleen-Rite, featuring Towels by Doctor Joe. |
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| MacNeil additions and retrofits. | Belanger lights up your wash. |
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| International Drying Corp answers questions. | Motor City Wash Works: kiss water droplets goodbye. |
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| Car washing’s biggest fan, Brian Campbell, has a question. | |