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The spin cycle
Erin McPhee
writer2@nsnews.com
Suds up your car, bike or dog in a day, at one location, for a low price, and at a facility that's environmentally friendly.
That's the promise of a new North Vancouver-based franchise currently under development.
Geoff Baker and his business partner/fiance, Laura-Lee Normandeau - both of whom have a diverse entrepreneurial background - are the co-founders of Easywash Inc. The pair decided to develop the business following a time-consuming, costly and ultimately unsuccessful trip to Vancouver to get their own car cleaned by a touchless wash.
"There's a demand for car washing in North Vancouver that's undersupplied at this point," said Baker, who is also acting as the company's president. "There's not a lot of carwashes when you look at the population base."
Baker said the isolation of a prime piece of North Shore property also influenced their decision.
"With the car wash business it's all about the location," said Baker. "We were able to secure a phenomenal piece of property for our first site, it's perfectly suited for a carwash, so it just made sense to do it here."
Their first Easywash location will be at 1501 Main St., at Mountain Highway near the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing. Construction will soon be underway at the site with an expected opening date in late January or early February. However, the new business won't start and end there.
"It's being built as what they call a franchise model," said Baker.
The North Van location will act as Easywash's corporate headquarters and will be used to train and work with new franchise operators.
"Our goal is by 2010 we want to have a presence in every major city in the country," said Baker.
Over the next 10 years Baker and Normandeau are looking at opening more than 200 locations across Canada.
"It's really a fragmented industry that needs someone like us to come in with a concept and a brand and to roll it out on a large scale," said Baker.
Baker said they worked hard to figure out a means of setting themselves up as players against the "big boys."
"The oil companies are the largest provider of carwashing services in the country," he said. "How do you compete against that type of competitor? You need to differentiate yourself from the rest of the market."
Easywash is being designed to allow customers to see a lot more green. The facility promises to offer an "extreme value" $5 express wash to consumers on the go, as well is following an environmental stewardship business model.
Customers looking to take advantage of a low cost for a high-quality service, as well as those who take a different look at the environment and the world they live in and want to make cognizant choices about the companies they do business with, will be well served by Easywash, said Baker.
Their goal is to set Easywash up as the world's most eco-friendly car wash franchise. They are aiming to have their building LEED Canada certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), which is a national rating system acknowledging green building practices.
One such measure is related to water consumption, which is becoming a concern in the Lower Mainland - particularly in the summer months. In past years significant restrictions were placed on users, said Baker. Easywash won't be using GVRD water to wash cars. They'll be taking water from an onsite well. The ground water will be processed, used to wash cars, then recycled.
"By not using GVRD water to wash cars, I think we're doing a real benefit to the area," Baker said.
Based on their plans, he said he expects their facility to save more than 25 million litres of water per year.
"From a business perspective, if you look at dollar for dollar, there's a lot of savings to be had by going eco-friendly as far as expenses and energy consumption," said Baker. "But most people don't look at business from that point of view - they only look at the bottom line and the upfront costs, but there's a long term benefit to being eco-friendly."
The services Easywash offer include mainly automated processes.
"With today's hectic lifestyles we were looking for products to make people's lives easy," said Baker.
Vehicle wash packages will range from $5 to $15, taking anywhere from two-and-a-half to four-and-a-half minutes.
Vacuums and other interior cleaning products will be offered, as well as a vending centre.
The facility will also offer more than just vehicle washing services. Baker said their design has taken its cues from local needs and interests.
"There are two distinct parts that make us different from every other car wash out there," said Baker.
To that end, a mountain bike wash service will be offered to assist in the removal of dirt and grime from trail riding.
"We also have Western Canada's first automated dog wash," he said. "It sounds crazy but it washes your dog, and it was designed by a pet psychologist so it's very safe for the dog."
Baker said they estimate this initiative is an approximately $4-million project.
For more information, phone 1-888-ECO-FRIENDLY (1-888-326-3743) or visit www.easywash.ca.
The Face of Business is a regular feature of the North Shore News that focuses on business leaders and/or entrepreneurs who live or work on the North Shore. For more information or to suggest an interesting topic for an upcoming column, send information by e-mail to jsorensen@nsnews.com or fax details to 604-985-2104.
published on 09/18/2005
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