ISSUISSUISSUISSUE 2 VOLUME 23 E 2 VOLUME 23 E 2 VOLUME 23 E 2 VOLUME 23 WINTER WINTER WINTER WINTER 2016201620162016

� www.acwa.net.au � www.wheretowashmycar.com.au � www.waterratingscheme.net.au

Australian

CARING FOR YOUR CAR CAR ING FOR YOUR CAR CAR ING FOR YOUR CAR CAR ING FOR YOUR CAR AND THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENT

AssociationAssociationAssociation Car Wash

AUSTRALIAN CAR WASH ASSOCIATION ABN 68 140 680 039 P O Box 4390, Langwarrin, VIC 3910 T: 1300 00 2292 F: 03 9011 6229 M: 0400 070 417 E: contact@acwa.net.au W: www.acwa.net.au

ACWA EVENT ACWA EVENT ACWA EVENT ACWA EVENT Tuesday 9 August 2016

The new banknote rolloutThe new banknote rolloutThe new banknote rolloutThe new banknote rollout Are you going to be ready? Do you know all the details? How will you get the necessary new software ?

Displays 3Displays 3Displays 3Displays 3————5pm 5pm 5pm 5pm meet and network with suppliers at

their tabletop displays — see new trends

Presentations 5Presentations 5Presentations 5Presentations 5----6.30pm 6.30pm 6.30pm 6.30pm state of the industry

presentation, agm, drought protection, new bank

notes, open discussion on implementing new note

software, site promotion

6.30pm drinks 7.30 seated for dinner 6.30pm drinks 7.30 seated for dinner 6.30pm drinks 7.30 seated for dinner 6.30pm drinks 7.30 seated for dinner

Western Australia Carwash Meeting Wednesday 24 August

South Australia Carwash Meeting

Venue and date to be advised shortly

REGISTRATION RSVP FORM INSIDE

YOU ARE INVITED

See Bank Notes

UPDATE on back page

President’s Report

Although it has been a pleasure to have held

the ACWA Presidency these past three years,

I will not be standing again this year. The decision is

based purely on the increased work load in my other

hospitality and tourism businesses.

There has been a great deal achieved in the past few

years which would not have been possible if not for your

Board of volunteers and our wonderful staff in Diane,

Fiona and team. Although the staff are paid, every one of them goes

above and beyond their remunera!on for the benefit of all of us and I

thank them sincerely for this.

I encourage as many of you as possible to a#end our AGM and EVENT

next month. I hope to see your there.

Cheers, Darren

MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS

All Australian Car Wash Association and Water Rating Scheme membership renewal

invoices have been emailed If you did not receive your renewal please

email accounts@acwa.net.au

Pay In Full before 31 July and DEDUCT 5% Discount

off your Invoice

2 x HELPLINES for ACWA MEMBERS

just a phone call away

Its COLD outside !

Sold or Bought a Site? Got a large bay?

Have dog wash/es? Does your site have a

Website or Facebook page?

Make sure you are promoted

and displayed correctly on

www.wheretowashmycar.com.au

The Stormwater Pollution Campaign has taken wings …..

The promotion of the Stormwater Pollution campaign to environmental and regulatory organisations outside ACWA has been received with enthusiasm and Diane Ross, our CEO, has been invited to present on the subject at three national conferences in the next few months:

⇒ Stormwater Association in Brisbane (with Richard Holloway) at the end of August;

⇒ Australian Association of Environmental Educators Conference in Adelaide in October;

⇒ Environmental Health Association Conference in Tasmania in November.

While at these conferences, Diane will make contact with key people in each State, in consultation with local Board members. It all helps to build the image of commercial car washes as part of an environmentally strong and valuable industry, useful if we ever have to negotiate drought regulations again in the future. The Dirty Truth brochure was included as a satchel item to all delegates at the Australian Local Government Association ALGA National Assembly in June reaching 800 senior local government officials. Several of these officials have made contact with ACWA in the last few weeks, following that conference.

Some ACWA members have promoted the campaign well and received benefits from it.

David Kirk in northern NSW has worked with his local Council and has achieved a great spread for the campaign on their website;

Rhys Lyster in regional VIC was invited to address the Wangaratta Business Forum and received the Best Small Business award for his work on the campaign.

Diane Ross in metro Melb received a local Council community leadership award and has had great support from local schools and sports clubs.

We’d like to hear from any other members who are growing their businesses by promoting both the stormwater pollution and water efficiency benefits of using a commercial car wash email your news to contact@acwa.net.au

Canberra Minus 9 degrees

Yes! That is a tap with

frozen water; and Yes!

That is ice on the ground; and

the soap freezes as it hits the

morning air !

“A CARWASH - INSTANT EASY CASH”.....Ha ha ha ha ha!!

Rob and Janet Bassett-Smith, Carwash Springvale 1995-2016

Rob had a Property Valuation practice that was savagely affected by the financial crash of Pyramid in the 1990s

and a State Government that was broke. Under the new Premier Jeff Kennett, councils were amalgamated, jobs

were slashed and financial restructuring took place.

As a consequence, with three young children, Rob and Janet needed additional income to survive.

What better than to buy a Carlover’s Carwash franchise with “instant cash”.....just empty the vaults, top up the

soaps and empty the rubbish bins..... no training required.!!

In 1995 there were only a handful of self serve carwashes in Melbourne. We first considered redeveloping our

own site, but with Town Planning, construction delays and unforeseen costs, it would have been 2 to 3 years

before we saw any cash. Our selection criteria then came down to a readymade car wash on a high exposure site

offering a long term alternative for redevelopment. The carwash we bought had 6 self serve bays and was

located on a major corner.

We erected a large detailing shelter shed over the vacuum bays and fitted a coin operated “Extreme” steam

cleaner (great when it worked!).

It was a steep learning curve! There were the usual equipment failures/break downs, extensive repairs and

maintenance, vandalism and theft. We installed security cameras (these managed to catch the man who picked

up/stole the taxi driver’s takings after he’d put them on the roof of his Taxi whilst vacuuming then drove off).

And there were the usual problems of lack of affordable parts, a low socio economic area, several new local car

washes opening up, severe price discounting by neighbouring carwashes etc. Although quite hard for us at the

time, we kept up our high standards and prices. Having the site manned between 9am and 5pm every day meant

there was someone on hand to assist customers and to keep the place operational and presentable at all times.

In 1997 Rob suggested to Sandy Kirkhope (Burwood CarLovers) and Ron Russell (Taylors Lakes CarLovers) that we

do a bulk purchase to import and install three single Laserwashes. This was a much cheaper option than asking

CarLovers to install them. This we duly did. The CarLovers Franchise didn’t work out and we soon became an

independent car wash (CarLovers eventually collapsed, the Administrator jailed).

Apart from ourselves, our staff consisted of various managers and university students.

The business took an enormous toll on Rob who was burning the candle both ends - with his valuation practice

he was travelling 70,000Kms per year on the road inspecting properties, as well as overseeing the carwash. Rob

effectively became burnt out, suffering from CFS followed by a heart attack, his 50th

Birthday spent in Hospital.

He recovered, and not to be held back, ordered a second Laserwash in late 2002, our site becoming the first in

Victoria with dual Laserwashes. In 2010 we replaced both Lasers with a pair of Laserwash 360s complete with

dryers. More recently the Laser Glow 360 Wash was installed together with the tap’n’go credit card system.

Water restrictions in 2004 allowed us to make a good margin for the first time. However the government’s thinking of closing car washes completely

if tougher restrictions were reached was a worry. At the time Rob, Diane Ross, Tony Stevens and Reg Leonard worked hard to prevent these closures

but luckily the drought broke so we were all saved as were our million dollar plus bank loans.

Rob, having noticed that the local market gardeners were still watering their crops, investigated and decided that perhaps a bore would be a good thing.

The bore at 200ft was an expensive insurance policy making our site drought proof. We had 70,000 litres of storage tanks and the water tested almost

pure. It was further treated and combined with roof rain water, RO reject recycled water and some town water.

In 2005 we attended the car wash convention in San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A. where we purchased two dog wash systems. Unfortunately it appeared that

Springvale was not really enough of a dog area to make it worthwhile.

Rob was one of the founding members of the Carwash Association (ACWA) holding the office of VicePresident and was the first environmental spokesman.

We enjoyed meeting many

and varied people in the car

wash industry over the 21

years.

We really appreciate the

overall support given by

ACWA and the suppliers,

especially the team

relationship through Scott

Bristow of Prowash,

Adam Stone of Washworkz,

Diane Ross and the ACWA

community.

The Australian Car Wash Association, the editor or the printers are not responsible for the accuracy of information contained in the text of the newsletter pages or of any advertisement flyers inserted

AC Techart Electronics is a one-stop shop for all your LED requirements.

Our products cover all lighting sectors which include - Industrial, Commercial, Domestic and Architectural lighting. We also provide an on-site LED lighting consultation and customised design service

to provide special made to order LED lights or Systems. This service is carried out by our Melbourne Office. We have numerous satisfied customers within the car wash industry, whom you are welcome to call and ask, before purchase.

Call us now for a meeting at your carwash with a display on what we can do for you. Email mark@actechart.com.au or call office: 03 8759 0018

Managing your Legionella Risk There is a very real risk of Legionella lurking in your car wash water. In 2008 6 Victorians contracted Legionnaires disease from a Melbourne car wash.

The Public Health and Wellbeing Act specifically mentions commercial vehicle washes as a Legionella risk and places a legal obligation upon the "responsible person" to manage these risks. Integra Water Treatment Services has been helping businesses deal with Legionella for decades. We offer a comprehensive range of products and services, including non-chlorinated water disinfection and water

filtration systems. We can even service your current system. To protect your customers, your staff, your reputation and your bottom line, call Integra 03 92085 8888 or a free Legionella test, complimentary risk assessment and tailored solution package.

As the energy partner of the ACWA, Make It Cheaper would like to run a free bill comparison for you.

Their free energy health-check compares your current retailer against

the competitive rates they have negotiated with their panel of energy retailers to find you a better deal.

Email your bill to: acwa@makeitcheaper.com.au Call 02 8880 5521 for a free quote.

INTRODUCING 3 NEW ACWA SUPPLIERS

AUSTRALIA’S NEW BANK NOTES – LATEST UPDATE

The first new bank note – the $5 note – will be released by the Reserve Bank on 1st September.

All note readers will have to be updated with the new software so that they can accept the new notes. Some old note readers will have to be replaced if they cannot accept the new software program.

New software will have to be developed each year for the next few years as each new bank note is issued by the Reserve Bank.

The three main note acceptor manufacturers in Australia are Microsystem Controls, MEI (MARS) and ICT. These companies have already developed and tested the software required to update their note readers for the new $5 note.

The program to perform the upgrade will be on a dongle (a USB or similar) provided by the equipment manufacturers.

A software upgrade credit is required for each note reader on site. Credits are loaded on to the dongle – as many as needed.

The major ACWA equipment suppliers will have dongles and credits available for site upgrades for their customers.

You have three options for upgrading your note readers, all of which will involve charges….

∗ Contact the manufacturer of your note readers to purchase a dongle and credits from them, along with

instructions on the procedure to complete the upgrade yourself.

∗ Send your note readers to the manufacturer for them to do the upgrade for you.

∗ Contact your equipment supplier to discuss the above two options with them – or to have them visit your

site to do the upgrade.

Note that equipment suppliers will be at the AGM and State meetings in July and August, so that you can discuss the options with them in person.