All good things come in threes
OMV-petrol station in Bietigheim Bissingen, Matthias Breier
Matthias Breier owns the OMV flagged petrol station in Swabian Bietigheim-Bissingen - eight-lane head-end station, modernly furnished and clearly structured shop, bistro with fresh and classic food, cosy lounge area, slot machine as a lucky charm. "As a little boy I never wanted to be a gas station attendant, like other children I wanted to be a fireman", he begins his story with a clear Swabian accent. "The formerly well-functioning business of a car repair shop with Bosch service of his parents was no longer up to date. "I was wondering what to do with the location here in Bietigheim-Bissingen." Matthias Breier thought about possible and sensible business models, analysed the location and came to the conclusion in 2003 that he should choose between a car dealership and a petrol station. He then spoke and negotiated with automobile manufacturers and oil companies.
The petrol station project was finally awarded the contract. After that "we first had to convince the city representatives of Bietigheim to be allowed to build a petrol station with a car wash on the property here at Stuttgarter Street 150". At that time his thoughts were also aimed at running a fast food business next to a petrol station and a shop. "But the city was completely against it," Matthias Breier says today. "For the petrol station and car wash I finally got the green light especially because there was not a single open station throughout the year on the right and left side of the national road. A situation which he did not find contemporary at all.
Demolition and new construction
Matthias Breier did not want to exaggerate with this business and overspend himself. Because "we were, are and will remain a small, completely normal family business. Against this background I am very glad that the land belongs to us." With the permission of the city administration in his pocket he first had the garage demolished. "We built everything ourselves." He concluded a supply contract with OMV in Germany, a wholly owned subsidiary of the international oil and gas company OMV stock company, to supply the petrol station with fuel. Construction work on the 24-hour petrol station began in 2004 and lasted only about a year. The petrol station and car wash opened in January 2005. Matthias Breier assumes that competitors in the immediate vicinity will have to give up their businesses in the coming years. Which is why he assumes today that this circumstance will bring him more customers.
Three times "Yes" for Christ
The committed owner of the petrol station completed his services under the tank roof and in the shop with a modern efficient car wash. The decision for a modern and powerful roll over wash unit was clear right from the start. "When we started planning 16 years ago, I also negotiated with other car wash manufacturers. Neither could they convince me nor make me change my mind. So I stuck to my choice for Christ." The first roll over wash unit Matthias Breier bought was a PRIMUS C150 with adjustable side blower. Then followed a CENTUS with powerful equipment at that time. His decision for the third and thus current unit is called VARIO SPEED with extensive equipment features. These include a 140 degree swivelling roof blower with Opti Air function, XL-wheel washer for up to 21 inch wheels, 16 bar high-pressure prewash, SENSOFIL+ gentle wash material. "I only hear positive things about the innovative roll over wash unit from the customers," says Matthias Breier, adding against this background that "the wash chemistry naturally also is from Christ. I assume that a leading manufacturer of wash systems is also in a position to supply the right chemicals for the system technology in order to achieve the best possible cleaning, care and drying result," estimates Matthias Breier. "This has to be reasonably coordinated and has to simply fit together."
Conceptionally thought it through
Of course, his "Top Wash" concept also had to fit in. Matthias Breier relied on a wash programme trio. "I offer a simple quick wash, one high quality and one premium wash with underchassis wash" and named it "Premium", "Quality" and "Quick". Customers who choose the high quality wash will receive active foam application, high-pressure prewash and high-pressure wheel wash, underchassis wash, wash, drying, PROTECT SHINE. Thanks to its repair effect and premium lacquer protection, the NANO shine polish from the extensive Christ Car Care product family perfectly fills, closes or seals the high-low structures of the vehicle's lacquer surfaces. When used several times the protective structure becomes more stable and resistant to environmental influences. The five Euro cheaper quality programme supplies the lacquers with FOAM WAX (Universal) foam wax and gives them a visible shine. For customers wanting a simple quick wash Matthias Breier offers active foam, wheel wash, wash and drying.
Best-selling middle
The clear programme structure helps car wash customers to make their choice. "Our customers are well provided for. I know, of course, that we cannot please all customers. The great overall positive response we have received from the clients since the VARIO SPEED went into operation shows us that I made a wise decision with the Christ roll over technology and our wash concept. Of course, it would be strange if a new car wash system were suddenly worse than the old one," jokes Breier. When asking which wash programmes the customers usually choose, Matthias Breier answers: "Mainly different kind of companies but also car dealers come to us. They basically drive up every second day, choose the cheapest car wash each time, in order to always be on the road with clean vehicles. Regardless of that, I'm actually quite sure that we are pretty close to the middle wash programme with our three programmes we offer and which is our best-selling one. The customer wants to wash and take care of is vehicle and does not want training for this. After the wash he just wants a perfectly clean car."
Searched and found
Before Matthias Breier decided on his wash concept, he looked at his surroundings and at locations further away, wanted to know which technology other plant operators use to wash vehicles. "I also checked their wash quality, stopped the washing times, assessed their effort." In his opinion, the cheapest wash should not take 20 minutes because it is unprofitable. "With the possibilities of Christ technology, I offer customers fast, thorough and best washes with good drying results."
The water treatment system is also from Christ. The Christ FONTIS-S5 with quartz gravel filter, developed and produced for use in car washes, guarantees Matthias Breier to treat used wash water in such a way that it can be almost completely reused again. The extremely resource-conserving handling of the precious water saves considerable consumption costs. In addition, a well-functioning service water circuit prevents smelling unpleasantly out of the wash hall. Furthermore, the settings of the wash chemistry, wash brushes, roll over wash system and wash hall are much slower to adjust. Matthias Breier says: "specialist companies carry out the basic cleaning every three months. We are in charge of the maintenance cleaning work ourselves. "We check and refill the wash chemicals ourselves if necessary. Our job is also to control the water treatment. A service technician comes regularly and - if necessary - takes care of the settings, for example on the dosing pumps."
Matthias Breier: "We renew the roll over wash system every seven years. Christ takes them back again and we take the good experiences we had during the many washes with us."
Bernd Fiehöfer, Feb. 2019
Otto Christ AG - The Real Car Wash Factory
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