Have you ever visualized yourself owning a car wash business? There are so many things to think about! Where will I put it? How do I get started? How much will it cost? At Ryko, we can answer all those questions and more.

How do we do it? We go the extra mile and take every opportunity to help new car wash owners understand the industry, the business the products and services available to them. In our latest project we are partnering with QA Graphics, an Iowa-based interactive design firm, to build a 3D modeling tool that will help customers visualize what their car wash would look like when installed – both inside and out.

By using photorealistic graphics that accurately represent our CleanTouch rollover vehicle car wash system, we can illustrate to customers how their car wash station would look from the point of entry and overhead.

If you would you like more information about how Ryko can help you envision your new car wash, please contact your local Ryko Sales Representative.

As the number one provider of complete, end-to-end car wash system support we have nearly 300 factory trained field technicians who can address ANY issue occurring at ANY car wash ANY where in the United States. Even if you have a Mark VII or PDQ system, we can do be there.

Our national, direct service organization is made up of Ryko employed technicians who live and work in the areas they serve across the country. This helps us to ensure you get a faster response time when you need it most. There is no relying on outside vendors to service your equipment with Ryko. We do it ourselves!

Ryko service technician have an industry-leading average of nine years of experience and the necessary tools to ensure they get the job done right the first time. In fact, we spent over $1.4 million in 2011 to ensure that the most frequently used car wash parts are on our fleet of vans or in our regional warehouses. This includes many of the commonly needed Mark VII and other competitor’s parts. This has enabled us to have a more than a 90% first-time fix rate on all of our service calls over the last 8 months.

Sharing information and knowledge between our experienced technicians is just one of the many things that make Ryko the right choice to be your car wash partner. If you want us to help you build and operate a more profitable car wash and need more information on how to make that happen, contact your local Ryko Service Technician and let us help you make every wash count!

You have provided us with insight to make our people and overall business stronger and a new inspiration to innovate solutions that will hopefully make owners of Ryko systems more profitable.

We wish you a new year filled with hope, health, abundance and peace, along with a fresh beginning where we will work together to draw upon and apply what we’ve collectively learned this past year.

To you and yours, the happiest of holidays from Ryko Solutions, Inc.

The Children’s Christmas party has been a longstanding tradition at Ryko Solutions for more than 30 years and this year was no exception! Our celebration provides an opportunity for the families of all of our employees to get together and share in some well-deserved fun and frivolity.

This past weekend saw more than 70 children and their parents stop by Token’s Family Fun Center in West Des Moines to receive a hand selected gift, see Santa, play games and share in enjoyment of the holiday. From toddlers to teenagers to over exuberant dads, everyone seemed to have a fantastic time. There were video games, multiple rounds of lazer tag, glow in-the-dark golf, and…according to some in attendance…perhaps one too many rounds of Dance Dance Revolution.

We mustn’t forget the epic lazer tag battles of 2011 in which Steve L’Heureux, Joe Ivy, Rand Blair, Warren Bruce, Kelly Wadsworth, Brent Thomas and Roger McKenzie showed absolutely NO mercy (shame, shame on you all) against the teenage children. Although Joe, being the nice guy that he is, did take a brief moment to provide a quick lesson to the youngsters on the efficient use of a lazer gun. Needless to say, the rematch is already set for 2012.

Santa Claus was merrily portrayed by Bryce Webb, an aluminum welder in our Fabrication, Paint and Welding Department. He’s lost count, but most say this is Bryce’s 10^th year in the role. Janell Beebe, an assembler in our Special Products Assembly Department took on the role of Mrs. Claus for the first time this year. It looks like she made a great addition to the team – a real natural if you will!

After an enjoyable morning of fun, breakfast pizza, donuts, juice and coffee everyone was worn out. We were amazed at how well the children behaved, and not surprised at all by how the adults behaved like children…that is, after all, what the Ryko Children’s Christmas party is all about.

I’m not sure who had the bigger smiles upon departing, the kids from all the fun they had…or the parents who got to go home and put those youngsters and themselves down for a much deserved and welcome nap.

Happy Holidays from the Ryko family to yours!

Women rave about the latest fashion trends from Paris and Milan. Men dream of everything from imported cigars to imported cars. For the last fifteen years, Ryko has had a coveted import of our own. Ryko CleanTouch brushes.

Our CleanTouch brushes are manufactured in the small Italian village of Roncadello – about 30 miles northeast of Parma.  Created by the Favagrossa family, the brushes are made from a soft, gentle material that is both supple and durable.

The feather-light fabric is almost 100% water resistant and the closed-cell polymer material prevents small particles of dirt and sand from embedding into the brush material. This is what makes the brushes so unique and ideal for washing cars, as it is the micro dirt and debris that causes scratching on a car’s surface.

But the best part about these imported brushes is that in addition to cleaning your car, they help to restore the original luster and shine to your vehicle that may have been lost throughout the years. And repeat washes with Ryko CleanTouch brushes only enhance this affect.

The brushes come in a variety of 14 rainbow bright colors that can be mixed and matched into any number of combinations. Whether you want to support your local school and sports team or need to meet local zoning requirements, we can find a CleanTouch brush color combination that works for you.

Learn more about the Ryko CleanTouch technology featuring Favagrossa brushes or contact us for additional information.

Nearly 30 years ago, Ryko Manufacturing Company opened its doors to the sitting Governor of Iowa, Terry Branstad. With the paint barely dry on its new 150,000 square foot factory in Grimes, a suburb of nearby Des Moines, he cut the ribbon on the new plant and toured the facility – touting the company for bringing new jobs to the area.

Fast forward almost three decades and the company known now as Ryko Solutions, again hosted the sitting Governor of Iowa…Terry Branstad. This time, it was as the largest provider of managed car wash systems in North America and in a facility now totaling 250,000 square feet. Call it happenstance or call it a twist of fate but exactly what are the odds that the very same man who was Governor on the first visit would walk through the door? He did – and he was warmly greeted standing right next to the photo of himself at the ribbon cutting in 1984 in the very same lobby.

On this most recent visit, Branstad again toured the factory and again congratulated the company for its success in job growth and expanding economic development to the area. This includes the addition of 100 new jobs over the past 12 months. Today, Ryko employs more than 360 people in 33 states, including the 150 who work in Grimes.

During the tour, Steve L’Heureux, Ryko’s CEO shared some of the company’s recent achievements with the Governor. First was the commitment to increasing Iowa-based engineering research and development, including the addition of 10 new engineers who make up the core team behind a planned introduction of three new products over the next five months. Most exciting is Ryko’s completely new car wash system that will achieve an unmatched level of return on investment and performance.

L’Heureux also disclosed that the company is actively negotiating multiple acquisitions which will bring even more employment and growth to the area. He further outlined for Governor Branstad plans to develop an Advanced Education and Training Center on the Grimes campus. L’Heureux’s vision will open the opportunity for convenience store car wash category managers, owners and operators, along with independent stand-alone car wash operators from around the world, to travel to Iowa to learn how to grow their business and attain greater profitability.

“Since the visit,” says L’Heureux, “the Governor has referenced Ryko’s contributions to the state and local economy in a series of economic roundtables and forums he’s participated in. We are very proud to be contributing to the rebuilding of Iowa’s economy and look forward to working with the Governor to continue that endeavor.”

After a weekend of unexpected and unprecedented snowfall across much of the northeast, it would be fair to say it is never too early to prepare your car wash for winter. Whether this means ice and snow or simply a dip in temperature that requires your trips to the beach include a sweater – preparing for the season is an important step to keeping your car wash profitable and in good repair!

To help your operation remain profitable through the busy colder winter months, consider the following:

• Inspect all your car wash components including the wheels, rails, reducers and cylinders because the harsh winter months take a heavier toll on your equipment.
• Inspect all hoses, wires and polytubes for wear and leakage. This is especially important because hoses and wires tend to become brittle as they age and they need to be more pliable during this time of year.
• Change the oil in your high pressure pump and air compressor and don’t forget to clean the compressor’s air filter too. You will want to make sure everything is running as efficiently as possible to get through this busy season.
• Check that your bay doors, including wheels, rails and cables are working properly. They are the first line of defense against the harsher winter weather and are the first components at your location to freeze up or be harmed by the elements.
• Make sure that your heating unit and concrete heating pad are working well. This is the equivalent of having your furnace inspected at home when the first signs of winter appear.
• Begin using a pre-high pressure pass before the pre-soak to help remove heavy snow, ice and sediment from vehicles in order to ensure the highest wash quality.

If you haven’t taken the steps mentioned above – or you have found there are components of your car wash that could use some attention, make an appointment with your local Ryko service provider. While winter may make operating a car wash a bit more of a challenge, we have found that being prepared for the season can go a long way in helping to minimize those challenges.

Best wishes for a prepared and profitable winter season!

In the initial blog on the new Ryko website, I outlined the integral role the attendant played in the early car washes of the 1970s. But guiding the driver through and getting wet wasn’t all they did.  Another important aspect of the attendant’s job was to fix the car wash when it broke.

Needless to say, reliability was not a characteristic of most car washes, and many had small problems every day or two.  Owners frequently complained that they couldn’t keep the washes running, and their customers were frustrated by this.  Unless the attendant or owner became good at car wash repairs, they might have 2 or 3 service calls per week.  They certainly didn’t consider that satisfactory.

Having experienced everything described here, Ryko’s founders Larry and Jim recognized that making a reliable car wash and eliminating the attendant would be the best things they could do for car wash operators.  Because of this, they developed the original Ryko rollover, the Ryko IV.  This car wash could be armed by the vehicle as it drove up to the wash bay, and it included clear instructions, signs, and guides to allow average drivers to get into the correct position, and would start itself when the vehicle was in place.   Imagine that!

It used basic, forgiving mechanisms to wash vehicles that were not in great shape without damaging them.  If the customer decided to move during the wash, the Ryko IV got out of the car’s way to avoid damage.  And, if something didn’t work quite right, the wash reset itself to be ready for the next customer.  Because all systems were forgiving, the equipment could run for weeks without breaking, and most problems could be cured by the operator.

 These characteristics were a major contributor to Ryko’s early success and growth and consequently, the growth and profitability seen by our customers.

Perhaps it is only fitting that I be the first person to start off our new blog on our new website.    I’ve been with Ryko since 1974, and although we didn’t have websites or blogs, we did have a lot of stories to tell, some of which I want to share here with you.

Prior to Ryko’s formation, most car washes had an attendant at the wash bay whenever a vehicle was being washed.  This attendant might have been a full time employee, if the wash was relatively busy, or he might have been a gas station employee who walked over to the wash when a car was ready.  The attendant had several responsibilities.

First, he or she ensured the car driver deserved a wash — that they had paid for a wash or had been given a wash by the business.   Then, he checked the vehicle to see if it was in good enough condition to safely wash.  If there were any loose parts (mirrors, antennae, fenders, bumpers, license plates, etc.), he secured these or removed them or politely told the customer that their car could not safely be washed. After this, he armed (turned on) the wash.

Unless the driver was a frequent customer who had proven his ability, the attendant usually walked into the car wash ahead of the car, giving the driver directions to position the vehicle in the right spot.  With some types of car wash equipment, he then had to start the wash.  Most people don’t remember them, but a popular type of car wash had a top brush and one side brush, and the attendant controlled these.  He stood on a shielded platform on one side of the wash and used switches to turn the brushes on and off, raised and lowered the top brush, and drove the machine forward and rearward.  He used a steering wheel to move the side brush around the vehicle.

For those of you new to the car wash industry, I can only imagine you are thinking that’s pretty hard to believe, but it was really quite common in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The attendant had to be alert, or he could damage the car being washed.  In fact, with another non Ryko car wash of that time, the attendant walked beside the wash, and reached in to grab the antenna and hold it safely away from the top brush.  As you can imagine, that was a wet job!

Thinking about this, we’ve certainly come a long way in terms of automated car washes and Ryko has been largely responsible for a lot of those innovations.  You can read more about that in the Heritage of Innovation section on our website and follow this blog for some more stories next time about how service was done on these first machines and how Ryko had a strong hand in that part of the car wash industry.

Thanks for reading.