Shur-Kleen Car Wash HOW A LACEY-BASED COMPANY'S INNOVATIONS HAVE CHANGED THE CAR WASH INDUSTRY by Heidi Smith
Neither Andy Ryder nor Liberty Hetzler ever planned to own a car wash business. He dreamed of becoming an orthodontist and had a fascination with politics, while she had a successful career at an engineering firm before joining the industry. But as is so often the case with best-laid plans, theirs took a turn.
Shur-Kleen's COO, Liberty Hetzler and CEO, Andy Ryder, in front of the Lacey Shur Kleen Car Wash. car wash company in Lakewood. “The person selling it had been in the same location since 1951 and it had a built-in clientele,” he says. “It was in a great spot.”
One of his first innovations was the flexible wash model. The former owner offered full-service washes, which included the inside of the car. Employees had to drive the car in and out of the inside cleaning station, creating a degree of liability for the Today, the former spouses are co-owners of seven Shur-Kleen Car company which Ryder, as a new owner, couldn’t afford. But he Wash locations in three counties. Over the past two decades, they’ve developed innovations that impacted the industry, leading noticed a space near the exit of the washing station where drivers who wanted full service could pull off to have it cleaned without the charge on green cleaning products and inventing the Flex Serve Car Wash model. Ryder, who joined the Lacey City Council in ever needing a staff member to drive their vehicle. “I created two inside packages and that was the start of the flexible car wash 2010 and has been Mayor of Lacey since 2014, is CEO and Hetzler is the Chief Operating Officer in charge of daily operations. model which you now see all over the United States,” says Ryder. “A good idea spreads quickly.” Ryder initially connected with the industry through his parents. His mother Shirley was the president of the Northwest Car Wash By 2004, he had built a new car wash facility at Joint Base Lewis Association, the first female to hold that role with any car wash McChord (JBLM), the first public/private partnership to exist on association in the United States. She purchased her first car wash the base. Hetzler, his wife at the time, was only loosely involved in 1985 and named it ‘Shur-Kleen’ as a play on her first name. in the business But then tragedy struck. Ryder’s mom Shirley Ryder grew up in the family business but had no plans to join it suffered a catastrophic stroke. She had been responsible for until one day in 1998 when an opportunity arose to purchase a all the business aspects of Shur-Kleen and if the company were thurstonchamber.com
Thurston County Chamber VOICE
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