BlueWave Express, ClearWater Express Wash & CarWashKing Form Strategic Alliance
BlueWave & ClearWater To Combine Portfolios with 65 Express Locations To Be Opened By Year End 2023 Extensive Development Pipeline In-Place To Grow to 100 Locations in 2024
HOUSTON, March 22, 2023 – BlueWave Express (“BlueWave”) and ClearWater Express Wash
(“ClearWater”) today announced a strategic alliance of their respective portfolios of express car wash locations. The companies will partner with CarWashKing to form an integrated management team and combine operations to become the largest independent owner, operator, and developer of express car washes in Texas. On a combined basis, the companies currently operate 50 locations and expect to have 65 locations open by the end of 2023 and 100 locations open by the end of 2024 in the Houston, San Antonio, Rio Grande Valley, DFW, and Northern California markets.
Bill Poland, owner of BlueWave, will be joined by Terral Hill, co-founder and CEO of ClearWater, and Vinny Carfora, CEO of CarWashKing, in executive management positions overseeing the combined business.
Guests of both companies will benefit from having access to a larger number of membership locations, with the ClearWater facilities and membership benefits migrating to the BlueWave brand and membership network over the coming months. In addition, Management plans to initiate an investment program across existing locations that will include the upgrade of facilities and equipment, the implementation of new amenities, and the sharing of best practices among the companies. Team members will also benefit from more diverse growth opportunities across the combined platform.
Bill Poland commented, “This exciting new partnership will allow BlueWave to grow in a bolder and more ambitious way than we ever could have imagined when we started this journey over 15 years ago. BlueWave has consistently been a leader in the industry in delivering the highest quality eco-friendly washes to our guests, and we are excited to welcome Terral, Vinny, and their teams as some of the most well-respected operators in the industry to the BlueWave family.” Vinny Carfora said, “CarWashKing’s management operations are renowned throughout the industry for achieving record membership counts, AUVs, and margins across our owned and managed sites. We are excited to bring our expertise to help make BlueWave and ClearWater the leading platform in Texas.”
Terral Hill added, “In only two years, ClearWater has already emerged as a recognized leader in guest experience and wash quality in the Texas car wash market with 10 locations open and more than 20 sites in development. By joining one of the largest platforms in the region, our guests will immediately benefit from more membership locations, and we look forward to the opportunity to further enhance the guest experience across all locations.”
The CarWashKing team and Wolfson Partners LLC served as advisors to the companies on the formation of the strategic alliance.
About BlueWave Express
Since its founding in 2006, BlueWave Express has become the leading express car wash brand in Houston, the Rio Grande Valley, and San Antonio with an emerging presence in Central Texas and Northern California. BlueWave Express currently operates 38 locations with a pipeline of over 25 sites expected to open through 2024. BlueWave Express takes immense pride in its focus on the environment – we strive to be stewards of our local water supply at all locations and feature high-tech filtration and best-in-class conservation practices at all locations.
About ClearWater Express Wash
Founded in 2021, ClearWater Express Wash is a premier operator and developer of express car washes in Texas. In only two years, ClearWater Express Wash has built a portfolio of first-class car washes with an unmatched focus on operational excellence. Propelled by its experienced real estate development team, ClearWater Express Wash has opened 10 locations in less than 12 months with an additional 20 more under development and scheduled to open in the next 18 months throughout Texas. ClearWater Express Wash’s unwavering obsession with delivering the ultimate guest experience has quickly established our reputation as being the car wash provider of choice in the communities we serve.
About CarWashKing
For over 26 years CarWashKing has been one of the largest brokerages in the United States, specializing in car wash mergers and acquisitions with ~$2 billion in car wash sales in both 2021 and 2022. CarWashKing also has an extensive management portfolio that includes over 100 car washes nationwide. Our respected team of agents combine unique skill sets across real estate, car wash operations, and Wall Street transactions to deliver optimal outcomes to our clients. Our team has vast experience as owners and operators, which provides a unique ownership mentality and bottoms-up approach to every assignment. CarWashKing specializes in transactions of all sizes across the entire sector and has been instrumental in the growth and positioning of the largest car wash chains in the United States.