Retrospective

Uniti Expo explores innovation and customer experience in carwash industry

Kristián Čechmánek van CarBax toont een compact alles-in-éénconcept voor onbemande waslocaties zonder aparte technische ruimte. Promedia, 2026

Unmanned wash concepts, data-driven choices, customer loyalty and sustainable technology; these were just some of the topics of conversation at the Uniti Expo 2026 in Stuttgart. It showed a carwash sector in full international development.

Notable at Uniti Expo, whose Hall 3 was entirely dedicated to carwash and car care, was the great focus on wash boxes and self-service washing systems. Savona, for example, presented its unmanned Smart Wash Control system, showing how it integrated the Tokheim POS system with Smart Now selfwash terminals at Circle K sites in the Benelux.

Istobal then introduced on its stand the new M’Wash3 Pro Max, a rollover where wash and dry modules work together synchronously, enabling a complete wash in 3 minutes and 30 seconds. It also carried the new Smartwash Manager 2.0 for real-time monitoring and management of installations, as well as the Hidro Cyclone PRO, a system that is said to reduce fresh water consumption by up to 95 per cent.

Eastern Europe on the ball

Otherwise, the innovations came mainly from Eastern and Central Europe. Romanian company Jetpoint carried a new washbox concept under the name Aero. According to the company’s Alin Stan, this was a completely new design, a platform developed to adapt to different locations and layouts, while keeping the technical configuration the same. “Instead of one big technical room on site, the technology is now in each individual unit,” he pointed out.

CarBax from Slovakia came to Uniti with a compact self-service concept, suitable for carwashes with smaller plots, lower construction costs and a fully functioning washing system that would fit on one pallet. “With this innovation, no more technical space is needed,” explained Kristián Čechmánek of CarBax: “per washing bay, a washing system is needed that contains the installation itself. It really is a complete all-in-one unit that is installed plug-and-play.”

Five hundred kilometres per hour

Czech Fuka brought along a wash bay drying system that features a rotary drying arm, a contactless payment terminal, a touch control panel and a special final drying nozzle. Indeed, according to the company, residual moisture can cause dirt and dust to adhere more quickly to paintwork, affecting the car’s appearance. Thanks to an airflow of more than 500 kilometres per hour, the company says that problem can become a thing of the past.

Customer experience was also an important thing at the expo. Savona is also betting on this, for example, with 55-inch displays that should alert customers to promotions and information. In cooperation with Travelcard, the company also introduced a pass that allows drivers to both refuel and wash. Polish company Eurowash in turn presented the Smart Touch Panel, a wash bay system that does not opt for buttons, but works with a touch screen that also integrates its own payment system Bubble Pay.

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Robotic dog

Of course, Uniti Expo was not just about companies coming to present innovations, but also innovative insights from various speakers. At the Car Wash Forum, Christ’s Marko Maricic presented the latest global trends in carwashing. For instance, customers have become more price-conscious, but they also consciously choose quality and added value, he stated. For carwash operators, this is an opportunity to offer extra services and programmes without competing on price. In addition, Christ-man saw trends such as personalisation, more customer interaction via apps and smart displays and sustainability.

Kim van der Zande, cco of Neoday, then spoke again about the importance of customer loyalty and had brought along his robot dog for this purpose, as a metaphor for loyalty. Just as you have to educate and reward a dog to encourage behaviour, he said this also works with customers. After all, now that the focus of petrol stations is no longer entirely on fuel and the market is increasingly shifting towards convenience, EVs and additional services, loyalty is becoming increasingly important, he argued. And with that, carwash is becoming an increasingly important element.

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This article was automatically translated from the Dutch language original to English (British).

Author: Nina Koelewijn

Source: MobilityEnergy.com

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