National Carwash Solutions
Driving Clean, Shiny and Dry Service as a Market-Leading Innovator
In 2017, AEA’s Small Business Private Equity (“SBPE”) invested in National Carwash Solutions (“NCS”), a leading player in the North American carwash services, consumables and equipment industry. The company holds market leading positions in carwash systems, aftermarket cleaning fluids, replacement parts and essential field repair and maintenance services to both the car wash and convenience store industries.
AEA SBPE identified NCS’ ability to bundle systems with recurring aftermarket service, parts and cleaning fluids offerings to drive customer stickiness and create a strong base of recurring revenue. NCS was able to continue its strong organic growth trajectory, while establishing itself as the industry’s acquirer of choice, completing 10 acquisitions to develop the industry’s first vertically-integrated bundled solution. These acquisitions created best-in-class brands across equipment, cleaning fluids, services and distribution, which greatly increased product breadth, depth and geographic reach. Under AEA SBPE’s ownership, NCS developed leading customer education (College of Clean) and new-to-industry investor (Continuum) programs and invested in technology, which drove further adoption of NCS’ products and services. AEA SBPE also supported leadership in expanding the management team and sales force by recruiting key talent, including a Chief Human Resources Officer and Head of Chemical Sales, while also investing in a dedicated Business Development team.
Created Value


10
Acquisitions completed to create the first end-to-end solution to the entire carwash ecosystem
300+
NCS developed a nationwide network of over 300 field service technicians, the largest in the carwash industry, which enabled 98%+ customer uptime and 24/7 repair capabilities
2.5x
More than doubled aftermarket sales over three years
2
AEA participant board members who provided strategic thought leadership to accelerate both organic and inorganic growth

“We partnered with AEA because they immediately understood our vision to build an unprecedented one-stop model. They challenged us to invest heavily in our team far ahead of growth and to fully build out our product and market map. They helped us assemble a board with the expertise to complement our strategic plans. Together we sourced and executed ten acquisitions.”