News from the industry

People

Larry Cordetsky of Windber, PA, is the new Howco Inc. service manager for western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and eastern Ohio.

Howco Inc. is a Charlotte, NC-based supplier, distributor and consultant to the carwash industry serving all or portions of nine Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern states.

Cordetsky is a Detroit native with over 30 years of experience installing and repairing carwash equipment.

Craig Porter of Porter Associates was named 2008 Sales Representative of the Year by RDM Industrial Electronics, Inc., a remanufacturer of petroleum and carwash electronics.

Porter has been with RDM for five years and represents the Northeast region of the U.S.

Anthony Patton of A&K Detail was presented with the 2009 Business Equality Award from The Jefferson County branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in a ceremony honoring and celebrating the accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Jan. 19.

Patton opened A&K with a friend in 1997. He is also a former NAACP student honoree. He also owns CMO Fashions, which makes him the first black man to own and operate a store in the local Times Square Mall.

John Overby of Burnsville, MN, was named Master Automobile Technician of the Year by Cengage Learning, a provider of learning solutions for students and professionals.

The award is given to the automotive technician with the highest composite score on the Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certification exams. The ASE exams are considered the standard for automotive professionals.

Overby took the exam along with more than 350,000 professionals in 2008. His excellent scores earned him a cash prize, as well as an all-expenses paid trip to the banquet at which he received the award.

In other news

There is now a digital version of the popular Car Care Guide from the Car Care Council.

The digital version is a quick, online reference for consumers to find preventive maintenance information and can be used by repair shops, quick lubes and carwashes as a third-party resource to help relay important maintenance information during point-of-sale.

The guide covers the most common preventive maintenance occasions and procedures that need to be performed to keep cars safe, dependable and efficient. It also features new sections on fuel economy and environmental awareness.

Great Lakes Quick Lube LLC (GLQL), which has five locations throughout Wisconsin, has been given the “Spirit of Franchising” Award from Valvoline Instant Oil Change (VIOC).

The award was handed out at VIOC’s annual Franchising Workshop in Marco Island, FL. GLQL has five service centers in Madison and 30 in Wisconsin.

A new survey by Datamonitor unveils habits and preferences for carwash customers in Italy.

The study reveals how frequently Italian motorists wash their car (about 12 times a year), the channels used and the popularity of each.

Over half of the surveyed motorists have visited a standalone carwash. Italy is a market where a standalone carwash operator is more likely to be used than a service station operated carwash.

In Italy, hand washing gets the highest level of customer service satisfaction, the survey found.

Also discovered by Datamonitor, the market shows a clear, negative correlation between age and the number of times an individual has washed their car.

RDM Industrial Electronics, Inc., a remanufacturer of petroleum and carwash electronics, is adding more offices and warehouse space. Construction began earlier this month.

The company’s new addition will add over 5,200 square feet to its existing facilities, and will include 15 new offices, a larger conference room, and more warehouse space.

According to RDM owner Rick Long, this will allow the company to double its sales and customer department in 2009.

In addition to plans to expand its building, RDM is also growing its online offerings through its website, as well as its tradeshow presence by exhibiting at 19 shows this coming year.

Association news

The Western Carwash Association’s (WCA) has launched a new website at www.wcwa.org.

The new website features new marketing tools and legislative monitoring, a searchable database of member locations by distance or address, and it will regularly update communications between the association, the members and the carwash industry.

Coming soon to the website will be the opportunity for members to update their membership information 24/7.The Midwest Carwash Association has released its January 2009 Legislative Update.

Changes in laws and regulations noted in the Jan. 12 document are as follows:

Illinois

• SB 2301 – Creates a new $200 per employee income tax credit for employers that established qualified wellness promotion programs in the workplace (Halvorson)
• HB 5320 – Requires an employer to provide a minimum of 7 paid sick days during a 12 month period.
• SJRCA92 – Constitutionally authorizes a tax on personal and corporate income to be at a graduated rate (instead of a flat rate). Further provides that in the case of corporations, the rate must not exceed the weighted average rate imposed on individuals by more than a ratio of 8 to 5.
• HB 3521 – Allows small businesses that provide health care insurance for their employees and their spouses and dependents to claim a tax credit.
• SB 2288 – Increases income taxes on businesses and individuals by 66.7% – from 3% to 5% for individuals and small business and from 4.8% to 8% for corporations. Together with the personal property replacement tax of 2.5%, SB 2288 would give Illinois the second highest corporate income tax in the nation.
• HB 5141 – Eliminates the provision of the minimum wage law that allows workers under the age of 18 to be paid 50 cents less than the full minimum wage.
• HJRCA42 – doubles the personal income tax rate for individuals and married couples who earn $250,000 or more a year. Maintains the corporate income tax rate and the 8 to 5 corporate to personal income tax ratio, but small businesses may be subject to the higher rate.

• SB 79 – Establishes the environmental rule review board. Prohibits the air pollution control board, water pollution control board, and solid waste management board from adopting a rule that contains a provision that is more stringent than a corresponding federal provision established under federal law until the environmental rule review board approves the rule. Prohibits the environmental rule review board from approving a proposed rule that contains a provision that is more stringent than a corresponding federal provision established under federal law unless the board finds that the provision is necessary to address an emergency situation that is unique to Indiana.
• SB 93 – Limit sales tax on gasoline. Provides that the amount of sales tax collected on gasoline or diesel fuel may not exceed the amount of sales tax collected when the pump price is $3 per gallon.
• SB 125 – Income tax credit. Provides a refundable adjusted gross income tax credit for charitable donations to public or private elementary schools or high schools located in Indiana. Provides that the maximum individual taxpayer credit is $1,000 in the case of a single return or $2,000 in the case of a joint return. Provides that the maximum corporate taxpayer credit is the greatest of 10% of the corporation’s total adjusted gross income tax liability or $10,000.
• SB 128 – Provides for a reduction of the adjusted gross income tax rates that apply to resident, nonresident, and corporate taxpayers in an even-numbered year by 0.1% if revenues collected from the adjusted gross income tax in the immediately preceding two state fiscal years increased by at least 3%. Limits the permissible total decrease in tax rates to 0.5%.
• SB 394 – Sales tax holiday. Provides a sales and use tax exemption for certain items purchased at retail during the first weekend of January or the last weekend in August.

• No legislation introduced for 2009–2010 session.

• PA 433: Previously SB 1038. Signed into law on 12.30.2008. Amend the Michigan Business Tax (MBT) Act to exclude from the definition of “gross receipts” certain proceeds, interest income, royalties, dividends, taxes, fees, and surcharges, and to include hedging transactions.

• No legislation introduced for 2009–2010 session.