Automated Car Washing in the USA
About the foto
One of the first car wash companies still exists and proves the success of automated car washing.
In 1948, Joe Dahm, who bought the equipment from Minit-Man Inc. used the first automated car wash in Indiana: Mike's Minit Man.
There are now 22 carwashes known as Mike's Carwash and 30 locations known as Crew Carwash, the latter of which was originally part of the Mike's chain but spun off from the company during a friendly reorganization in 2014.
On the right you see a photo where Joe Dahm does a quality inspection and a photo of the brothers Joe and Ed Dahm.
Piece of History
In 1946, a man named Thomas Simpson invented the first semi-automatic washing system, taking most of the manual work out of the car wash tunnel. A conveyor belt hooked to the bumper pulled the car, while an overhead water sprinkler system with three sets of hand-operated brushes washed the vehicle. For the finishing touch, a 50 hp air blower dried the car
Leo Rousseau founded Minit-Man Inc. in 1946. on. The first automatic car wash company, a five-step car wash process; its first customer, Paul Maranian, also opened in Detroit that year. Paul's Automatic Auto Wash, recognized as the world's first automated car wash. Paul's Automatic Auto Wash would eventually wash nearly 400,000 cars a year. Paul's closed his doors in 1998.
The Minit-Man system revolutionized the industry by supplying a chain conveyor, side brushes, a top brush, vacuum cleaners and blowers for $16,000. Which would now be roughly $191,260.
On the right you can see an article with a photo of Leo Rousseau and a photo of Margaret Rousseau with a Minit-Man sign.
