The Origins of Car Washing & History of ICA

While it isn't known when the world's first car wash opened, the concept was certainly in use in the earliest days of the 20th Century. A patent for a "Vehicle-Washer" was filed in 1900 by Skerritt V. Hanley of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the Automobile Laundry Co. (a common term for early car washes) opened in San Francisco, California in 1907. These labor-intensive and mostly manually operated business grew with the automobile industry, and by the 1920s "automobile laundries" and "wash bowls" could be found in many cities in the U.S. and Australia.

Most agree that the world's first automatic (fully mechanized) car wash was Paul's Automatic Auto Wash, which opened in Detroit, Michigan USA in 1946, owned by Paul Maranian. The location used the new system designed and constructed by Leo Rousseau, which he marketed under the name "Minit Man." The equipment included a chain conveyor, side brushes, a top brush, vacuums and blowers. The concept was immediately successful, attracting coverage in a September 22, 1947 edition of LIFE Magazine that incited growing interest in the business.

By the 1950s, as more car wash businesses were opened, operators began to identify a need to network and learn. A new publication, Auto Laundry News, was founded by Robin King, an early car wash pioneer from California. In 1955, he organized for a small group of operators to meet at the Hotel del Prado in Mexico City to organize the "American Auto Laundry Association." (Another group using this same name can be found as early as 1933, but little more is known.)  David Lippitt, another operator from California, was elected the first president of the group. The first official convention was held at the Jung Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana USA in 1956. In 1959, William H. Coy was appointed the organization's first Executive Secretary, and the first headquarters was established in Detroit. Robin King assumed the role of Executive Secretary in 1961, moving the headquarters to his home in Mexico City.

By the 1960s, automatic car wash machinery was being widely produced in the United States and Europe to serve the growing car wash industry. Accordingly, and due to the growing prevalence of automation, the association was renamed "Automatic Car Wash Association, International" in 1962. In 1967, the organization appointed R.R. "Gus" Trantham to serve as Executive Secretary, a position he held for more than 25 years. In 1974, the name was changed to International Carwash Association. In 1982, the name was changed to "International Carwash Association / National Carwash Council" to reflect a merger between what were the conveyor/automatic and coin-operated segments of the car wash community. In 1986, the name was simplified once again to International Carwash Association.

Today, ICA is the world's leading community for car wash professionals, with members in all 50 U.S. states and more than two dozen countries. Its work is focused in three areas: trade shows, learning & development and media and research content.

The nonprofit organization is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of retailers and suppliers and managed by a professional staff based in Wheaton, Illinois USA.