On the last day of the NAG Conference, attendees learn the ins and outs of the car wash business and gain take-home ideas from the Ideas Boot Camp.

By Erin Del Conte, Senior Editor

The National Advisory Group (NAG) Conference wrapped up Wednesday, Sept. 12 at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club in Jacksonville, Fla.

The final morning of the NAG Conference kicked off with an educational session on adding car washes as a new profit center and marketing the car wash to consumers. Car wash usage is surging in the U.S. and c-stores are in a prime position to capitalize on this growing trend.

Michael Meyer, facility operations officer of Meyer Oil Co. and Mach1 Convenience Stores; Hill Peyton, president Gate Express Wash; and Jim Vernon, supervisor of operations for Gate Petroleum, spoke about their car washes, equipment and maintenance considerations, the benefits of an in-bay vs tunnel car wash, driving sales with promotions, water reclamation and more.

Ideas Boot Camp
In a closing session moderated by John Lofstock, executive director of NAG, Brian Unrue, director of operations for Clark’s Pump-n-Shop shared game-changing ideas retailers can take home to boost profitability. The conversation was then opened up to the floor to further discuss some of the ideas presented during the NAG Conference from foodservice to robotics.

The conference closed with a slideshow of the event, and an announcement about next year’s event.

NAG 2019 is set to take place in Minneapolis, Sept. 8-11.