Carolina Pride closed

[soapy]

Maybe this is old news but my Distributor just told me that NCS is closing Carolina Pride. CP had been their SS equipment company since Ryko got out of the SS business.

 

[OurTown]

I didn't know they owned them.

 

[Car_Wash_Guy]

Huh. I was just dealing with someone there about 3 months ago. Another one bites it sad

 

[tdlconceptsllc]

Carolina Pride got bought out by NCS a year ago. There is alot of changes happening but you will still be able to get SS parts supposly. There focus like everyone elses in the Industry is shifting towards Tunnels on equipment.

 

[Axxlrod]

I was told last week that NCS itself is up for sale. Supposedly the buying spree they went on the last few years buying all these companies like Carolina Pride, Vacutech, TSS, Lustra, etc was too much, and they over-extended themselves.

 

[washnshine]

I was told last week that NCS itself is up for sale. Supposedly the buying spree they went on the last few years buying all these companies like Carolina Pride, Vacutech, TSS, Lustra, etc was too much, and they over-extended themselves.

Sonny’s will probably buy them!

 

[MEP001]

Sonny’s will probably buy them!

I called Hydraflex the other day to order something and found out they're now owned by Sonny's.

 

[Roz]

Wow the SS manufacturer market continues to shrink. We have spoken with a few manufacturers for a 5 bay location we are renovating and was surprised how hard it is to find a good system at a fair cost. SS is not complicated but given that most equipment last forever if properly maintained manufacturers just do not sell enough equipment to make it worthwhile to keep that line of business. We had an Istobal SS system which was originally a Water Wizard system when they purchased WW, then Istobal decided to exit the SS biz. Soon the only SS equipment provider will be KR and then you need to figure out how to install it. At least the KR equipment is very basic in design.

 

[MEP001]

I've been thinking about manufacturing SS equipment again, maybe there's a market for it after all.

 

[TMoliver]

I think when you start looking there are 12 or so major equipment suppliers left building self-service equipment. You have Etowah Valley / Hydro Spray / National Pride / Ginsan / D & S / Dultmeier / Windtrax / Coleman Hanna / Mark VII / Oasis / IDX / Custom Craft . There are still quite a few small reginal mfg of equipment out there across the country as well.

 

[Greg Pack]

The problem with the SS equipment business is there is no real need for a reload. It's an assembly of off the shelf components mounted on a (hopefully)stainless steel frame. There's little reason to yank it all out and start over. My pump staitions are over twenty years old and a replacement pump station is not even a consideration. With very few new SS locations being built I imagine sales of SS pump stations is down considerably from the last heyday in the early 2000s

It's a shame that Carolina Pride closed, they made a solid pumpstation

 

[TMoliver]

There are a few good reasons. Like conserving on utilities and pick up space. Several of the new systems are using VFD now with direct drive pumps, No holding tanks, chemical injection, as well as using the HP Cat or Giant pumps to supply all wand chemicals, one hose to the bay except Low pressure like foam brush, triple foam or ceramic gun. One of the other reasons is remote monitoring and service reporting. That way when there are partners involved or remote owners, everyone is then able to keep a check on the cash in the safes, changers, vendors, as well chemical usages and credit cards and so forth.

 

[MEP001]

The problem with the SS equipment business is there is no real need for a reload.

True for the most part, although I've seen more than a few cases where it's just more efficient to remove and replace everything.

FWIW there's someone here seems like once a month asking about new SS equipment. Why shouldn't I take their money, especially when I know I can deliver them something better than what they have?

 

[Dan kamsickas]

True for the most part, although I've seen more than a few cases where it's just more efficient to remove and replace everything.

FWIW there's someone here seems like once a month asking about new SS equipment. Why shouldn't I take their money, especially when I know I can deliver them something better than what they have?

Well put. Some of the stuff I've seen has just been so poorly maintained the it just makes more sense to buy new, have it show up in 4-5 weeks, and start from scratch.