wash4me
Member
Would an m12 Istobal or a Ryko Softgloss be more reliable and or have a lower cost of operation? We have a fairly low volume site with 20-30 cars per day on a busy day? Thanks
Istobal versus Ryko
- Thread starter wash4me
- Start date
I live in Florida (and happen to sell Istobals) and can take you to a station here that replaced a Ryko with an Istobal M22. After 18 months operation his wash numbers have increased by 25% and his average revenue per can has almost doubled. There is also much less monthly maintenance. Whatever you do, you need to see one in action and talk to the owner, not us salesmen. Cost of operation should also be lower.
robert roman
Bob Roman
Since both companies make good machines, although I prefer some Istobal models, I would be concerned first with the low volume.
The reason is income dictates what you can afford to invest. Moreover, you should not rely on machine to increase volume or average sales because machine doesn’t make a market, people do.
In other words, you should have some hindsight or solid evidence the market is capable of supporting more volume at a higher price.
Assume you wash an average of 20 cars a day, 312 days or 6,240 per year at average price of $6.00 equal $37,440 gross. Less variable unit cost of $2.00 equals $24,960 net operating income (NOI).
If you managed to increase sales volume by 50 percent to 9,360 (6,240 * 1.5) or 30 cars a day and achieve the benchmark average price of $7.50, gross becomes $70,200 less variable unit cost equals $51,480 NOI.
Change in NOI is $26,520 (51,480 – 24,960).
Maximum monthly payment = $26,520 / 12 / 1.25 = $1,768
$1,768 implies you could afford to lease about $88,000 worth of machinery from the improvement in NOI without affecting the margin available to cover fixed cost and leave a profit.
Personally, I would have some comfort if anticipated sales were 40 or 50 cars a day.
The reason is income dictates what you can afford to invest. Moreover, you should not rely on machine to increase volume or average sales because machine doesn’t make a market, people do.
In other words, you should have some hindsight or solid evidence the market is capable of supporting more volume at a higher price.
Assume you wash an average of 20 cars a day, 312 days or 6,240 per year at average price of $6.00 equal $37,440 gross. Less variable unit cost of $2.00 equals $24,960 net operating income (NOI).
If you managed to increase sales volume by 50 percent to 9,360 (6,240 * 1.5) or 30 cars a day and achieve the benchmark average price of $7.50, gross becomes $70,200 less variable unit cost equals $51,480 NOI.
Change in NOI is $26,520 (51,480 – 24,960).
Maximum monthly payment = $26,520 / 12 / 1.25 = $1,768
$1,768 implies you could afford to lease about $88,000 worth of machinery from the improvement in NOI without affecting the margin available to cover fixed cost and leave a profit.
Personally, I would have some comfort if anticipated sales were 40 or 50 cars a day.
JustClean
Active member
Hey Mac,
Please correct me if I am wrong but didn't you say at one stage that it would be better to buy a machine that is manufactured locally than imported? Maybe I am wrong. I am not sure are they building Istobal machines in the states?
Please correct me if I am wrong but didn't you say at one stage that it would be better to buy a machine that is manufactured locally than imported? Maybe I am wrong. I am not sure are they building Istobal machines in the states?
Just clean, yes, I did say that. I am still in favor of that policy. Times seem to be changing though. I noticed the other day that all my kitchen appliances and my wife's tablet are made by a South Korean company, Samsung. They make great products. At the time I did make that statement it was based on the experience of one foreign manufacturer, Wesumat. Their parts prices were ridiculous. Istobal makes a pretty neat machine. For instance there are no grease zerks on their M22. Monthly preventative maintenance consists of mostly a visual inspection and cleaning the photo eyes. I am replacing Power Rain with one next week. That freaking Power Rain had about 60 grease zerks on it. And some of those were behind panels held on with 20 fasteners. The Istobals are built in Spain and assembled and tested here. I am not an expert on them at this point, just impressed with their performance. For instance you can actually carry on a conversation and understand it, while standing next to an Istobal when it's drying. And it dries better than machines with three times the horsepower. Robert, excellent comments on analyzing this purchase.
my2cents
Member
FWIW, I installed a new Istobal MNEX machine in a Ford Assembly plant. The unit was a combo touch free and friction with 3 brushes and on board contouring dryer. This machine is smooth, trouble free and washes upwards of 60 cars per day on a 24 hour cycle. I will say the dryer is really good, but keep in mind the paint finish is as good as it gets as these are all new vehicles. The machines are built in Europe but are all wet tested here in Virginia at the old Magic Wand facility. The support has been good as well.
If you have a good Istobal distributor nearby I would go with that one. If not check on how the Ryko service is in your area. I lean toward the Istobal but both are good machines. Eventually you will need service so I would go with the one with service you can depend on.
wash4me
Member
So Carwashguy how much more would the istobal be worth assuming all options, service etc, was equal?
cwguy.com
The Eric
So are you looking at used units? I am interested why you selected between these two units.... there are lots of friction units?
So the Istobal unit is actually made in Korea?
Thanks
So the Istobal unit is actually made in Korea?
Thanks
Istobal is located in Spain. Their distribution center in the US is in Bristol, VA. As far as I know they are cost competitive but like all automatics it depends on the accessories you add. The best way to price shop is first decide what you want on your machine before you really start looking. Some come with all the whistles and bells while others you need to add services. It can get very confusing comparing apples to apples so you really need to know what configuration you would like before you shop.
cwguy.com
The Eric
It just doesn't make since how they could import them from a legit country and be competitive? But they said they would build a plant in the US in 2010. This was the link that confused me I guess: http://www.istobal.co.kr/
That is their agent in Korea. I don't recall anything about them building machines here. They purchased Magic Wand in Bristol, VA so they could have a better base to operate from and could better serve the US. They have been selling in the US for at least 10+ years. They might be the largest manufacture of automatics in the world right now. I have seen many of their machines around the country. They seem to do a good job and the owners seem pretty happy with them. Don't know a whole lot about their distribution network. Only know a few of their distributors. They seem to have done fairly well here so far. Ceccato, an Italian automatic manufacturer that tried to get into the US market, folded a couple of weeks ago. Istobal seems to have a strong base around the world.
Ryko has made some improvements and were reorganized since they were bought by an investor group two years ago. If I had to guess they are probably the number one seller of automatics in the US right now. They were the first major manufacturer of automatics and have been on the scene for many years. Initially they dominated the automatic market in its infancy and were especially popular with oil companies and c-stores. That is still a major portion of their sales. Their original units weren't fancy but were real workhorses. In fact years ago many called automatics Ryko units instead of an automatic. Today almost all of their distribution centers are owned and operated by Ryko. For years they only produced friction units and entered the touch free market after Mark VII and PDQ cut heavily into their business. They produce a solid machine and are very cost competitive.
Ryko has made some improvements and were reorganized since they were bought by an investor group two years ago. If I had to guess they are probably the number one seller of automatics in the US right now. They were the first major manufacturer of automatics and have been on the scene for many years. Initially they dominated the automatic market in its infancy and were especially popular with oil companies and c-stores. That is still a major portion of their sales. Their original units weren't fancy but were real workhorses. In fact years ago many called automatics Ryko units instead of an automatic. Today almost all of their distribution centers are owned and operated by Ryko. For years they only produced friction units and entered the touch free market after Mark VII and PDQ cut heavily into their business. They produce a solid machine and are very cost competitive.
wash4me
Member
Yes, I am looking at used and new units. That's based on a good Istobal distributor and the sheer number of Ryko units out there. Any company can go broke but it seems like it's big enough that someone will always be interested enough to keep it going so I can get parts. What's your preference on a friction machine.
