Esso Tankstelle, Köln-Deutz - Germany

Start with potential

Former taxi operator Mehmet Dogan has been managing director of MGSB GmbH in Cologne-Deutz since 2017. He is responsible for the service work of the company with several mainstays – professional workshop, vehicle preparation, collection and delivery service, petrol station, shop and car wash. "It wasn't planned that I would one day be running the business here. I always brought my taxis here to be serviced and to get them repaired and refuelled. As a regular customer at that time, I not only talked to the employees time and again, but also talked to the then petrol station leaseholder," recalls Mehmet Dogan. "One day we had a very open and trusting conversation, telling me about his intentions to give up the whole business. I took advantage of this moment," Mehmet Dogan describes his entrepreneurial change of career. He rose to the new challenges relatively quickly and conscientiously worked his way into his role as managing director in December 2016 as well.

The enterprising Mehmet Dogan starts his business with a solid customer base. The customers of his station in Cologne-Deutz near the Cologne Arena include well-known companies and institutions - Europcar, RTL, the legal expenses insurer's Roland, the Daimler brand Smart, Starcar car rental, various hotel chains, the police headquarters. Nevertheless, he and his team actively spoke to and talk to new customers about their services. "We went and go from customer to customer to meet them and make ourselves known," says Mehmet Dogan. "We emphasise our collection and delivery service, which sets us apart from our competitors in the field." In addition, Mehmet Dogan devises customer services for vehicle care, vehicle inspection and car washing, offers professional and on-schedule vehicle care for the exterior and interior of the vehicle, which is first collected from the customer and returned to the customer after the cleaning and care service.

Drive in through the "Smart" gantry

Customers who drive to the petrol station will first notice the diagonal, forward slanting awning, which brings together the two glass roof halves of the free-standing petrol station roof and its supports and which is backlit in orange at night. The customers, however, who not only want to refuel and shop, but want to have their vehicles washed, are guided to the rear of the shop building. On its left side, they are welcomed by the "Smart" LED entrance gantry, positioned just behind the automatic entrance gate to the wash bay building, displaying not only the "Super", "Special" and "Easy" washing programmes, but also other important information for car washers. The stainless steel construction that is individually designed and optimally adapted to the site is backlit. It is the custom-designed gateway to the SoftLine² Vario from WashTec. A conveyor tunnel system that combines all the important cleaning and care modules over a short distance to deliver brilliant wash results. "When I took over the business, the SoftLine² had only been washing for a good 12 months. The performance of the modern short conveyor tunnel system convinced both customers and me from the beginning."

Vehicles that stop in front are first given a thorough manual pre-wash with a high-pressure lance and a foam brush before they are cloaked in a white blanket by the active foam jets mounted on the back of the entrance gantry. WashTec brought everything else down to just 15 metres – longitudinal wheel and sill washer directly in front of the roof brush and six adjoining side brushes. The red roof and side brushes are equipped with the extremely gentle SofTecs® material. The stationary blower dryer with contour-tracking, rotating roof jets and fixed powerful side jets delivers good drying results. And the cloth dryer, which is installed as an additional dryer, moves its 45 vertically hanging cloths in a dancing rhythm, gently removing any remaining drops on the vehicle surfaces.

Efficient water conditioner

WashTec service technicians installed the technology for the water conditioning system parallel to the SoftLine2 track between the tiled side wall on the right and shop building. The heavy-duty gravel filter MF recovers the water by up to 85%, physically purifying it and delivering ten cubic metres of throughput in 60 minutes. The gravel filter system is perfect for the SoftLine2 Vario in Cologne-Deutz – being sustainable, efficient and environmentally friendly. The special flocking agent auwofloc from WashTec subsidiary AUWA keeps the quality of the service water high and almost odourless. Only the cleaning and care products used for the vehicles are not yet from AUWA. Mehmet Dogan says: "WashTec's SoftLine2  and the non-AUWA chemical products are compatible." Nonetheless, he intends to consider testing TecsLine, the best performance washing chemicals, by WashTec subsidiary AUWA, the international market and innovation leader in the field of washing and care chemicals for vehicle washing. He heard a long time ago about the performance of these products, the excellent washing, care and drying results are perfectly coordinated and extremely economical in terms of consumption. Mehmet Dogan now also knows that using AUWA products significantly reduces the operating costs for both chemicals and water.

"The car wash has run extremely well right from the start," he concludes, succinctly. "It has only broken down once since I took over. This was caused by a mouse that had been gnawing on electrical cables," says Mehmet Dogan with a grin. "In such situations, the service technician comes out quickly," he says, in the knowledge that he has a full service maintenance contract with WashTec for a good reason. The contract is the basis for fast, perfect and reliable service. And customers have also long since noticed the great reliability of the system technology and its performance. "In particular, the taxi drivers repeatedly say how satisfied they are.

Text/ pictures: Bernd Fiehöfer