Connecticut’s car wash industry is continuing its growth streak.
The latest new site is in Derby, where Norwalk-based Russell Speeder’s Car Wash is opening its latest location.
The site, at 709 New Haven Ave., is Russell Speeder’s 14th location in the state. The company said it plans to open other Connecticut locations in the near future, but didn’t provide details.
Russell Speeder’s was founded in Norwalk in 1963 by the Shullman family. The company expanded over the years to 21 locations with over 260 employees and just under $60 million in revenue, before it was sold in 2022 to New York City-based private equity firm New Mountain Capital.
New Mountain now operates Russel Speeder’s under its Summit Wash Holdings company, with locations in New York, Nebraska, and Kansas City.
There has been a significant increase in new car wash facilities in Connecticut, a trend spurred, in part, by capital injections from private equity firms, which are attracted to car wash businesses because they are high-cash-flow operations that come with real estate and repeat customers.
The industry’s growth and investment in the last decade has also been driven by the quality of new car washes, many of which are fully automated, environmentally conscientious and convenient.
Drivers are also spending more money purchasing vehicles, and therefore want to maintain them longer, routinely washing away Northeast winter road sand and salt, and keeping cars shiny and clean all year long.
