Milford-based Splash Car Wash has broken ground on a state-of-the art new location with a 125-foot wash tunnel in East Haven.
The new location is a largely automated “express car wash” featuring 20 self-service vacuums free to customers, automated pay machines and a small crew of employees. The wash tunnel will be equipped with a high-pressure Petit machine, which removes dirt and other particulate matter from your car’s surface with high-pressure water.
The new car wash is scheduled to open in the first quarter of next year, according to Splash CEO Mark Curtis.
“We’re excited by this new addition, which will allow us to better serve the greater New Haven area,” Curtis said. “We want our operations to continually utilize the latest carwash technology to provide our customers the best experience possible.”
Splash Director of Development and Construction Glen Sheeley is supervising construction at the East Haven site.
The new location, at 201 Saltonstall Parkway, could serve up to 200 cars an hour and will employ three people per shift, according to East Haven town documents. The two parcels at the site had been home to a self-serve car wash and two repair garages.
The East Haven Planning and Zoning Commission approved the Splash Car Wash site plan in March.
Established in 1981 with one business, Splash Car Wash has grown to 25 car washes and six oil-change centers in three states.
The company recently built new express car washes in Middletown and White Plains, N.Y., and has spent $8 million in the last two years to upgrade locations.
Private equity firm Palladin Consumer Retail Partners bought into the company in 2018 and has since helped Splash CEO Mark Curtis build and convert existing locations into express sites.
Contact Liese Klein at lklein@newhavenbiz.com.
