Top 50 Indie Jos Richardson & Son has upgraded its valeting at its Longs Corner Service Station in Howden, East Yorkshire, which will include a bore hole in the next few weeks, and will be used as a template for its other sites.
The fifth generation family business, which is just about to open its 11th petrol filling station in Malton in North Yorkshire, has invested £150,000 on the site which it has owned for over 13 years – £80,000 on a new Washtec rollover car wash, £20,000 in total on two Air Serv jet washes, £30,000 on the bore hole and another £20,000 on rebranding the area as JRS Services.
It estimates that the water bore hole, the second for the business, will save it between £4,000 to £5,000 on utility costs a year.
All of the equipment at Howden is contactless, with cash payments often highlighted by the trade as a deterrent to sales. And the previous clear screens separating out the valeting area have been replaced with a navy blue alternative, with the rebrand also taking in the air, screenwash and vacuum machines. Also, a row of conifer trees have been removed to open up the site.
Since the upgrade of the Shell/Spar forecourt two weeks ago – replacing a secondhand rollover car wash, and a single jet wash – valeting sales have increased by over 200%.
“I know it is the right time of year, but we are hoping to increase from the £50,000 we were taking a year before the upgrade – £35,000 on car wash and £15,000 from the jet wash – to £80,000 a year. If we hit that level of business, we will be happy,” says managing director Joseph Richardson.
Richardson is now looking to roll out his valeting concept to his flagship site in Goole in East Yorkshire, and Escrick, North Yorkshire, later this year. “These two do not need a new rollover but could benefit from the rebrand and new jet washes,” says Richardson. “We’ll see how we go, and then we could look toward at least another three.
“We are really pleased with it, and so far the customers appear to be as well as sales have gone up by over 200%. We’ve not invested in valeting for some time and it felt the right time, with this being an area of growth in the industry.”
