Mike’s Carwash: Celebrating 75 Years of clean cars

HORAN is proud to celebrate 75 years of service in 2023 and is honored to share the milestone with one of our great Cincinnati partner businesses and a national leader in the highly competitive car wash industry, Mike’s Carwash. We sat down with the Mike’s Carwash team to reflect on 75 years of clean cars.

Brothers Joe and Ed Dahm founded Mike's Carwash in 1948 in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Energized by America's post-WWII entrepreneurial spirit, Joe and Ed opened Mike's Minit Man Carwash. It was the first automated carwash in Indiana and only the 18th in the country. Joe and Ed took a gamble that the automobile would play an essential role in America's growth. They were right!

Little did the brothers know then that they would be pioneers in the burgeoning car wash industry. Since opening that first Ft. Wayne location, there were several important dates in the company's long and storied history:

WHAT CAN YOU ATTRIBUTE TO YOUR COMPANY’S GROWTH?

Joe and Ed wanted to ensure they had it right before expanding their business. That’s why it took them 23 years to open their second location in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

1971: 1978:

Despite having a successful business, Joe and Ed could see that Americans were getting busier and had less spare time, especially for a car wash. So, they converted their second Ft. Wayne location from a full-service carwash to an exterior-only wash. The Mike’s Express concept was a big hit with customers and became the model for all future Mike’s locations.

1. Service

From day one, Mike’s Carwash has focused on providing the best carwash experience for our customers. Our founder, Joe Dahm, has a saying we use as inspiration across the company: “We’re in the people business. We happen to wash cars.” Everything we do focuses on customer service.

2. Technology/innovation

Mike’s Carwash is widely known as a leader in carwash technology. Our focus is always simple: provide the best wash possible, in the least amount of time. Mike’s Operations Team constantly searches for ways to improve the experience, whether through enhancing our soaps or simplifying the entry into our tunnels. We’re particularly proud of our water reclamation process, which allows us to use 70% LESS water than customers would if they used a hose in their driveway.

3. value

Ed and Joe retired, turning the company over to their three sons: Bill, Jerry, and Mike Dahm.

1993: 2014:

Mike’s owners and brothers, Bill and Mike Dahm, complete a friendly company reorganization as a part of their family succession plan. Mike’s opens a new Support Office in Loveland, Ohio, outside of Cincinnati. By the end of 2023, there will be 40 Mike’s Carwash locations in Cincinnati and Dayton, OH; Northern Kentucky; Louisville; Ft. Wayne, South Bend and Evansville, IN.

Mike’s Carwash invests resources into development and ongoing training across all departments and at every level. We run dozens of monthly training workshops on critical areas such as workplace productivity, customer experience, and team safety. We were recently honored to be a 2023 recipient of the Training APEX Award. APEX is a prestigious international training award based on a rigorous 40-page application.

4. training & development

We make every effort possible to create value for our customers. Our Unlimited Plans are extremely popular, because the more you wash, the more value you get out of the plan. We offer Early Bird pricing discounts daily between 7-9 AM, and wash books have also been very popular gifts for our customers.