Northwest Wash Systems' Decade-Long Partnership with Mark VII

Experience, versatility and focus—three words that go a long way toward explaining the success of Northwest Wash Systems. Husband and wife team John and Jenna Kivi founded the car wash distributorship 18 years ago and have steadily expanded their territory from their home base in Yakima, Washington to include that state plus Oregon, Idaho and western Montana.

“Today, we serve roughly 145 customers with a team of 12 people,” John says. “One of the things that sets us apart from some others in the business is that we are really a one-stop shop—car wash design, construction, equipment, supplies and service. Our business is a mixture of remodeling and new builds.”

Northwest Wash System’s wide range of services is rooted in John’s professional journey.

“I started out in construction,” he recalls. “I remodeled a car wash, then started doing more remodels for the owner. Then I wound up doing his maintenance work, and pretty soon we bought one of his washes and remodeled it. We owned that wash for 13 years. The gentleman also owned a distributorship and we started doing installs for him as well.”

Ultimately, John traveled from state to state training distributors on how to put install teams together. “Finally, we opened our own distributorship,” John says. “Then, when Mark VII needed someone to service their Chevron® contract in Oregon, we were in the right place at the right time and took on the Mark VII line. That was 10 years ago.”

The company has enjoyed steady growth through the years. When we spoke with him, Jim was in his truck at a jobsite in Belleview, Washington. “We’re putting in a SoftLine²® here at Lexus of Belleview,” he explains. “We’re hoping this will be a new business plan for them where they’re open to the public as well as serving their own customers.” Their team also recently completed the installation of a SoftWash 1® tunnel at the Auto Spa car wash in Yakima Valley, Washington.

John appreciates his relationship with Mark VII, both in terms of the products and the people.

“The innovation compared to other product line, I feel Mark VII is a couple of steps ahead,” John comments. “Their linear tunnel technology is just one example.

"Our team is like a family, and service is everything for us,” he continues. “I teach our team that we’re not serving equipment but serving people, and if we serve the people, we’re going to win. If you keep your eyes on serving people and building relationships, those people turn into friends. The people at Mark VII have the same philosophy, and in this case the people they’re serving are us. They have been awesome, and that’s why it’s worked out so well with Mark VII.”