Kaitlin Wright

I've spent 14 years in the car wash industry, but really, I grew up in it. My parents owned a car wash when I was a kid, and then my dad started his own distribution company, which was family-owned and operated and regionally based in Texas. I started working there in my early 20s, beginning with administrative tasks related to purchasing, implementation in the field, and inventory management. From there, I moved into our sales and distribution side, spending quite a bit of time managing our chemical department, where I distributed chemistry to car washes we were building and helped them maintain their chemical programs to deliver a clean, dry, and shiny vehicle to the consumer. In 2020, we sold to the manufacturer, and I've been on the manufacturing side for almost 6 years now. Today, as a strategic account manager, I work with two national chains across North America, one with 1,500 gas station car washes and 80 operational express exterior locations, and another with 330 locations across the country. I take projects from flat ground to operational businesses, handling everything from permitting and engineering with electrical engineers and municipalities, to construction management with general contractors and site superintendents, to ongoing operational support. I'm coming up on my 60th project, and each one employs anywhere from 15 to 30 people. I spend a lot of time in the field on construction sites, walking plumbers and electricians through plans, and then visiting operational stores to make sure the product they're producing meets their expectations. I'm currently pursuing my bachelor's degree in organizational leadership because I see a lot of private equity and other factors moving into our industry, and I don't want to get left behind. I want to continue growing and hopefully inspire more young people, especially young women, to cross over into our industry.