Ciclon 1 - Santiago, Chile

My sister lives in Santiago, Chile...so naturally we had to scout the South American competition. We have become good friends with Fernando, who owns and operates the car washes, and Francisco who is Fernando's business partner. Believe it or not, he has the same problems...labor, labor, labor. Last week one of his employees (ex-employee now) decided to crash a Volvo. That's a lot of Pesos.
If you ever visit Santiago, make sure to visit Fernando at the Ciclon. I had lunch at his house with Francisco and their wives, and I have to admit that Fernando cooks the best fillet that I have ever tasted. It's worth the trip to Chile.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b-TocP-W5Y

Converting Chilean Pesos to US dollars, is 540 pesos to the dollar.. or 2500 pesos is just about $5. The equipment is Siemens. The conveyor is electric, and the metal rollers are always up. The speed is snail pace. He only has soap, and lots of it because he uses nylon on the wraps (only way they are available). The dryer looks like an old sherman, with a big wheel in the center. Each employee gets one or two towels per day, and they clean them with the high pressure prep gun. I have not been able to persuade him to install a washing machine. The lot sizes are about 1/2 acre at most or less. They wind up moving cars a lot. Ciclon 2 (on Aldo Moro) does more volume than Ciclon 1, and the lot is extremely narrow.

Jimmy