Rebranded Carwash Con East sets exhibit record in Atlantic City
The event formerly known as NRCC drew 423 exhibits in its first year under the new name, with organizers crediting an expanded regional focus.
By The Car Wash News Staff
3 min read
The 37th annual Carwash Con East, previously called the Northeast Regional Carwash Convention, took place in Atlantic City, New Jersey, from October 5 to 7, and posted a record 423 exhibits on its show floor, according to reporting from Auto Laundry News.
The show was renamed earlier this year, a move organizers said was intended to broaden its appeal across a region stretching from Florida to Maine and to strengthen ties with vendors and operators throughout that territory. The rebrand coincided with packed meeting rooms and a full expo floor, suggesting the new identity is resonating with the regional car wash community.
Three days of education and networking
The conference opened on Monday, October 5, with a virtual car wash tour led by Tom Hoffman, Jr., giving attendees a look inside several operations without leaving the Atlantic City Convention Center. Simoniz hosted its annual Cocktails & Conversations event that evening, combining food, drinks, live entertainment, and networking.
Tuesday carried the bulk of the educational program. An early-bird seminar was followed by a breakout session on online visibility in an increasingly AI-driven search environment. Concurrent sessions then covered tunnel operations, self-serve growth, and sales techniques. The day's education closed with a keynote from former Harley-Davidson executive Ken Schmidt, who spoke on differentiating a business and connecting with current and prospective customers.
At the awards luncheon that followed, four industry figures were recognized. Aaron King of Mast Solutions Inc. and Kevin Fitzgerald of ScrubaDub Auto Wash Centers both received Emerging Leader honors. Motor City Wash Works took the Giving Back Award, and Miguel Gonzalez of Micrologic was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Tuesday wrapped with five hours of expo floor time, including the welcome reception on the show floor.
Wednesday featured a breakfast buffet and three concurrent seminars covering self-serve and in-bay automatic operations, tunnels, and management, before closing with three more hours of trade show access.
Why it matters for operators
The exhibit record signals healthy supplier and operator engagement in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic markets, and it reinforces the value of regional shows as a place to compare equipment, financing, and marketing options in one location. For operators weighing travel budgets, a regional event like this can deliver vendor access and peer learning without the scale and cost of national conventions.
The session topics also point to where the industry's attention is shifting. The focus on being found online in an AI-driven world reflects a real change in how customers search for and choose a wash, and operators who have not revisited their local search and membership marketing strategies may find those sessions worth catching in future years. The breakout tracks split across tunnels, self-serve, in-bay automatic, and management also show that the regional audience spans multiple wash formats, so networking opportunities extend beyond any single business model.
Operators planning ahead can mark the calendar now: Carwash Con East 2027 returns to the Atlantic City Convention Center October 4 to 6, with details to be posted at carwashconeast.com as they become available.
