The Challenge

Autospa, part of a car wash and detailing franchise, had just opened its second Mississauga location — at the time, the largest tunnel car wash in Canada. Construction began in early 2017, and Wilcox Door Service was contracted to supply and install the overhead door systems for the facility. Car washes present a demanding set of requirements for overhead doors: extreme moisture exposure from the wash process, chemical exposure from cleaning agents, high cycle counts as vehicles enter and exit continuously throughout the day, and Canada’s variable weather conditions adding thermal and sealing demands to the mix.

In a tunnel car wash of this scale, the door systems are a critical operational component. A door failure at the entry or exit of the wash tunnel stops vehicle flow entirely — directly impacting revenue. The specification needed to balance cycle speed, durability in a wet chemical environment, and long-term reliability without constant maintenance intervention.

The Solution

Wilcox Door Service assessed the application requirements across all openings in the facility and specified door systems engineered for the car wash environment. Material selection focused on corrosion resistance — critical given the continuous water and chemical exposure — and the doors were specified for the high-cycle demands of a commercial car wash that operates at volume throughout the day.

Activation systems were integrated with the facility’s vehicle management flow to ensure doors cycled in sync with tunnel operations, minimizing dwell time at each opening and maintaining throughput. Installation was coordinated with the broader construction schedule to ensure the door systems were in place and commissioned as part of the facility’s opening readiness program.

Outcomes

The facility opened on schedule with all door systems commissioned and operational. The door specification — selected for the specific demands of a high-cycle, chemically aggressive environment — has supported the facility’s high-volume operations since opening. The Autospa team had a single, knowledgeable door contractor managing the specification, supply, and installation across the entire facility, simplifying the construction coordination and ensuring the systems were right from day one.