Wash It Australia has carved out a healthy niche inside the transport industry in this country.
The national business offers a mobile truck wash for customers in every state. Expansion is steady.
Like all histories, the story of Wash It Australia is one of people.
From Founder and Managing Director Ben Hennock, who believed in a vision and demanded much of himself, resulting in the rapid expansion of the business today; and Alana Kennedy, whose own growth journey within the business very much parallels that of Wash It Australia’s.
Her role as National Account Manager involves maintaining relationships across clientele and developing new business. November 2015 remains a major watershed in her life.
That was when her own truck washing business, then based in Melbourne, was acquired by Wash It Australia.
At the time she was raising two young children with little help. It was tough. Running a small business on top of that was simply too much. Ben, who saw the potential in it, purchased the company.
Recognising the importance of family-work life balance he kept Alana on part time.
“That’s where it all began and I’ve been working three days for him since when the business was initially acquired,” she recalls. “Now I don’t have to pay the bills which is great.”
While her tasks haven’t changed a great deal the workload certainly has. Industry too. Back then Alana collated data for accounts which would then be entered as invoices manually.
Some customers were still paying by bank cheque. Corporate governance and legislation like the Modern Slavery Act, which came into force 1 January 2019, for one example, have also brought administrative and human relations considerations to the commercial environment.
“The business has come a long way,” she says.
“I’ve taken a leaf out of the book of Ben. He helped me grow my confidence. I’m far from a natural salesperson. But you believe in what you’re doing and build relationships. Those are good foundations. I was always big on building relationships.”
Project management also plays a crucial part in Alana’s role. Bringing in new business requires that she closely work with operations managers in the relevant state.
“We’ll go to site and note the where’s and how’s,” she says. “That is where we’re going to wash and how we’re going to wash in addition to all the finer details.”
One of Alana’s biggest achievements, according to her, is the Tier 1 customer accounts she has helped secure.
This is partly an outcome of the company’s ability to consistently generate innovative sustainability ideas aimed at reducing its environmental footprint while promoting eco-friendly practices.
Wash It offers multiple collection methods to suit most situations, where it collects and removes all truck wash water from the premise to be disposed of safely at no additional cost.
“Innovations for truck washing solutions have significantly evolved over time showcasing remarkable advancements in the industry,” says Alana.
“This puts us in good stead when tendering for jobs especially with the many requirements that now govern compliance and sustainable practices.”
Many of the big supermarket chains use portal systems in place for tenders that detail their requirements. These also fall under Alana’s remit. To date they remain one of her proudest achievements.
“Having the ability to work with the big supermarket chains and companies like FedEx and StarTrack is a big deal,” she says.
“There’s been some humungous achievements since I started. It’s crazy to consider where we are at now.”
The business has grown, she estimates, more than four times from what it was when she started out in 2014.
They now wash 6,000 pieces of equipment every week including locomotives for SCT. There are plans in place to add remote depots in Townsville, Cairns and Canberra by 2025.
“From a price point we offer an exceptional service,” says Alana. “We’re in every state. With a nationwide leg it gives us an advantage over many of our competitors.”
Tailoring solutions for customer needs remains at once a strong selling point and priority. Word-of-mouth because of this remains strong
“We’ve been known within the business for such a long time now that we’re good fun to work with,” adds Alana.
“We can always find a solution.”
Her role has provided innumerable opportunities to learn new aspects of the business and grow herself.
Wash It Australia also can boast a metric not many other national businesses can.
Women currently occupy 40 per cent of the positions in senior management.
While at ground level the women involved as drivers and washers sits around 8 per cent but that is on the rise, too.
“Back when I first started, I used to walk into rooms of just men,” says Alana. “Now there are so many more women around the industry. There’s definitely been a shift in women being more prevalent in transport.”
To wit, a lunch celebrating International Women’s Day for many of the senior staff was put on last March. Wash It Australia is an active participant in raising awareness and donations for several charitable causes.
In October, Wash It will donate $1 from every truck it washes to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
The company also sponsors Chaz Mostert, James Courtney leading drivers in the V8 Supercars and International GT racing champion Liam Talbot, who will help raise money by colouring their hair pink.
“Every week he is seemingly doing something different, lending support for another worthwhile cause, shaving his hair,” Alana says of Ben.
“We call him ‘the hurricane’ because he comes in at a million miles an hour and when he leaves, you’ll be in another direction. It’s exciting to work for someone so young and fun. He’s always happy to lend an ear and help everyone.”
Following COVID, Alana was one of thousands of Melbournians who moved north to Queensland.
She is now based on the Gold Coast.
“I can sort of work from anywhere as long as I’m not too far away from an airport,” she says.
“Every day is a different day. We’re still very much a family-run business. We all really work together and help each other.”
Her own personal philosophy can equally apply to business. “Anything can be resolved as long as the communication channel is open,” she says.
“It works both ways. If something needs to be fixed you need to know about it. You can rectify most things as long as people are transparent.”