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Pdq just bought belanger

Sparkleclean

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On the login home screens for the g-5 units pdq is announcing, as of 18 hours ago, that their parent company dover has bought belanger inc. belanger now becomes part of “opw vehicle wash solutions” a dover company....
 

soonermajic

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let the Arms race begin.....

Ryko is now NCS National carwash Solutions, & I hear it's the Largest in North America...?
 

Sparkleclean

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NCS just bought TSS signs also.... the consolidation in this industry has been huge in the last couple of years.
 

friesmaniac99

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Wait so It's no longer gonna be called PDQ or Belanger just OPW Vehicle Wash Solutions. I've got some mixed feelings about this merger. One being that after Dover acquired PDQ I felt they cheapened on the quality of the new units Ex. LW360. I hope they make it better...
 

tdlconceptsllc

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This could be good and bad for mom & pops operators now they have more control over parts & chemicals and the equipment they instail also. Just like Sonnys bought dimond shine last year. It's all about Control. In next 10 years it will probably be 3 manufactures that will own them all.
 

Scrub Free

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Dover is a big company. I think it will make things more proprietary, eventually making it more expensive to do business with them.
 

mac

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So when are these guys going to buy MY company? I would even like a hostile take over.
 

Sparkleclean

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I like pdq, but their aftermarket parts are ridiculously expensive. We also use belanger equipment and i like them too. One time on a Saturday morning at 9 AM on the East Coast I called Belanger for tech-support, I got an answering machine and did not leave a message, which I expected since it was Saturday. Five minutes after hanging up my phone rang and one of the tech-support guys said "did someone call Belanger?"… That wouldn't happen at PDQpdq has good tech support but it closes at 4:30 their time.

Now I'm slightly afraid Belanger tech-support will be just like PDQ INC is, and their prices for aftermarket parts will shoot up like it also. I mean no matter how you slice it,a buyout = new mortgage = increased costs= need to find new revenue= price increases to serve that debt....

Plus keep in mind from what I have seen in this industry regarding consolidation so far, a lot of people are set to lose their jobs because of this merger. No matter how many times the purchasing company says things won't change they always do. The first people to lose their job will be office people. Human resources and payroll departments, OSHA compliance departments, upper management, et Cetera et Cetera. It wouldnt surprise me if tech support is merged into one department either.

Then by the end of it all belanger could technically end up existing in name only..... manufacturing could be consolidated, product development, and on and on.... till the only thing left is dover operating a sole central company that has purchased all the brands from its competitors.

Im not saying this is what WILL happen, just what i have been seeing happen in the industry after other recent mergers/buyouts. It may be Smart business, but it goes back to a question asked in another forum post about buyouts and mergers and if they were good or bad for our industry.
 

Sparkleclean

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I should have added that the belanger tech support guy who called me was on the west coast setting up for a trade show and it was 6am his time. He got the notification of the call and called me back. Thats pretty impressive to me and it has stuck with me for years since it happened.

I have no complaints about pdq's tech support, the guys that work there have all been very good in my opinion, and i do like how when their tech support guys are slow they go back through old issues they have been called about and they will call operators to see how things have been dealt with. Like a follow up kind of. I have just always felt it was a little more personal and less corporate when i call and get bruce at belanger or one of the others.
 

wash12

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This also means any PDQ distributor is now Belanger and vice versa. This in my opinion is good as it widens the service coverage especially if your lacking a quality distributor in your area.
 

Sparkleclean

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This also means any PDQ distributor is now Belanger and vice versa. This in my opinion is good as it widens the service coverage especially if your lacking a quality distributor in your area.
True, but belanger already sells direct to the customer. If you need something you call them and they ship it to you. With pdq you have to order through a distributor. They wont sell direct to you. My guess is it wont be long until dover switches belanger to the same system.
 

wash12

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True, but belanger already sells direct to the customer. If you need something you call them and they ship it to you. With pdq you have to order through a distributor. They wont sell direct to you. My guess is it wont be long until dover switches belanger to the same system.
Yeah I am already with PDQ so no change there, I am sure they will adopt the same structure as PDQ does which I agree sucks.
 
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