A Brief History of the CARWACS Trade Show

The Canadian Carwash Association (CCA) originally launched Canada’s dedicated Car Wash Trade Show in the early 1970s. In its early years, the event was run entirely by CCA board members and volunteers, growing steadily in size and importance as the car wash industry expanded across Canada.

As attendance and exhibitor demand increased, the show eventually became too large and complex to manage solely as a volunteer-run event. At that point, the CCA was approached by a publishing company — the founders of Octane Magazine — who were looking to enter the car wash industry space. They purchased the rights to the car wash trade show and entered into an agreement with the CCA that ensured the association continued to receive revenue comparable to what it had earned when running the show independently.

June Warren of Octane Magazine played a key role in producing, promoting, and expanding the event, helping elevate the show into a major national industry gathering. Later, Fulcrum Communications brought together the convenience, fuel, and car wash industries into a single combined event, creating what became known as CARWACS. This combined format proved highly successful and the show thrived for many years as a central meeting place for multiple connected industries.

In 2021, Ensemble IQ acquired Fulcrum Communications, including the rights to the CARWACS trade show. Since then, the event has continued to evolve while remaining a cornerstone trade show for Canada’s convenience, fuel, and car wash sectors.

Today, CARWACS stands as Canada’s largest convenience, gas and car wash industry event, convening thousands of key leaders, decision makers, owner/operators, manufacturers, vendors and suppliers.