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POLY PRO SYSTEMS
Poly Pro Systems was founded by Don Klemmer in 1986 when he made a commitment to clean and protect cars without the use of friction and abrasive chemicals. Before that, Don went to work for his uncle George Grabenhorst, who in 1959 invented the coin-operated, self-serve car wash. Don began working for George by building and selling the equipment that would revolutionize the car wash industry.
Since 1986, Poly Pro Systems has stood for touchless car washing utilizing polymer chemistry to clean cars. This approach is based on your car’s finish being composed of polymers, as the polymer on polymer approach lifts dirt off of the vehicle, instead of burning it off using harsh chemicals and damaging your car’s finish using friction. The system was implemented at three car washes - a five bay self-serve in Romulus, an indoor, climate-controlled, fourteen bay self-serve facility in Redford, and a conveyorized touchless automatic tunnel in Taylor. All three locations proved the model to be extremely successful, with customers often traveling upwards of thirty miles to use Poly Pro Systems. Always ahead of his time and an industry visionary, Don sold the last of his three car washes in 2007, when the industry was in decline and just before the great recession of 2008 hit.
Don Klemmer in 1990 at the Poly Pro Indoor Do-It-Yourself Facility in Redford
After selling his washes, Don Klemmer went on to become a patent holder in the industry with his self-service invention The Wobblehead, and spent the last decade of his career selling car wash equipment and chemicals for Power Brite before “retiring” in 2018.
During retirement, Don was approached by a car wash owner that he had mentored for some time, to upgrade his existing wash equipment to better serve his customers. It was at that time that Don sought out Tom Petit, who he had first met in 1986, to find out if he could install the Petit equipment for his protege. Don had been following Tom Petit’s progress since their first encounter and knew that Tom had recently gone national with his state-of-the-art technology and it was then that a partnership was born. Poly Pro Systems became an Authorized Service Provider for Petit Auto Wash Equipment in 2021, with the goal of installing “maybe one or two of these units” for car wash owners that Don had met during his 50 years in the industry. Don combined the Petit machine with another industry disrupter in Dencar Technologies, the leading edge in polymer chemistry in Synergy Solutions, while also bringing in long-time allies Premier Drying Systems and Huron Valley Sales to create a system that would become the business model that Poly Pro Systems is now built on. To date, almost thirty of these systems have now been installed around Michigan and Don has been recognized by Petit with an “Outstanding Excellence Award” for “Exemplifying what it means to be a ‘Petit Authorized Service Provider’”.
Don Klemmer accepting his Petit “Outstanding Excellence Award” in 2024
Poly Pro Systems now has seven employees and is on track to install another 10-12 systems in 2026. The system is a “franchise-like” business model that has proven to provide unprecedented results for car wash owners, without the burdensome franchise fees.
Poly Pro’s commitment is outstanding success for each customer, providing phenomenal customer service with uncompromising integrity. Poly Pro will set you up for success and we will stand behind you the entire journey.