Lucas Oil Change Center Set To Launch

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Lucas Oil Centers Set to Launch

by Garrett McKinnon
NOLN Staff Writer

Most of us are familiar with the old axiom that the key to success in business is location, location, location. Bill Floyd, a veteran automotive aftermarket executive, certainly knows that. When Lucas Oil Products, the manufacturer of general automotive, high-performance and heavy-duty engine lubricants and additives, agreed to spend $120 million over 20 years to gain naming rights to the new retractable-roof stadium being constructed in Indianapolis, Indiana, for the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, Floyd saw a golden opportunity.

With the help of his wife, Brenda (herself a principal in a Mobil Auto Spa multipurpose facility in Evansville, Indiana), Floyd is in the process of building the very first Lucas Oil Center in Newburgh, Indiana. The facility should be open by the fall of this year.

Sited on a two-acre lot, the multipurpose carwash/fast lube center promises to be among the fanciest anywhere.

“Each facility will incorporate décor relating to Lucas motorsports and will also have an Internet café where visitors will have free Wi-Fi access to the Web and can partake of refreshments while their vehicles are being serviced. Think of it as a cross between a NASCAR race shop and a Starbucks,” Floyd said. “We will have a clean and friendly environment the whole family can enjoy.”

One of the first orders of business for Floyd was allying himself with Lucas Oil. After some preliminary meetings and submitting a business plan, he found a willing participant in Forrest Lucas, Lucas Oil Products founder and president, who readily agreed to license the Lucas Oil name.

“We’ve spent years developing what I believe are the very finest products of their kind for a wide variety of applications. Lucas Oil Center will be a perfect medium for getting them to the general public,” Lucas said. “There are many people who are familiar with the Lucas brand, but have not used our products because until now they’ve only been available to do-it-yourself enthusiasts who service their own vehicles. I’m really excited about the growth potential here.”

Before designing his facility, Floyd consulted with Kwik Industries, Sonny’s and Indiana architect Conner & Associates to come up with the perfect layout. The first Lucas Oil Center will feature a three-bay, double-stack fast lube, a flex-wash tunnel carwash (where drivers can use the express exterior-only carwash or opt for a full-service interior and exterior carwash), and a 2,000-square-foot lobby and waiting area with upscale seating and high-tech video monitors.

“We’ll have flatscreen monitors linked to cameras in the lube bays so customers can watch their vehicles being serviced. It’s a new way to interact with customers,” Floyd said.

The carwash also will be equipped with lobby-mounted water cannons that children can use to “shoot” cars that are rolling through the carwash tunnel.

“Industry data suggests more than 50 percent of our customers will be women, and many of them will have kids with them. We want to make them feel at home,” Floyd said.

In addition, the lobby also will be the home of a coffee bar featuring everything from chai tea to mocha lattes.

“This will be a destination site,” Floyd said. “We’re designing it so customers can make it a one-stop shop or simply drop in for a cup of coffee. It won’t have a folding-chair, greasy-smell environment. Our goal is to build a facility that will appeal to everyone from the everyday motorist to a dedicated high-performance enthusiast. We’ll offer carwashes, detailing, oil changes, as well as brake, cooling system and air conditioning system services. Our facility will be set up to handle cars, vans, light trucks, SUVs, RVs and motorcycles.”

Of course, the lube shop will feature Lucas products. “Our featured oil will be Lucas Motor Oil,” Floyd said, adding that the facility also will offer other brands to customers who request them.

For Floyd, partnering with Lucas Oil was a no-brainer. “Lucas Oil is a very familiar name within the motorsports community, but at this point in time, almost everyone we talk to has heard of Lucas Oil Stadium. It’s definitely affected the state of Indiana big-time, and there’s a great deal of brand awareness,” Floyd said. “Another reason we selected Indiana is that most of our competition is locally owned, single-use facilities. There are some fast lube/full-service carwashes out there, but no multi-use facilities like this one.

“Plus, the people in Indiana are very loyal to their sports teams. This is a good place to start Lucas Oil Centers.”

And if you noticed the plural at the end of that sentence, it wasn’t a mistake. Floyd already has plans on the drawing board for additional Lucas Oil Centers throughout the state and beyond.

“We have sites under consideration on the outskirts of Indianapolis, and we’d eventually like to branch out to other states,” Floyd said, adding that he plans to work hand in hand with the Lucas family as the company grows.

“We believe in (Lucas) products, and we like the people,” Floyd said.

Floyd said Lucas Oil Centers also will serve as a retail hub for DIYers looking for Lucas Oil products. “We’ll sell racing oils, additives and other products to consumers in our lobby,” Floyd said.

Floyd aims to make sure the new facility is eco-friendly, as well. To that end, he’s designed the facility with used oil burners to heat carwash water and a water reclamation system that will keep water usage to a minimum.

Inside the fast lube, Floyd said they’ll offer a good, better, best system of oil changes ranging from conventional to full synthetic motor oil (including a top-of-the-line 12,000-mile/one-year synthetic motor oil Lucas Oil Products is set to soon introduce).

“We won’t be the cheapest oil change on the block, but we will have more to offer,” Floyd said.

For Lucas, the move represents a bigger push into the DIFM market.
“There is great growth potential for Lucas in the installed market,” Floyd said. “Their target is mainstream America, the people who are seeing Lucas-sponsored cars, events and, now, Lucas Oil Stadium on TV. With Lucas Oil Center, those people will now have a place to have their cars serviced.”


From: http://www.noln.net/inside_features/Lucas_Center_0208.html
 
Sounds like a solid move for them. Depending on the price, it could be a fantastic move for everyone.
 
“We’ll have flatscreen monitors linked to cameras in the lube bays so customers can watch their vehicles being serviced. It’s a new way to interact with customers,” Floyd said.
 
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