Vision, determination, commitment, drive, passion, and caring, are only a few words to describe Mike and Rhoda Mountz and the hundreds of loyal employees whose hard work made the growth of Cloister Wash & Lube a reality.

Mike always knew he wanted to own his own business, but he wasn't exactly sure what he wanted to buy or build. In 1984, at the age of 31, he bought Cloister Car Wash, a small wash in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. Hard work, vision, a great team of employees, and industry changing innovations that Mike and Team Cloister designed, developed, and implemented led to the expansion of the original single car wash and the addition of three more washes and three lube shops in Ephrata, Lancaster and Reading, PA. The scope of the operation was large by industry standards, with revenues of $14 million per year and an annual production capacity of 1 million cars.

Cloister's implementation of innovative services and operational efficiencies made them an operation that many other operators around the world came to visit to learn more about Cloister's success and continued growth. Many of Cloister's innovations were firsts for the car wash industry which led to Mike and the Cloister Team being inducted into the International Carwash Associations' Hall of Fame in 2010. Click here to view his acceptance speech. This was Cloister's third recognition from the ICA; in 2005 Cloister received the Community Service Leadership Award and in 2000 they received the Leadership Innovation Award.

Rhoda and Mike worked hard to create an atmosphere and "experience" at all locations that made everyone feel welcome, comfortable, and driving away with what became known as a "Cloister Clean Car." They and their team members' attention to customer service, the desire to create a memorable experience, offering a variety of service options, and being committed to what they do, all contributed to Cloister's 28-year success. There were many long time team members that made the journey with Mike and Rhoda, and remain in touch as they continue to feel like part of their "family."

Their journey of success culminated in December of 2012 when they sold the business to Mister Hotshine Car Wash & Lube Center, an Arizona based chain. "People warned us this would be hard, but there is no way to know what it's like until it happens," said Mike.

"Some business owners are driven by financial rewards. That was never what it was about for us," Rhoda and Mike added. "We were more interested in building something our family, employees and the community was proud of. Team Cloister created a customer service experience that customers talked about. Equally important, we wanted our employees to be proud to say they were part of the Cloister team."

Rhoda and Mike have five children with children of their own. Raising family and working with family can be a challenge. Rhoda says had she not been involved, she would not have fully understood the significance of each new step that the business was taking.

In the early years, Rhoda handled administration and finances, and planted thousands of flowers at the sites. Mike stayed busy with marketing and operations, and he was always experimenting with innovations that would give Cloister a competitive advantage.

From the beginning Rhoda and Mike set out to make going to Cloister an experience, and breathtaking landscaping at every site was always part of that. They knew that a person could easily wash their car at home, and the service Cloister was offering was not necessary. So they took everything to the next level including "Customerland" where customers could comfortably relax, check out some car history, and shop while waiting for their car. "We always wanted customers to say 'Oh and by the way, they wash cars,'" Mike said.

Mike was passionate about operations, and good people have always gravitated to Mike, added Rhoda. "He has a way about him that people desire to be really committed and do well; he brings that out in people."

In the first year, the car wash in Ephrata had 3 employees - the number grew to about 400 at the time of sale in 2012.

Cloister began offering the option of an interior cleaning to all of its customers in 1986.

The York location was built in 1995 as a full service car wash, and a car wash and lube shop opened in Lancaster in 1999.

The Reading location, built on eight acres in 2006 to include a car wash, pet wash, motorcycle wash and lube shop, is what Rhoda and Mike refer to as "the Disneyland" of car washes.

"We always had a tendency to try new things, to innovate, to make changes even when a change wasn't needed " Rhoda said. The changes and risks that Rhoda and Mike were willing to take are what took Cloister to higher levels of success. The conveyer belt system used to move cars along at the Lancaster site was Mike’s idea. Mike came up with what he called the "People Mover System," using his experience from working in manufacturing and a desire to enhance efficiency by reducing employee fatigue when they cleaned interiors and hand waxed exteriors. This technology is now used in multiple countries.

The Cloister Team was also well known for its community philanthropy. Over the years, Cloister gave nearly $5 million back to the community through its "Helping Hands" fundraising program and other contributions.

Rhoda, Mike, and the Cloister Team also started "Grace For Vets," a free car wash program for veterans and current service personnel on Veterans Day. Grace For Vets was started in 2003. Since then, over 3,000 car washes around the world have participated in the annual event. Mike served in the United States Army. He sustained injuries while serving stateside and was taken to a facility outside of Valley Forge that had many amputee soldiers. He never forgot seeing thousands of soldiers with missing limbs and got his team to rally around creating Grace For Vets because he wanted to do something to say thank you to those who have served and sacrificed so much for their country. About 5,000 veterans' cars were washed for free on November 11 at the 4 Cloister locations in 2012. Employees said it was their favorite day of the year. Over 260,000 cars are now washed each year worldwide on Veterans Day, and over 1 million cars have been washed since the program started.

Rhoda and Mike give credit to God, family and "Team Cloister" for their success. Without the team's hard work and dedication, and their commitment to customer service, Cloister would not have been successful. If you are interested in knowing more about the building of Cloister you can read a case study on the company by clicking here.