✦ WE ARE ✦
CARWASH
PEOPLE
first.
HOW IT BEGAN
OhmCo Timeline:
OUR STORY
It started with a wash and a 2nd kid...
OhmCo didn't start as a biz plan. It started with a designer who fell in love with the carwash industry. Today we're a full studio with a proprietary tech stack, an in-house creative team, and a focus: making carwash operators the best in their market.
Mel Ohlinger didn’t set out to build a carwash marketing agency.
A Navy veteran and former Cryptology specialist, Mel found her way into graphic and website design through work in the automotive, hospitality, and apparel industries. Her first carwash project came through a dealership that had purchased a wash, and the creative freedom of designing for that space immediately clicked. That project led her to Washworld, Inc., where she learned the in-bay automatic carwash industry, worked with distributors across the U.S. and Canada, and helped design and launch the Razor EDGE.
After her second child was born, Mel started taking on small design projects from home for carwash friends. Those favors turned into paid work, and that work eventually became OhmCo.
Today, OhmCo combines real carwash industry experience with thoughtful design, practical tools, and creative support built specifically for carwash operators.
OhmCo grows...
What started as freelance graphic design grew into a full marketing agency. Design requests became website requests, and website requests became social media requests. Each time the tides changes, Mel built a new platform and process to accommodate the new requests. In 2022, it became more than she could do on her own and her husband, Mike Ohlinger, joined as Director of Operations and Organizational Development (the DOOD) bringing with him a background in technical writing from the water treatment industry.
Between the two of them, OhmCo had graphic design, operations, client relationships, and deep industry knowledge all under one agency umbrella.
Today OhmCo serves carwash operators across the country (and the world) with six specialized labs for web design, social media, graphic design/project management, signage, data, and now digital signage too! OhmCo's labs are built on a
proprietary platform we own and run ourselves. We're independent, we're carwash-centered, and we're still the same studio that gets genuinely excited about a well-designed wash menu or a weird mascot.
"Our designs started appearing at washes we'd never visited. That's when we knew something was happening."
Mel Ohlinger
CEO & Founder
Navy veteran. Morse code specialist. Design Director. Carwash obsessive. Mel founded OhmCo after years designing for the industry and realizing no one was doing it right. She's spoken at The Carwash Show on AI in carwash marketing, represented independent small businesses at the White House Small Business Forum, and helped pass paid family leave in Minnesota. She's also a painter and a mother of two — in no particular order.
Mike Ohlinger
THE DOOD
Director of Operations & Organizational Development
Mike joined OhmCo full-time in 2022, bringing a background in technical writing and documentation from the water treatment industry — user manuals, price books, installation guides. Turns out that translates beautifully to carwash: clear communication, organized systems, zero tolerance for things that don't make sense. He runs operations, keeps the trains on time, and has a deep personal interest in hardware synthesizers if you ever want to go down that rabbit hole.
We don't want you to feel stupid.
Most agencies found the carwash industry, but we chose it. OhmCo started with a designer who fell in love with the challenge of building brands that actually work in this weird and wonderful industry. Today, we're a full-service studio with our own tech platforms and in-house creative team, helping carwashers with better branding, smarter marketing, and tools that actually make sense to use.
Empower, Don't Overwhelm
Marketing tech can be complicated. We build tools and run programs that make your wash easier to market - not harder to understand. Clear explanations, real support, no jargon for its own sake.
Design Earns Its Price Tag
We believe great design drives sales, builds trust, and justifies every dollar. We don't do templated, generic, or "close enough." Every deliverable is made by our team, for your specific wash.
Carwash-FIRST, Always
We don't take too many clients from outside the carwash industry. That means everything we build, every tool we develop, and every strategy we run is informed by years of carwash-specific experience. You never have to explain your world to us.
Technology Forward
We run a full proprietary platform — web, social, signage, SMS. We stay ahead of what's coming so our clients don't have to. Technology should work for you, not pile up as another thing to manage.
Independence Is Everything
We're not owned by an equipment company, a PE firm, or anyone with a stake in what you buy. Our advice exists to help your wash — nothing else. That independence is something we protect fiercely.
Long-Term Relationships
Maybe it's because we're married folk, or maybe it's that midwestern charm, but at OhmCo we grow with our clients. The best results come from operators who stick around and let us refine their brand, grow a customer base, and build marketing programs and tools that compounds over time.
We get around.
Shows, podcasts, summits, articles, press releases, forums, and the occasional 4th of July parade. We show up where the carwash industry shows up — and a few places it doesn't expect us.
Events & trade shows
- The Car Wash Show
- European Car Wash Show
- Car Wash Show Australia
- SCWA – Southwest Car Wash Association Convention & EXPO
- Heartland Carwash Association Show
- NRCC – Northeast Regional Carwash Convention
- Carwash Con East
- PA Carwash Association Annual Dinner & Tabletop Show
- NACS Show
- SHINE Car Wash Show
- Petit Car Wash Equipment Vendor Dinner
- Carwash Bus Tours
Speaking, training & media
- ICA – International Carwash Association Speaker
- Carwash Con East Speaker
- “AI at the Wash: Wins, Losses & What We’re Learning”
- PC&D Podcast – Professional Carwashing & Detailing
- Leadership Worth Following Growth Summit
- Women in Carwashing
- Carwash onsite training
- Carwash photoshoots
- ESEEDs Entrepreneur Course
- Heartland Product Show
- Marketing Masterminds Club
- Industry panels, workshops, and training sessions
Business, leadership & advocacy
- The White House Small Business Forum
- Governor’s Roundtable
- Madison Day of Action
- Small Business Summit
- Hill Capital Corporation Business Summit
- Main Street Alliance
- Chippewa Falls BEAR – Business Expansion & Retention Showcase
- Bring Your Own Business Local Small Business Forum
- Small business healthcare advocacy and media interviews
Community & local
- Neenah High School Bowling Banquet Sponsor
- Sponsoring local student field trips
- History at the Castle field trip sponsorship
- Carwash gift cards for graduating seniors and coaches
- Neenah, Wisconsin 4th of July Light Parade
- Birthday Bags for Broken Bread
- Local school and community fundraising
- Small business and nonprofit sponsorships
And, of course...
We’ve climbed through tunnels, ridden carwash buses, photographed equipment, stood in wash bays, spoken to rooms full of operators, handed out rubber chickens during AI presentations, walked more trade show floors than we can count, and traveled a long way from our little office in Wisconsin. If there’s something happening in the carwash world, there’s a pretty good chance OhmCo has either been there, worked on it, photographed it, talked about it, or knows somebody in the room.
What club members say
"Joining this club transformed my cycling. The professional coaching and supportive team environment helped me achieve results I never thought possible. I've improved my FTP by 45 watts!"
Sarah Mitchell• Category 2 Racer
"The structured training programs and performance testing have taken my racing to the next level. The camaraderie among members makes every training session enjoyable."
Marcus Chen•
Criterium Specialist
"Best decision I made was joining this club. The coaches are knowledgeable, the group rides are perfectly organized, and I've found lifelong cycling friends here."
David Rodriguez• Endurance Rider
