At the car wash: Euless company develops device designed to cut water use

Texans love their cars and trucks — and love to keep them clean.

Viran Nana has been a successful businessman for several years because of that.

His company, Euless-based Q Companies, owns three hotels in the area and also owns and operates several car washes. Two years ago, Q Companies sold 11 car washes they owned at that time to Caliber Car Wash, an Atlanta company.

Nana likes both his business lines, but one thing always troubled him about the car washes.

“You just can’t always tell what your water costs are going to be, you can’t budget for that,” he said. “There is no greater headache or stressor than looking at a $10,000 water bill because of high water usage or leaks. By the time you get the bill, it’s too late, you have to pay it.”

Nana mentioned the problem to his son, Dilan, 24, who began working on a solution.

“We wanted to do something for us and for other operators as well,” he said.

It took a while — about five years — but Nana believes they have the answer.

“It sounds like it would be easy, but it’s not,” he said. “We own and operate car washes, so we really knew what we needed.”

Their solution is a product called FlowStat, a mobile application to monitor the volume of municipal or city water utilized per-car-washed on an hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis. The real-time data empowers operators to resolve leaks and high-water usage issues on a timely basis.

“You can be on a golf course and the system will tell you there is a problem and you can make decisions quickly,” he said. Nana says FlowStat can save car wash operators more than $30,000 in water savings per location annually.

“Presently, numerous car wash facilities consistently utilize 40 to 60 gallons per vehicle, often without awareness that simple adjustments could reduce this figure to 20 gallons per vehicle washed,” said Nana.

The product has been tested at 17 car wash facilities across the United States. FlowStat made its official debut at the Southwest Car Wash Association’s 2024 Convention & Expo in Fort Worth on Feb. 28.

“There was a lot of interest,” Nana said. “I just got off the phone with someone with several car washes who is very interested.”

Pricing for FlowStat per car wash location is $8,900, plus $199 per month maintenance and optimization fee. Nana estimates the payback for the cost of the system is less than one year.

For Nana, FlowStat is a different type of business to be in.

“I’ve always built and/or owned a business, like a hotel or car wash, all real estate based. So selling a product like this is different,” he said. “I’ve had to learn a lot.”

But Nana knows a lot about learning how to operate a business. Born to Indian parents in Zambia, Nana and his family came to Texas in the mid-1970s. He got a degree in business from the University of Texas at Arlington. His family owned hotels and, for much of the time, the family lived in the hotel they ran.

The company currently owns three hotels, a Marriott property in Cityview and two others in Denton, along with several car washes.

The company has been so successful that they now help build schools and water projects in Nana’s native Zambia.

“This year our goal is to complete 20 projects,” he said. “It’s exciting that we’re making a difference.”

He believes the same thing is true of FlowStat.

Water is one of the big issues facing Texas as it grows, he said.

“If we can make a difference for the car wash operators, it will make a big difference to them, but also to the state to help preserve those resources,” he said.

Blackland Distillery adds coffee-flavored whiskey

Fort Worth’s Blackland Distillery is releasing its latest spirit, Texpresso Whiskey, a 70-proof Texas whiskey infused with coffee, brown sugar, and pecan flavors, later this month. The new addition to Blackland’s lineup launches in tandem with the craft distillery’s fifth anniversary. They will be celebrating from 2 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, March 23, at its Foundry District tasting room and cocktail lounge located at 2616 Weisenberger St.

Bottles will be available for presale exclusively in Blackland’s tasting room starting March 23, before hitting liquor store shelves later this spring. Texpresso Whiskey can also be purchased online at blacklandfw.com/shop for direct-to-door shipping to 40+ states across the U.S. starting April 1.

“After witnessing the nationwide popularity of Texas Pecan Brown Sugar Bourbon, we decided it was time to introduce a bold, new flavor profile that combines the smooth kick of whiskey with the familiar, local flavors of coffee, pecans and brown sugar,” said Markus Kypreos, owner and founder of Blackland in a news release.

Marshall Grain opens Colleyville location

Marshall Grain Co., a 76-year-old locally owned organic garden center and pet supply store, has opened a new Colleyville location.

Located at 5311 Colleyville Blvd., the newly renovated property includes a retail showroom, warehouse, greenhouse, nursery and corporate offices. It will also house the company’s Landscape Division, which provides landscape design and installation, as well as organic yard maintenance services.

Until June of 2023, Marshall Grain was headquartered in Grapevine. Since then, the company has been in a temporary warehouse location in Hurst while awaiting renovations to the Colleyville property.

Marshall Grain Company has been around since at least 1914 when O.L. Marshall was supplying feed and eggs to the city of Fort Worth from his downtown store.

Highland Homes adding 175 jobs, office at Alliance

Highland Homes, a builder with communities in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Austin, has signed a lease at Hillwood Commons II and will be the first company to take up residence at Hillwood’s newly constructed Class A office in Alliance Town Center.

Hillwood Commons II, located at 9900 Hillwood Parkway, is a four-story Class A office building at Alliance Town Center. Construction and interior finish-out of Highland Homes’ space is taking place through this spring. It will be the homebuilder’s fifth location in Texas and serve as a hub for more than 175 local employees.

The 135,000-square-foot building is designed to accommodate an expansion of up to 270,000 square feet with an additional building connected by an outdoor courtyard and walkway.

Real estate deals

ETTL Engineers & Consultants Inc. has leased 5,000 square feet of industrial flex space at 3107 Avenue E, Arlington, from PHP 3101 Investors LP. Jim Ferris, vice president of Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services, represented the tenant. Corby Hodgkiss of Mercer Co. represented the landlord.

Superior Installations LLC has leased 4,160 square feet of industrial space in Raider Business Park, 3417-3425 Raider Drive, Hurst, from Raider EPA LLC. Jason Finch, senior vice president of Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services, and Michael W. Spain, executive vice president and managing partner, represented the landlord. Ben Schoenthal of McKissack Realty Group represented the tenant.

Do you have something for the Bob on Business column? Email Bob Francis at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org. Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.