A MUCH-heralded venture opened shortly before Christmas ? the Bull's Head Car Wash, Bermuda's one and only facility of its type. The business, located just behind World Distributors in Hamilton and a stone's throw from the Bull's Head car park, is truly a family affair.

Behind the project are the Rivieres ? Art, Sharon and their daughters Danielle and Denise.

To introduce the concept, a new one for this island, the family sought insight from some of the leading companies across the United States, many of which, according to Mr. Riviere, were surprised to discover that an island with 25,000 vehicles had need for a car wash at all.

ERMUDA'S first fully-automated car wash opened a month ago. According to owner Art Riviere, the huge response is proof of how great a need there was for the service.

"There actually were a couple of car washes in Bermuda before this one ? although not of this magnitude," he said. "We constantly have people saying to us, 'Oh gosh. I wish this was here years ago'.

"It's a service that Bermuda was just hungry for. Bermudians are very particular about their vehicles but today, the rat race is here in Bermuda. Today you turn to your husband, your boyfriend, to clean your car after he's put in nine hours at work, and he's going to look at you as if you're crazy.

"It's really about convenience. And so, when you bring your car here ? provided there isn't a huge line-up ? you're out within five minutes. Within five minutes you have a clean, shiny automobile."

Mr. Riviere started the business following the sale of The Wok, a Bermudiana Road eatery he and his wife once owned. Having decided to move out of the restaurant business completely, he saw this new potential in a plot of family-owned land.

"I was in the process of getting out of the food business for a couple of reasons," he explained. "There was a change in the market. We saw the supermarkets get into the type of foods that we were in ? the fast foods ? and with the restaurant we had and the service we provided, we could not compete.

"Costs were also going up. By then we'd been in the restaurant business since 1989 and I saw this as something that had potential. I just knew this was the right location and since my wife's family owned the property, it made it easier."

Customers of the Bull's Head car wash have a choice of three options ranging from $25 to $45. Drivers opting for a basic wash leave with a clean car and a few extras ? attention is also paid to the vehicle's rims, and tyres are shined with a special solution.

The deluxe package provides the basics and includes a wax and wipe. The third level ? Mr. Riviere refers to it as 'The Works' ? offers a thorough cleaning, both inside and out.

The service is provided seven days a week. A staff of 12 is maintained to meet the demands of a weekday shift ? 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

"We have two shifts," Mr. Riviere said of the manpower required to meet the high expectations of his customers. "We also have a Saturday crew and a Sunday crew ? a total of about 21 staff."

With some first-time visitors as excited about the three-minute trip through the car wash tunnel as they are with the end result, the entrepreneur said staff use the word 'drive' with a great deal of caution.

"We try to stay away from that word," he explained. "You don't drive. The conveyor belt moves you around. The reason we don't say drive? One of the guys who was sending the cars in, asked one of the customers if they would like to drive through.

"The driver said yes. The attendant got distracted. When he turned around, the guy was literally driving through the tunnel. It didn't do any damage but it could have. So we have tried to keep drive out of our vocabulary. We say, 'Ride through the tunnel'."

machine uses 25 gallons of water to clean each vehicle. Between 20 and 25 per cent of that is recycled. Mindful from the start that water would be essential to the project's success, Mr. Riviere said he concentrated immediately on finding a steady supply.

"When I thought this thing through, everything had to be not just right, but perfect," he said. "I knew we needed water for this. I looked across the street at Masters Limited ? at that time the warehouse wasn't there ? and noticed they had a tank. I also noticed that when it rained, most of the water went into the tank, but some of it went to the ground. In other words, it was a very small tank and the water would overflow."

Mr. Riviere said he approached Susan Wilson, president and chief executive officer of Masters Limited, with a request to tap into the overflow. To his relief, she agreed.

"With that came such a huge sense of relief," he said. "(Today), this is my primary source of water."

The car wash functions according to a strict set of guidelines which take effect as soon as a vehicle is driven onto the property.

First, the car is checked for any loose parts. The idea is to prevent bits ? hub caps, door handles, fenders ? which are not properly attached, from falling off when brushed with the various mechanisms inside the tunnel of the car wash.

"We make sure that everything is tight," Mr. Riviere said. "If we see some parts of the car are loose, we just put a piece of tape on it and that usually holds it. There are cloths in (the tunnel) swilling around. If there's a sharp edge on the car, it's quite possible that the cloth will get caught in it.

"In some cases, if the thing is very fragile, it's going to (come apart). On average most of cars in Bermuda are well taken care of so everything is usually solid but we 'audit' the vehicle to make sure everything is in good condition."

After the driver has made a computerised request for the desired cleaning option and paid for the service, the automobile is steered to the front of the car wash. If the inside is to be cleaned, the company's employees set to work. If not, the car heads towards the tunnel.

"The car wash is computerised," Mr. Riviere said in explaining the process. "When you pay for your service you're given a receipt with a five number code on it. And when you get to (the entrance of the tunnel), you have to key that code into the input terminal. Some stages in the car wash are standard, some are not. The code tells the machine what you've paid for." Vehicles are then steered onto the conveyor belt, which guides them through the tunnel. Only fresh water is used in the cleaning process.

"Once you get here," Mr. Riviere explained, "the jets wet down the rims of the vehicle using a special solution that breaks the dirt down and also wets the whole side of the car."

A series of instruments are then used to ensure the automobile is perfectly cleaned. Each name is descriptive of the instrument's task ? 'wraps' wrap around the front of the vehicle, removing dirt from the sides and the back; a set of 'brushes' turn continuously, targeting dirt as they brush the tyres. The 'top brushes' brush the top of the vehicle as they clean it. Special jets apply soap, while a unit known as an 'Omni' administers a pressure wash.

"The pressure involved is 800 PSI (pressure per square inch)," Mr. Riviere explained. "It washes the rims, washes the car, washes the soap off the car and so on. Then come the rockers ? we call them rockers because they rock back and forth ? which give more agitation and more friction to (the cleaning of) the car."

WAX is applied once the car is rinsed, if part of the package purchased by the customer. A few short steps follow before 15-horse-power fans set to work, blowing the water off the vehicle.

As easy a concept as a car wash is, and with the hordes of traffic now on Bermuda's roads, Mr. Riviere said he believes he has a good idea why there hasn't been a car wash on the island in recent years.

"First there's the location," he explained. "I faced a challenge in getting the okay to do this."

From concept to completion, he said, the process took 13 months.

Because the property was located in the City, Mr. Riviere first approached the Corporation of Hamilton for permission to establish the business. The Corporation cited no objections but the proposal had yet to go before the Department of Planning.

"At the time we put our application through, there was a change in codes in the City," he explained. "Luckily, we got in at the right time."

A few months passed during which the Department of Planning discussed the proposal with the Corporation of Hamilton and the final application was floated before the Department's Environmental Committee.

"They said it was okay as long as the wash water went into the sewage system so we got rid of the chemicals," he said, adding that only biodegradable soaps are used in the process.

"But to answer your question as to why it wasn't done before? I think the main reason was because they would only allow something like this to be built in the City. They didn't want the chemicals to go into the water (lens).

"We were very fortunate that this piece of property was family property. And it just so happened that this was the ideal location for this ? we have (Bull's Head) car park right there."

The company enables customers parked at Bull's Head to leave their keys in the morning with the promise that by day's end, their car will have received a complete and thorough cleaning.

"They let us know what floor the car's on and approximately where it's located," Mr. Riviere said. "During the course of the day, we'll go up and get the car ? the Corporation allows us to leave a reserved sign on the spot ? wash it and put it back in the same location that the customer left it in."

Now 63, Mr. Riviere conceded this might be his last entrepreneurial enterprise but scoffed at the idea that he should relax and enjoy the fruits of his labour.

"Retire?" he laughed. "Retire and do what? Retire and sit in a chair? No. You have to live life. This is my last project. After this I will have to take it easy but for now I'm here all day because none of the guys know about the equipment. I do have a couple of guys in training, but I have to pass that information on to them."

q The Bull's Head Car Wash is open between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Monday through Friday; 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturdays and 10 a.m. through 6 p.m. on Sundays.