By Hub City Times staff

MARSHFIELD – On April 5, the Baltus Company will celebrate the grand opening of their new state-of-the-art Baltus Express Wash & Detail Center, 539 S. Central Avenue, Marshfield, with a ribbon cutting.

For what is nearing a century in business, the Baltus family has been servicing the Marshfield area’s vehicles in a variety of ways.

Frank Baltus’ “Service Station and Car Laundry” was located on the corner of First Street and Chestnut Avenue, across from the Marshfield Police Department. John Baltus photo

“The Baltus Company has been in the automotive service/gas station, and car wash business in Marshfield for 92 years,” John Baltus explained. “I’m the third generation Baltus to run the business.  My grandfather’s ‘Home Service Station and Car Laundry’ was located on First and Chestnut Avenue from 1927, until my father took over the business in the 50s and built a service station and car wash on the corner of Fifth and Chestnut Avenue, where our corporate offices are currently located.”

John added that Frank Baltus’ “Service Station and Car Laundry” basically “consisted of Grandpa with a bucket of soap, a water hose, and a towel!”

He stated that his father, Vern Baltus’ “Ultra-Spray Car Wash”, was more modern than his grandfather’s facility.

“But it still only consisted of guys wearing rain suits scrubbing the car by hand, then sending it through a soap, wax, and rinse bath, followed by an automatic dryer,” he recalled.

In 1987, the car wash was relocated to 539 S. Central Avenue, where the Berg Pontiac dealership was previously located.

“The Full-Service Car Wash built in 1987 was completely automated, complete with soft cloth shammy ‘wrap-arounds,’ undercarriage spray, tire scrubbers, and sprayed on waxes and rinses,” John said. “Cars were vacuumed, interior windows were cleaned, and the exterior was wiped down by hand.  That process was utilized the past 30 years, until the new technology with our newest wash was installed this past winter.

“The new wash is the most technologically advanced car wash available today (and it does) it in just a
few minutes. No more waiting in slow-moving lines!”

For the next three weekends – April 5-6, 12-13, 19-20 – the company will celebrate their grand re-opening by offering half-price car washes and dozens of prizes, such as free car washes for a year, barbeque grills, chairs, and much more.

“In summary, I’m proud that the Baltus family has been washing cars in the Marshfield area for over 90 years and has been the leader in bringing the newest best technology to our customers during that time, and will continue to do so into the future.”

For more on the grand re-opening, see their ad on Page 3 of the Hub City Times print edition.