March 25, 2024

This paid piece is sponsored by Midwest Fidelity Partners.

The car wash industry was ready to be disrupted – and Midwest Fidelity Partners had the expertise and vision to do it.

In 2010, Midwest Fidelity Partners entered the Sioux Falls market with a single Silverstar Car Wash location and a value proposition: one flat rate and as many car washes each month as the driver desired.

“This was new to the market, but it resonated,” said Bryan Slama, co-founder and CEO of Midwest Fidelity Partners, a real estate development firm that specializes in construction of car wash facilities throughout the Midwest.

“Operationally, though, one location wasn’t enough to execute the business model. People saw value because they could get a wash anywhere, anytime — near where they lived, worked or otherwise spent time. And that required building out a network.”

Under Slama’s leadership, Midwest Fidelity Partners went on to develop a network of 11 Silverstar car washes in Sioux Falls, followed by six in Sioux City and six in Fargo.

The company now is developing locations in the Twin Cities, Des Moines, Quad Cities, Omaha and Salt Lake City.

Along the way, Slama has overseen more than $180 million in construction projects and has been involved in all phases of the development process, from site selection through construction and opening, negotiating agreements with contractors, vendors and consultants. He has collaborated with architects and engineers on the design of the car washes, optimizing them both for efficiency and customer experience.

“We worked with them shortly after they got started and were happy to support their growth needs,” said Joe Bunkers, president and chairman of Gage Brothers, which provided precast concrete for the projects.

“We approached them with an all-precast solution that was cost-effective and allowed them to gear up and build faster, and they were receptive to it. They had dreams of accelerating faster, and we were happy to build a strong relationship with them.”

Silverstar became part of Mammoth Holdings, the nation’s premier express car wash platform, in 2021. Midwest Fidelity Partners, which is based in Sioux Falls, develops and builds new washes, which then are acquired and operated by Mammoth Holdings under its various brands, including Silverstar.

“We work with Mammoth Holdings on site selection and carefully select communities for growth,” Slama said. “We look for available discretionary spending on exterior car care in markets with a high population count that are similar to markets where we’ve succeeded already.”

Slama, who brings a background in day-to-day operations as a founder of Silverstar, has a deep understanding of what it takes to succeed in the industry. His history of building people-focused teams and delivering exceptional service also is built on a solid foundation of financial knowledge.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration in banking and financial economics from the University of North Dakota and was the president of Strongbox Advisors, a registered investment adviser in South Dakota. This financial expertise has been invaluable in guiding Midwest Fidelity Partners through its growth and expansion.

“We’ve seen significant growth, but we see more opportunity ahead,” Slama said. “We’re already the largest provider of car washes in three markets, and it’s our vision to establish that leadership as we enter new markets in the years to come.”

For Midwest Fidelity Partners, year of growth sets up busy 2024