California's largest independently owned car wash company continues to grow with the addition of a second Prime Shine facility in Ceres.

The new car wash opened Dec. 23 at Whitmore Avenue and Mitchell Road. It and a new Cruisers gas station and convenience store are located on the busy corner once occupied by Barbour's Save Center, a popular Ceres business for almost 50 years.

"We partnered with our good friends at Cruisers for the ultimate in convenience. Fill up your tank, get a cup of coffee and wash your car all in one convenient location," said Evan Porges, Prime Shine's president.

The new facility is the 16th in Prime Shine's service area, which stretches from Lodi to Merced. The company opened its first car wash in Ceres in 1994 at Hatch Road and Richland Avenue. It has long been one of Prime Shine's busiest facilities.

"With the success of our Hatch Road location, we thought it was time to provide the citizens of Ceres with another Prime Shine option that might be more convenient for those on the other side of the city," said Porges.

He said his staff at the new car wash is committed to providing a high-quality wash at an affordable price using environmentally friendly processes that save water and energy. Prime Shine boasts that about 95 percent of the fresh water applied to each vehicle is captured, recycled and potentially reused.

The Whitmore and Mitchell location also features a newer state-of-the-art conveyor belt system to smoothly guide customers through the wash tunnel in less than three minutes.

Prime Shine Car Wash was established in 1991 in Modesto and has grown into California's largest independently owned operator with 16 locations and 145 employees in Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Merced counties.