Thanks to Franchise Direct, franchising is going green.

As businesses continue to embrace environmentally-friendly practices, the franchising industry has witnessed the recent growth in green franchises. As such, Franchise Direct, the world’s leading portal for franchise opportunities, is proud to announce the launch its own line of green businesses. Eco-conscious business practice represents the way forward and Franchise Direct is looking to provide the entrepreneurial world with a green injection.

The reasons for a green conversion are bountiful. The world can no longer sit idly by and expect the earth’s resources to replenish themselves. And while necessity drives the engine of environmentally-friendly commerce, profit is still part of the equation. The truth is, the time is coming is when environmentally-friendly practice will be the exception, not the rule, for small business owners. Innovative entrepreneurs are developing their green businesses at the moment and Franchise Direct has decided to provide them with platform for global success.

With Franchise Direct’s green franchises, entrepreneurs will be provided with a vast range of business opportunities linked together by a common commitment towards saving energy and utilising green energy methods. As the green marketplace continues to expand, Franchise Direct will be the central resource for this franchising sector, fostering the gradual evolution of the industry.

Take, for example, a company like Filtafry. In 1996, Filtagroup launched the Filtafry brand, after pioneering a cleaner oil filtration technique. Filtafry gained attention from restaurant owners immediately because it provided a more economical approach to oil filtration. Its environmental impact, however worthy, was something of a secondary concern. But Filtrfry sensed that a market was developing and chose to continue investing in its line of environmentally-sustainable products. Thirteen years later and Filtafry is at the forefront of its industry and living proof that green businesses can also be profitable ones.

The Franchise Filtafry is just one of the exciting environmentally-conscious companies that Franchise Direct now provides access to. There are also green opportunities with pizza, home cleaning and indoor air cleaning businesses with Franchise Direct. And this is only the tip of the franchising iceberg. As the marketplace responds to the present environmental challenges, green franchises like Filtafry will become more and more essential to commercial activities. You can be guaranteed that Franchise Direct will be on hand to provide entrepreneurs with direct access to the most innovative green businesses.

As the success of a company like Filtafry illustrates, there’s no stopping a unique entrepreneurial idea. If you’re an investor look to ride the crest of the green wave to financial success or if you have a sustainable business concept that’s ready to thrive on a national level, let Franchise Direct act as your conduit to profitability and business growth.

Author Information

Diana Thurmann
Franchise Direct

These vans are ready to provide FiltaFry, FiltaCool and FiltaBio services.

GRAND RAPIDS — When General Motors shut down its 36th Street stamping plant last year, maintenance supervisor Mark Ruhland figured it was time to be his own boss.

“I heard about (GM) jobs in Flint, but I loved Grand Rapids, and I started looking at what I could do,” said Ruhland, 49. “There’s a thousand restaurants in Grand Rapids, so I looked at what they had to service these restaurants.”

A year later, he has a circuit of area restaurants where he purifies cooking oil to double its useful life.

Although he deals with 350-degree fryer oil and works a five-and-a-half day week, with almost no holidays, he would “never, never, never” look back.

“What I like about this is: I know exactly what I have — it’s my business,” he said.

Ruhland is part of a national trend — men middle-aged and older who have lost their jobs in the Great Recession. Looking for the next chapter of their working life, they decide they want to go on their own.

About 80 percent of jobs lost nationwide in recent years were held by men. The reason is simple: manufacturing, construction and other male-dominated industries were the hardest hit.

Some chose to go back to school. Others sent out stacks of resumes for so-so jobs paying less than their previous job with fewer benefits.

No wonder, then, more people cut off in mid-career are choosing to go into business for themselves. At least the long hours and low pay are their call.

That’s what the Sloan Center on Aging and Work at Boston College found. Workers 50 and older are more likely than younger workers to be independent, self-employed workers, and 23 percent of mature workers laid off in the past year are considering their own business.

In Michigan, with the nation’s highest jobless rate, the number of people taking the entrepreneurial plunge is surging.

“Last year, we saw a huge jump” in start-ups, said Dante Villarreal, Region 7 director of the Small Business and Technology Development Corp. based in Grand Rapids.

One in three participants who take the agency’s Fast Track small business training end up launching a company, he said.

In Grand Rapids, Ruhland also is focused on the future — and growth.

His Filta franchise is a one-man operation, but he’s expanding into Lansing this spring, aiming eventually to employ three vans and workers.

Ruhland clearly believes in the technology and environmental benefit he brings to Van Andel Arena, Fifth Third Ballpark, McFadden’s Restaurant & Saloon, Brann’s steakhouses and other busy fry sites in the Grand Rapids area.

“Everybody loves you. They like you because they don’t have to do the nastiest job in the kitchen.”

New Filta Franchose Owner Bob Smith talks on screen at the end of  his training course in Orlando, FL

Hot on the heels of  its “Best of Orlando award“ from The U.S. Commerce Association, The Filta Group was awarded 30th place in the national Franchise Hot 100 published by

This award recognizes the growth of individual franchisees in the Filta network as well as the strength of the business model during the trying economy of the last couple of years. 

The FiltaFry, FiltaCool and FiltaBio services combine to make up the Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions business.

From there, the oil is purified and the majority sent to be made into biodiesel, the safe and environmentally friendly alternative to petrochemical based diesel.

According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the United States spends about $475,000 a minute on foreign oil – a staggering number when you stop to think about it. The annual total spent on crude oil imports is approximately $250 billion. The U.S. uses approximately 20 million barrels of oil a day (that’s about 3 gallons a day for every person in the country), more than half of which is imported. By 2025, demand is expected to rise to 26 million barrels a day – about 60 percent of which will be imported.

Consider this: In addition, China’s rising oil demand and imports have made it a significant factor in world oil markets. China is second only to the U.S. in consumption, surpassing Japan for the first time in 2003. Transportation sector ranks first in consumption. Roughly 67 percent of all U.S. oil consumption is in the transportation sector.

About 37 billion gallons of on-road diesel are used each year in the U.S. According to the EIA, reducing demand for oil in the transportation sector will have to be the central component in any serious effort to reduce the overall demand for oil.

See what people who have been to a Filta Discovery Day say… you may be surprised.  Here they talk about the day, the people they meet and the FiltaFry business.

Having completed the February training course, new Filta Franchise Owner Paul Casarotto speaks about his experience with joining the Filta team.