With a firm commitment to reduce American dependence on foreign oil, Carl's Jr. will not have to look beyond its own stores for a solution. MJKL Enterprises, LLC, the largest franchise owner of Carl's Jr. locations
in Arizona with 52 stores statewide, says it will convert all corporate fleet vehicles to operate on alternative fuel derived from waste vegetable oil (WVO) collected at their Arizona franchise locations by early 2010.
"This is about more than our commitment to running a responsible and sustainable enterprise," said Jason LeVecke, CEO of MJKL Enterprises. "It's a challenge to our corporate peers to play an active role in lessening America's dependence on foreign oil, and supporting the healthy, free-market alternatives that exist for us as businesspeople and consumers."
The company has already converted 20 percent of its vehicles to run on a WVO-based alternative fuel, and plans to convert its remaining vehicles within the next 36 months. Converted vehicles include Jeep, Dodge, and Ford models, which operate on a mixture of diesel and waste vegetable oil that has undergone filtration and treatment using a proprietary process owned by MJKL, LLC.
"The current model of slowly integrating ethanol into fuel blends is designed by politicians to protect their own special interests. It's a poor solution," said LeVecke. "As a quick service franchise, we found ourselves sitting on top of a very viable solution to a significant energy problem in this country, yet we've had almost zero legislative support. We decided it's time to speak out and take action."