Touring Musicians Turn to Veggie Oil with Greenvans

Written by John Rarrick
Published on December 9th, 2009
Posted in Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO)

Part Two of an ongoing series featuring entrepreneurs who utilize straight or waste vegetable oil (SVO/WVO) to fuel their businesses while reducing their carbon footprints.

Anthony Rovedo and Andy Reitz of Greenvans

For every U2 and Bon Jovi—touring the world in private jets and spacious tour buses—there are thousands of working musicians making their way to the clubs and bars of America in not-so-spacious  passenger vans.

Andy Reitz, a drummer from Boston, was one such musician. Fed up with pouring the bulk of his band’s earnings into the gas tank after every gig, Andy, and fellow musician Anthony Rovedo, founded Greenvans, a company dedicated to helping musicians save money while doing their part to help to reduce the environmental impact of touring. I had a chance to speak with Reitz about the birth of Boston-based Greenvans. Read the whole interview after the jump…

JR: Was the idea to start Greenvans an overnight thing or was it in the works for a while?

AR: The idea came out of necessity really. A few years ago, my band started touring more frequently, ultimately booking a two month tour. I told the guys in that that if they booked us for two months, I’d buy a van. I’ve always been interested in the WVO technology, as well as other alternative fuels, and I wound up at the end of that tour, after a lot of trial and error, with a great WVO touring van, complete with a trailer that would haul about 2,000 miles worth of grease. When we got back home, everyone wanted to use our van. That’s when I knew I was on to something. So, I guess it was just a natural progression. That first van was sort of the prototype. Now we have a small fleet of touring vans and a nationwide network of grease suppliers.

JR: Who is the typical Greenvans customer?

AR: Touring bands that would rather rent than own and really like the idea of running on an alternative fuel source.

JR: There are a number of great conversion systems available for WVO, which did you go with?

AR: I did a lot of research on diesel-to-grease conversions, but ended up going with the Veggiestroke System made by Dino Fuel Alternatives out of St. Helens, OR. They make a great turnkey, almost idiot proof system for the Ford Powerstroke diesel engine, which is what we use in all our vans.  We do all the conversions ourselves, so I’m really familiar with every vehicle we send out on the road.

JR: I imagine most of your customers have never traveled on grease before. What do you do to shorten the learning curve?

AR: We do about an hour-long tutorial, where we show them how to use the system and answer any questions they might have. The first question everyone has is “Where do we fuel up on the road?”. We’ve built a nationwide network of WVO suppliers with locations in just about every major tour market.  So, while you might have to deviate slightly from your route, you’re never far from the next grease stop.  Also, all our vans come equipped with trailers that hold 125 gallons of fuel.

JR: How did you go about setting up a network of grease sources?

AR: That’s still ongoing. The WVO scene is an extremely friendly and passionate community of creative people. There’s a real willingness among the community to share what works and what doesn’t. Some of the most rewarding moments our customers have out of the road is meeting our suppliers and learning about the technology. All the people in the supply network have become close friends of ours.

JR: How big is the fleet?

AR: Right now we’re up to four vans. We’re expanding conservatively as we refine the business model. The goal is to increase the fleet and work closely with festival tours. There’s a growing awareness amongst many musicians regarding carbon emissions and the impact cars have on the planet. Our customers tend to fall into two categories–those who care about the earth, and those who care about their wallets. In my case…it was both.

Photo courtesy of Greenvans, LLC

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