Franz is a professional product designer and an ecodesign standardisation expert. He contributed to the first European repair standard in the past and currently works on durability and resource conservation. Many low-footprint devices were designed by him over the last decade, for example the first designed-for-repair LED light bulb which in the meantime became a part of the collection at Deutsches Technikmuseum. He chairs the Runder Tisch Reparatur e.V. in an honorary capacity and has previously researched at a Power Transmission Institute and in the Automotive Industry.