Zamboni Company facts for kids
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| Private | |
| Founded | 1950 |
| Founder | Frank Zamboni |
| Headquarters | Paramount, California, United States |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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Richard F. Zamboni (Chairman and President) |
Frank J. Zamboni & Company is an American company that makes special machines called ice resurfacers. These machines smooth the ice on skating rinks. The company is located in Paramount, California.
A man named Frank J. Zamboni invented the very first ice resurfacing machine in 1949. He then started the Zamboni Company in 1950. The name Zamboni is a special brand name that is protected around the world. Zamboni machines are built in Paramount, California, and also in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.
Contents
The Story of the Zamboni Machine
The idea for the first ice resurfacer came from Frank J. Zamboni. He used to work with refrigeration, which means making things cold. He helped places like dairy farms and fruit sellers keep their products cool. Frank even made large blocks of ice for cooling.
But as people started using new ways to keep things cold, the demand for ice blocks went down. Frank Zamboni then looked for a new way to use his skills with ice.
Creating the Iceland Skating Rink
In 1939, Frank Zamboni opened his own ice skating rink called Iceland Skating Rink in Paramount, California. Keeping the ice smooth for skaters was a lot of work. Three or four workers had to scrape the ice, wash it, and then use a tool called a squeegee to remove the water. After that, they would add a thin layer of fresh water to make new, smooth ice. This whole process took a very long time, and Frank wanted to find a faster way.
Inventing the First Ice Resurfacer
From 1942 to 1947, Frank Zamboni worked hard to invent a machine that could make the ice smooth much quicker. In 1947, he finally decided on a machine that could shave the ice, wash it, and squeegee it all at once. He built this machine onto the frame of an old army vehicle.
This early machine had a blade that shaved off the top layer of ice. Then, a thin layer of water was added to create a perfectly smooth sheet of ice. The machine also had a tank to hold the ice shavings, which were carried into the tank by a conveyor belt. This first machine was powered by a Jeep engine. However, Frank stopped using this model in late 1947 because it had problems with its blade and was hard to steer.
The Model A: A Working Machine
Frank Zamboni then built a new machine using a different army vehicle frame. This one had four-wheel drive and could steer with both its front and back wheels. By 1949, this new machine, called "The Model A Zamboni Ice-Resurfacer," was finally working well!
Frank made more changes to the Model A. He added a tank for wash water and a cover for the tank that held the snow. He also removed the front and back steering because the machine kept getting stuck against the rink walls.
The Model A didn't look as sleek as today's Zamboni machines. One reporter said it looked like a mix between a farm tractor and a wooden box! In May 1949, Frank Zamboni applied for a patent for his Model A. A patent protects an invention and stops others from copying it. In 1953, he finally received U.S. Patent No. 2,642,679. The very first Model A Zamboni, which was used at the Iceland rink, is now on display there.
Developing New Models
Frank Zamboni's next machine was the Model B. This one was quite different from the Model A. Instead of using a separate Jeep engine, Frank built the necessary parts right onto a Jeep body. The Zamboni Model C was also built on a Jeep body, but it had even more design changes. Frank raised the driver's seat so the driver could see better, and he made the snow-holding tank bigger.
From the late 1950s to 1964, the company made only small changes to the ice resurfacer design. Models C through F were very similar. However, the introduction of the HD series in 1964 brought a big change. Instead of a conveyor belt moving ice shavings into the snow tank, a vertical auger system did the job. An auger is like a giant screw that moves things upwards.
The new HD model also had a new hydraulic system to dump the snow. This meant that drivers no longer had to shovel the ice shavings out of the tank by hand! This design has been the standard for ice resurfacers ever since.
The "Zamboni" Brand Name
Frank J. Zamboni & Co. works hard to protect its brand name, "Zamboni." They don't want people to use "Zamboni" as a general word for any ice resurfacer, because it's their special trademark.
On March 2, 1964, Frank J. Zamboni & Co. applied for its first trademark, which was approved on May 4, 1965. This trademark protects the name "Zamboni" for "ice resurfacing machines." The company also owns other trademarks for the Zamboni name on different items, like toys and clothing.
There is a music group called The Zambonis who write songs about ice hockey. They are allowed to use the name "Zamboni" because they have an agreement with the Zamboni company. Another band, Two Man Advantage, was asked to stop using the name in 2004 for their song "Zamboni Driving Maniac." The company felt the song "implies an unsafe activity."
