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1901 Frank was born on
January 16th in Eureka, Utah, south of
Salt Lake City. He was raised on a farm in Idaho.
Frank attended grade school plus one year of
high school.
1920 He and his younger
brother, Lawrence, moved to Southern
California and worked for their older
brother George, who operated a garage in
the twin cities of Hynes-Clearwater.
1921 Frank attends Coyne
Trade School in Chicago. Frank and Lawrence
start an electrical business. One
aspect involves installing
water pumps and refrigeration units in the many dairies in the
area.
1927 An ice plant for
manufacturing block ice was built. The
ice was used in
home ice boxes and to cool fruits and
vegetables being shipped out of Southern
California in rail cars.
1939 With the growth of
home refrigerators and less ice demand
in winter, Frank, with Lawrence and Pete
Zamboni, a cousin, built a skating rink
(Iceland) as a creative business
solution. Frank was granted
a patent on a unique ice floor that he had
designed. There were only four local rinks in 1940.
The 100' x 200' outdoor rink was built across
the street from its refrigeration plant.
1940 Iceland opened on
January 3, 1940 and became Frank's
primary interest. Originally an open-air skating rink, it
became difficult to
maintain ice without a roof, so one was installed in May of 1940.
1942 Frank saw a need to
improve the resurfacing of the ice
sheet; method at that time (shaving,
snow removal and water application) was
time consuming and labor intensive. He
experimented with various means to
improve the process.
1946 As President of
Hynes-Clearwater Kiwanis Club, Frank led the effort to unify
the towns of Hynes and neighboring
Clearwater, creating the city of
Paramount, California.
1949 Frank got first
self-propelled, single operator
resurfacer working. Frank was granted a
strong basic patent based on the design
of the "Model A", the world's first
self-propelled ice resurfacing machine.
1950 Frank formed
Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Inc., as his
original choice of "Paramount
Engineering Co." had
already been reserved. Sonja Henie
saw Frank's machine and ordered one, which Frank
drove to Chicago to deliver.
1950-54 Frank built 15
machines---each different and improved
over the previous unit.
1953 Patent for ice resurfacer
issued to Frank Zamboni for the Zamboni
Model A.
1954 With his first
standardized design, Frank sold and built
10 machines, including those for: Boston Garden; Boston Arena; Worcester
Arena and the Providence Arena.
1956 The popularity of
ice skating was on the rise and more rinks
were being
built, many outdoors. Frank redesigned
his machine using a stripped Jeep
chassis to allow for more water and snow
space. Richard, Frank's son, returned
home from his military service and
became involved in the operation of the
company.
1956 Frank assumes
management of Berkeley Iceland
in California.
1960 Winter Olympics at Squaw
Valley, California. This was the first
Olympic use of ice resurfacing
machines. Frank took six machines
to Squaw Valley; three
specially designed for the Olympic ice
surfaces.
1961 Frank was a charter
member of the Ice Skating Institute of
America (ISI), the national organization
of ice rink owners and managers and served
as it's president.
1963 The first machines
with self-dumping snow tanks were
introduced.
1964 The HD Series
featured an all-new design, eliminating the Jeep®
chassis and introducing a new vertical
auger snow conveyor system.
1965 Inducted into Ice Skating Institute Hall of Fame
1968 First production
hydrostatic transmission in Model HDA.
1970 At request of the
manufacturers of Astro-Turf®, Frank
develops and patents a machine to remove
water from outdoor artificial turf
fields. He also invents machines which remove paint
stripes and roll up artificial turf in indoor arenas.
1973 There is strong
growth in the industry, but the national energy crises
in 1973 causes a big disruption in
ice rink operations.
1976 Machine board brush
attachment introduced.
1978 Zamboni introduces the first
production electric machine, the Model
550. Zamboni 500 Series is introduced.
1988 Frank receives an Honorary Doctor of Engineering
Degree from Clarkson University
(Potsdam, NY). Frank passed away in July
of 1988.
1994 Lillehammer, Norway is the
first Winter Olympic Games to use all
electric Zamboni ice resurfacers.
1997 The NHL Detroit Red Wings
receive Zamboni machine No. 6,000.
1999 Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Inc.
celebrates 50 year anniversary.
2000 Frank Zamboni is inducted into United States Figure Skating Association Hall
of Fame.
2000 Configuration of the
Zamboni ice resurfacing machine becomes
a federally registered trademark.
2001
New ISI Award created to honor
Outstanding and Innovative Contributions
to the Ice Skating Industry...called The
Frank J. Zamboni Award and Frank is the
first recipient.
2002 Zamboni is designated the
"Official Ice Resurfacer of the NHL".
2005 Machine No. 8,000 is
delivered to the University of
Minnesota, home of the Golden Gophers
Hockey Teams.
2006 Frank Zamboni is inducted
into the World Figure Skating Hall of
Fame.
2007
Machine No. 8,500 is delivered to
the City of Kitchener, Ontario in Canada
2007
Frank Zamboni is
inducted into the National Inventors
Hall of Fame
Throughout the years, Frank
worked to build the best product and to
encourage growth in the ice industry.
While he faced competition from other
manufacturers - five domestic manufacturers
and eight in Canada have come and gone,
the Zamboni brand of ice resurfacing
machines remains the overwhelming choice
of arena operators around the world. His
belief in ongoing product improvement
and innovation lives on today in the
company he founded.
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