The Zamboni

An invention that turned maintaining the ice cool

Frank Zamboni

• Frank was born in Eureka, Utah in 1901. At the age of 21, he moved to California to work as a mechanic in his brother’s auto repair garage. In 1939, another family business, an ice rink, was created. He then learned how to take care of the ice.

• In 1949, Frank Zamboni patented a machine that resurfaced the ice. It would remove the nicks and gauges cause by players. Now instead of scraping the ice off with tractors, shoveling off the snow, and then hosing it, a machine could do all of it.

Improving ice maintenance

Saving Time

• This saved a lot more time and used a lot less effort.

• Now instead of a 90 minute job to resurface the ice, it took 10 minutes.

How it was Made

• He created the Zamboni by modifying a tractor. Zamboni added a blade that shaved the ice smooth and a device that would sweep the shavings into a tank. Then he put an apparatus that rinsed the ice and it would leave a thin layer of water that would freeze in a minute.

Old Zamboni

Zamboni’s Today

The Zamboni revolution

• Today, kids can play more hockey because of this invention. Not only did Frank Zamboni make maintaining ice less tedious, he made ice more available for the thousands of kids that play hockey.

• THANKS FRANK!