Zamboni is the machine brand name widely used for ice resurfacing machines.
Frank Zamboni developed the machine after opening the Iceland skating rink in Paramount, California, in 1939. Resurfacing originally required several workers to scrape, wash, squeegee, and flood the ice. Zamboni’s invention combined those tasks into one vehicle that could renew the surface far more quickly.
His first successful machine was built in 1947 on an army-surplus Jeep chassis. It shaved ice, collected the shavings, washed the surface, and laid down a thin coat of clean water that froze into a smoother sheet. Zamboni later patented the design in 1953.
“Zamboni” is technically a trademark and a brand name, not the generic name for every machine of this type. The generic term is ice resurfacer. Other manufacturers produce similar machines, but the famous brand has become so closely associated with rink maintenance that its name is often used conversationally for the whole category.