By: Colin McNeil Metro Published on Mon Jan 09 2017
“I’ve always had the dream to show there can be quality ice out there.”
It could be the most Canadian invention ever: a miniaturized, do-it-yourself ice resurfacing machine.
Made with backyard rink hobbyists and small communities that can’t afford full-sized ice resurfacing machines in mind, Chris Yenna’s creation is a compact, portable version of the ice cleaner we’re accustomed to seeing at NHL-sized rinks.
“The end result is the same,” the Calgary entrepreneur told Metro. “I just basically made everything smaller.”
While even relatively simple ice cleaners can run you $10,000 or more, Yenna said his ‘Ice NV’ portable ice resurfacer would cost significantly less than the big, traditional ice cleaners, which retail around $100,000.
He was hesitant to quote prices, with his creation still in the prototype stage. “I just kind of Frankensteined it,” he said. “I didn’t prepare myself for this [attention] in the beginning.”
No stranger to the outdoor ice game, the Facebook page for his creation, Porta Ice Ltd., proclaims he has “15+ years of ice maintenance experience and has installed and maintained portable ice rinks in over 40 countries and 5 continents worldwide.”
“I’ve always had the dream,” said Yenna, “to show there can be quality ice out there.”
By: Colin McNeil Metro Published on Mon Jan 09 2017
