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From the 50’s: Mold-A-Rama (MAR)

Mold-A-Rama was developed in the mid-1950’s by Tike Miller of Phoenix. He licensed the invention to the Automatic Retailers Association, which installed and serviced Mold-A-Rama machines, reaching a height of over 200 machines around the country. The ARA decided to drop Mold-A-Ramas after eight years, but an employee, Roy Ward, negotiated to buy them out. By 1967, he and a few other independent operators owned all the machines. Ward decided to retire in 1969, and sold his business to Bill Jones, who now owns and operates 70 machines. Besides the Chicago locations, Jones has machines—mostly in zoos—in Oklahoma, Tennessee and Wisconsin. The other major operator is based in Florida.

When you operate a Mold-A-Rama, polyethelene plastic at 250 degrees is pumped through a pipe at the bottom of the mold. A second pipe then blows cold air to force the plastic into the crevices of the mold. The plastic hoses which give the machine that cool techno-Frankenstein look, pump automotive antifreeze to cool the mold quickly.

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Moldaramaville

Source: Mold-A-Rama

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