Everything Ice News

Local company assists in Winter Classic

2011-01-06T05:24:00-08:00

Ted Potts
tpotts@tribdem.com

JOHNSTOWN — Everything Ice at 701 Main St. in downtown Johnstown has provided a key component of the practice rink for the ballyhooed Winter Classic hockey game scheduled for New Year’s Day at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.

The practice rink is set up just outside Heinz Field and has been in use since Christmas Eve for various youth, high school and amateur hockey games as well as public skating, said Rich Hixon, executive director of strategic planning for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Winter Classic is scheduled to face off at 1 p.m. Saturday in Heinz Field. The Penguins will play the Washington Capitals.

The game will be televised by the NBC network.

Everything Ice has provided the “Porta-Ice’’ brand portable rink piping system for the practice rink, said John Burley, president.

He said the system allowed the entire rink floor to roll out in a matter of hours, covering the entire 17,000-square-foot ice sheet with 26 miles of coolant pipe in a 4-foot-wide, carpet-type configuration.

An antifreeze refrigerant was circulated through the system that made the ice sheet.

Although State College based-AccuWeather.com on Wednesday was calling for a high of 53 degrees for Saturday in Pittsburgh, Burley said the temperature should not impact the rink.

The Penguins will be playing on a rink inside Heinz Field that is overseen by the National Hockey League.

NHL ice chief Dan Craig said that while above-freezing temperatures are not ideal, they wouldn’t necessarily affect the 21/2-inch-thick ice surface that is refrigerated to 22 degrees.

Only bright sunshine in conjunction with warming temperatures would soften the ice.

Sunshine is not expected Saturday, said AccuWeather.com.

But rain is and that could be worrisome. A light rain could freeze almost immediately after hitting the ice, creating an uneven surface. A steadier rain might flood the surface.

Everything Ice has built about 800 ice rinks throughout the world, Burley said. Largely because of a resurgence worldwide in ice-skating interest, he anticipates continued growth in 2011.

http://tribune-democrat.com/local/x982166618/Local-company-assists-in-Winter-Classic

Haymarket Ice Rink Opens!

2010-11-03T02:19:00-07:00

By AMANDA STEWART
Published: October 29, 2010

HAYMARKET, Va. - The Prince William Hockey Club has a place to call home again.

After Prince William Ice Center’s roof collapsed during a snowstorm in February, the youth hockey club was left without a place to play.

The ice center owners expected to have their rink open in time for this season, but, in August, announced that they would not reopen in time.

Without the Ice Center, hockey club members had to travel to ice rinks in Maryland to play.

So, Prince William Hockey Club members began looking for another solution.

“We decided as a club it would be best to get an ice rink,” Prince William Hockey Club President Ron Evans said.

Club members got approval from the Haymarket Town Council to convert an abandoned building at 15151 Washington St. into a temporary ice rink, which they plan to use until the Prince William Ice Center reopens.

The club is holding a grand opening ceremony for their new temporary rink Oct. 30, from 1:10 to 2 pm.

The celebration is open to the public and will include a flag dedication ceremony, a raffle, food for purchase and ice hockey.

Evans said the ice rink has been open for about a week and has gotten good reviews from those who have used it.

“Everyone’s very excited and just ready to play some hockey,” Evans said.

About 700 people, including youth, teen and adult hockey players and figure skaters are expected to use the ice rink, Evans said.

Volunteers from the Prince William Hockey Club helped to get the rink ready to open.

“This never would have happened without our volunteers,” Evans said.

For more information about the Prince William Hockey Club, visit www.pwhockey.com.

http://www2.insidenova.com/news/2010/oct/29/ice-hockey-rink-open-haymarket-ar-616980

Keep on keepin' on!

2010-07-26T03:49:00-07:00

It's a great Monday! More great news as the contract and deposit have been delivered for the twin rink facility in New Jersey! We recently received contract and deposit for Muskegon, MI and could be closing on two more projects this week! Within the week, we will have a new distributor set up for Canada and continue to have success with our new partners in the U.K.

Cool New Machine!

2010-06-01T03:18:00-07:00

http://tribune-democrat.com/local/x2023225261/Company-s-cool-machine-fits-niche-at-small-rinks

Company’s ‘cool’ machine fits niche at small rinks Randy Griffith rgriffith@tribdem.com

SALIX — Everything Ice’s growing business of installing small and seasonal skating rinks in cities around the world led company President John Burley to discover something most of those facilities needed: A Zamboni.

In fact, traditional ice-grooming machines, including those manufactured by Frank J. Zamboni & Co., are too big for the smaller rinks that have grown in popularity in recent years, especially around the holidays.

The realization inspired Burley to introduce Sport Ice, a fully automated ice resurfacer being manufactured at the Everything Ice plant at 115 School St. in Salix.

“It’s a cool little machine,” Burley said. “It does everything the big machines do in one operation. It scrapes the ice, gathers the snow and stores it a holding tank, and it puts water down to smooth the ice.”

Renewed popularity of ice skating has created a surge in temporary rink installations in malls and other locations, Burley said.

Everything Ice has put in rinks in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Florida.

The international market also is picking up, with a number of installations going to cities in the Middle East.

Maneuvering a full-sized Zamboni or Olympia ice resurfacer on the small rinks can be impossible, and there are often weight issues, Burley said.

“It was a niche market that was not being accommodated,” Burley said. “This machine is the answer to that.”

Promotional videos are being shot at Planet Ice.

“We are glad to have a great complex like Planet Ice in our community where new technologies can be tested and improved to benefit the overall skating community,” Burley said.

“Over 700 ice rinks worldwide have come from Johnstown and we hope to keep this count continually growing,” he said.

The company expects to sell up to 40 Sport Ice machines a year, adding at least a few new jobs to the current staff of 17 workers.

Everything Ice puts West Lafayette back on ice!

2010-05-23T09:38:00-07:00

http://www.jconline.com/article/20100519/NEWS/5190322/Funds-allocated-for-WL-ice-rink-repair

A permanent fix for West Lafayette's Riverside Skating Center is on the way.

The West Lafayette Redevelopment Commission on Tuesday voted to allocate up to $50,500 to fix pipes under the ice rink in Tapawingo Park.

The fix will mean the city no longer needs the $59,200 ice mat it purchased last year as a temporary solution.

Though the ice mat, which rolls over the top of the existing rink, worked very well during the past winter, "it takes a heck of a lot of maintenance work," said Joe Payne, the city's parks superintendent.

Parks department employees had to spend a full week setting it up and another week tearing down to put it in storage. That's time they could spend doing something else, Payne said.

During the winter of 2008-09, cooling lines under the ice developed a series of leaks in joints at the curved ends of the rink, Payne said.

The leaks forced the rink to shut down early in the season. As workers tried to fix the leaks, more leaks were discovered, Payne said.

As a temporary solution, the city purchased a portable mat from Pennsylvania-based Everything Ice last fall. The purchase agreement allowed the city to sell the used mat back to the company for about $24,500 once the permanent rink is repaired.

Everything Ice will be doing the repair work that could cost up to $70,000, part of which would be refunded by the sale of the portable mat.

The work will involve replacing the leaky joints, which are made of plastic, with new steel ones that should be sturdier, Payne said.

City officials are also working to recover some of the repair costs through insurance, Payne said.

According to Payne, the portable ice rink was never meant to be a permanent solution. Even if it were, "it's going to deteriorate over time as well," he said.

Besides, "we'd like to use the investment we have in the permanent ice rink," he said. First opened during the 2002-03 winter season, the Riverside Skating Center cost about $1.75 million, funded largely by grants and private donations, Payne said.

--Curt Slyder/cslyder@jconline.com