The year is 1959 and Ermal "Ernie" Fraze Needs a Beer
The Only Problem? He's forgotten his can opener...
What happened next?
The Story of an Indiana farm boy, a family picnic, and the invention of the "Pop-Top" can
1/ Ernie Fraze was born in 1913 on a livestock and alfalfa farm near Muncie, Indiana
From an early age, he was bitten with the entrepreneurial bug
Delivering over 500 newspapers per day, he would sell sandwiches to customers along his route to earn extra money
2/ As Ernie grew older, he eventually moved to Dayton, OH where he would find work as a machine tool operator
Enrie's main job? Milling novelty prizes for Cracker Jack boxes
As the years passed, he continued his work, while dreaming of one day opening his own business
3/ In 1949, Ernie's dream would come true
Thanks, in part, to an $800 loan from his wife Martha, the "Dayton Reliable Tool & Manufacturing Company," was born
DRT would go on to manufacture a wide array of products and amass an impressive customer list
4/ Names like General Electric, Ford, Chrysler, and Nasa were among his most prestigious clients
Ernie's company was a success...
Yet it wasn't until a family picnic in 1959 that the inspiration for his most iconic invention struck
5/ A fan of Schlitz, Ernie grabbed a can of his favorite beer, only to realize he had forgotten his "church key" can opener
Forced to open the cans using the bumper of a nearby car, he thought,
"There must be a better way" 
6/ Armed with a combination of annoyance and inspiration, Ernie set out to create a new style of can
One that would no longer require a separate tool to open
To Ernie, the secret was in the rivet-style fastener at the top of the can
7/ Initial designs featured a lever attached to the rivet
When one end of the lever was pulled, the other end would depress a pre-scored section of aluminum on top of the can
Thus allowing the beer to flow freely
8/ Over the next few years, Ernie continued to improve on his initial design, ultimately receiving a patent in 1963
Despite the innovation, Ernie's creation was met with resistance
9/ Large brewing companies, fearing increased production costs due to re-tooling requirements, were slow to adopt the new technology
Due to this; Ernie approached Alcoa, the nation's leading aluminum manufacturer at the time
10/ After a period of negotiation, a deal was made and Alcoa was on board
The deal? Alcoa would own the rights to the design while Ernie's company, DRT, would continue to make the machinery needed to produce the new style of can
11/ With the new agreement in place, Alcoa and DRT set out to secure the only thing they were missing...
CUSTOMERS!
The first large brewer to adopt the new tech was Pittsburgh Brewing Company, makers of "Iron City Beer"
12/ In their first year, PBC would order over 100,000 of the new style cans
The result? Iron City Beer sales balooned over 400%
Alcoa and Ernie were off to the races
13/ By 1965, Ernie's technology was used in over 75% of all U.S. breweries
Yet, as sales began to soar, issues surrounding the removable nature of Ernie's "pop-top" began to rise
Safety concerns, as well as increased litter, caused consumers to push for yet another new design
14/ Ever the innovator, Ernie again pivoted and by 1977 had patented the first "push-in / fold-back" tab
By 1980; this new design, along with DRT's manufacturing of the machinery used to make it, had driven Ernie's company to record sales
Amassing yearly revenues of over $500M
15/ Despite all of his success, Ernie remained humble
15 years after initially selling his company, he would purchase it back
Concerned over the direction of the company and fearing a move out of Dayton,
Ernie wanted to ensure all of his employees would keep their jobs
16/ Upon his death in 1989, Ernie and his wife Martha still lived in the same house they originally purchased in 1957
Ultimately, DRT was purchased by its managers from Ernie's heirs and remains in operation in Dayton to this day
I hope the story was not too long.....LOL, and I also believe we all have learned one or two things about believing in oneself and never giving up no matter the circumstances.
You can connect with me by clicking here
Meanwhile......
Do you want to learn how to generate high affiliate commissions on autopilot and get paid instantly? Apply below to check out this new way of doing this!
.
Want to see a free video revealing how? Go here
No comments:
Post a Comment