Historical Evolution of Ice Cream
- 1843 | The Manual Era: American Nancy Maria Johnson revolutionizes the world by patenting the first hand-cranked manual freezer (Artificial Freezer), democratizing ice cream.
- 1903–1920 | The Industrial Standard: Emery Thompson reinvents the sector by creating the first vertical mechanical batch freezer and, in the 1920s, the horizontal model — establishing the global standard for artisanal gelato.
- 1926 | Industrial Scale: Clarence Vogt launches the continuous freezer, introducing controlled air incorporation and enabling mass production.
- 1927–1944 | Italian Mastery: Otello Cattabriga automates scraping with the Mantecatore system, followed by brothers Bruto and Poerio Carpigiani, who simplify the vertical mechanism with maximum efficiency and hygiene.
- 1936–1938 | The Rise of Soft Serve: Tom Carvel creates the first soft serve machine, soon perfected by Frank Thomas Jr. with the introduction of the air injection system.
- 1960s–1970s | Popular Brazilian Engineering: Amid ingredient scarcity, Brazil invents the iconic 'American Ice Cream' machine. A high-rotation vertical system with gelatin syrup taps that made made-to-order portions. In 2020, Finamac reinvented this legendary concept to launch, in 2026, the revolutionary FLASH — the true instant ice cream machine.
Finamac's Visionary Tradition
Since 1954, when Domenico Arpino dreamed of unifying the market's vast variety of equipment, the industry awaited a definitive solution. In 2012, Finamac accepted the challenge: gathering PhD engineers and renowned research institutes, it began the most ambitious project in ice cream history.
The goal? To create a single piece of equipment capable of producing ultra-high quality artisanal gelato, serving instant portions like a soft serve machine, and operating in industrial continuous flow. All of this in an ultra-compact horizontal cylinder with adjustable air injection that doubles recipe volume — with the option of an innovative robotic module for automatic tub decoration!
In 2019, the prototype named WAVE was presented at the largest food fair in Latin America, in the city of São Paulo, causing absolute fascination in the market.
Now, protected by global patents and equipped with state-of-the-art technology, this rare engineering gem is about to be released to the market in 2027/2028. The future of ice cream already has a name, and it will be worth the wait!
