91��Ƶ

July 7, 1999 10:54 AM, EDT

The feasts of Roman emperors were often graced by rare and exotic foods brought long distances packed in snow from the mountains.

That changed in 1938, when Harry Werner, a trucking executive in Minneapolis, complained to his golfing partner that he had lost a load of meat when one of his trucks broke down and the salty ice that it was packed in melted. The partner, J. A. Numero, a manufacturer of sound systems for movie theaters, said he could provide him with a better way to refrigerate a trailer in 30 days.

At the time, mechanical refrigeration was not unknown, but making a refrigerator that could be hauled over the roads was another matter.

It fell to Fred Jones, a business associate of Numero’s, to build a bulky, clumsy — but working — unit.

umero renamed his business U.S. Thermo Control Co., and Fred Jones became its vice president of engineering. The refrigeration unit was dubbed “Thermo King.”

Today, Thermo King Corp. is one of two major players in the field of refrigeration units for trailers. The other is Carrier, which came to trailer refrigeration by a different route and has its own story to tell.

For the full story, see the July 5 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.