Our History

In 1946, Henry C. Duke and his son, Gene, seized a great opportunity.

The owners of a commercial laundry equipment repair company were asked to build an ice cream freezer for an up-and-coming franchise called Dairy Queen. What the duo came up with was the world’s first pressurized soft-serve freezer. Dairy Queen franchises soon began sprouting across the country, boosted by strong sales and outstanding profits from an exciting new dessert made possible by the Dukes’ machine.

Finding such success in their new direction, the father-and-son team of H.C. Duke phased out their commercial laundry business. In 1969, the company purchased Electro Freeze, expanding its reach outside of the Dairy Queen network. Over the next 30-plus years, the company continued to build on its legacy of frozen treat innovations, unveiling industry firsts including:

• A slush freezer with a neutral base
• A mix transfer systems
• Night switches
• A combined pressurized freezer and refrigerated CAB
• A twist freezers
• Mix-in flavor blender
• Pumps that serve the most consistent product

In 2003, H.C. Duke was purchased by the Ali Group, a company with 100 years of engineering heritage and tradition. Today, the Ali Group is more committed than ever to expanding the Electro Freeze tradition of innovation, dependability and profits for all our customers.