L.A.M. Phelan

Infobox Person
name = L.A.M. Phelan


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birth_date = late 19th c.
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death_date = 20th c.
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occupation = businessman and inventor
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L.A.M. Phelan was an American businessman and inventor. He is known mainly as inventor of the broaster equipment and method for pressure-cooking chicken, and founder of the Broaster Company.

Biography

In the late 19th century and early 20th century Phelan worked on invention and development with Goodyear, Monsanto, American Car and Foundry, and Allis-Chalmers, on the Panama Canal project, as well others in the fields of carton making, oil burners, and steam traps. [cite web
last = Flavor-Fast Foods
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title = Broaster's Founder...LAM Phalen (sic)
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url = http://www.broaster.com/founder.htm
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accessdate = 2007-05-26 ]

In the 1910s Phelan invented and developed various forms of the mercury switch, on which he obtained 52 patents. In 1920 he formed the Absolute Con-Tac-Tor Corporation to manufacture and market contactor mercury switches [cite web
last = Minnesota Historical Society
first =
authorlink = Minnesota Historical Society
coauthors =
title = HONEYWELL INC.: An Inventory of Its Records at the Minnesota Society
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url = http://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00051.html
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accessdate = 2007-05-26 ] . Through a series of mergers, this technology became an important early product of Honeywell [cite web
last = Honeywell
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authorlink = Honeywell
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title = Our History
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url = http://www.honeywell.com/sites/honeywell/ourhistory.htm
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accessdate = 2007-05-26 ] .

In the 1930s Phelan took over and ran the Taylor Company, now a subsidiary of Carrier Corporation, manufacturer of conventional and soft serve commercial ice cream freezers. In 1946 he organized more than 40 of Taylor's employees as Tekni-Craft, one of America's first worker cooperatives, to which he sold Taylor's manufacturing and distribution rights [cite web
last = Taylor Company
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title = About Us: Taylor's History
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url = http://www.taylor-company.com/about/taylorHistory.htm
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accessdate = 2007-05-26 ] . Phelan also invented the "Zest-O-Mat" frozen custard freezer and founded Zesto Products Dairy, which grew into a chain of more than 50 drive-in restaurants [cite news
last = Piersol
first = Richard
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title = Local couple settle over restaurant name
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pages =
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publisher = Lincoln Journal Star
date = April 9, 2007
url = http://www.lincolnjournalstar.com/articles/2007/04/09/news/local/doc461979769ea56387908221.txt
accessdate = 2007-05-26 ] .

From 1936 to 1949 he operated a manufacturer of X-ray tubes.

In the early 1950s, approximately the same time as Colonel Sanders began franchising his KFC restaurant chain, Phelan developed the broasting method of cooking chicken, for which he invented a modified commercial-grade pressure cooker. He founded the Broaster Company in 1956 to manufacture and market the machines.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.zestosc.com/about1.html About Zesto drive-in]