Gene Plattner would like to make ice obsolete, and with his Skate On, he may be able to do just that.
Skate On, Plattner's St. Louis -- based company, makes a plastic compound that, when laid on a flat surface and sprayed with a special fluid, becomes an artificial ice-skating rink. Skaters can glide on the plastic just as well as on real ice, but Plattner's rinks require no refrigeration, are easy to clean and condition, and cost about one-fourth as much as traditional rinks to install. In addition, they never become slushy the way ice rinks do, and can be picked up and put down in a matter of hours.
"Since it's portable," says Plattner, "Skate On is perfect for traveling ice shows like the Ice Follies. And because it eliminates costly electric bills, it can save municipal and community rinks from going under."
Even with these advantages, however, Plattner's company is still skating on thin ice. Skate On hasn't made it big in markets Plattner sees as naturals, like public rinks and ice shows. The reason, he says, is that his company is small.
"When Monsanto came out with Astroturf, it had the resources to promote it and give yards of the stuff away to schools and stadiums," the 57-year-old entrepreneur says. "But we couldn't afford to do that kind of promotion, and our small-scale efforts have really slowed us down."
Despite that disadvantage, he has made some headway. A little over a year ago, the company finally showed a profit and ice-show companies such as the Ice Capades are using Skate On for special props.
While he'd prefer to attract some investor capital, Plattner is pleased with a recent spurt of free publicity. "We've been on 'Good Morning America' and 'Today," he says, "and last summer a Maryland hotel installed a Skate On rink.That finally provided us with the showcase we've needed all along."