125 years ago, a machine shop opened in a small Danish town.
In 1901, Hans Gram started a modestworkshop in Vojens, Denmark. In 1907, his brother Aage Gram joined him. The work centered on dairy: equipment, repairs, and later refrigeration, built around the needs of a growing industry.
As refrigeration improved, a new category grew alongside it. Ice cream.
What had been small and local was becoming more structured, more industrial. And with that came new challenges. Ice cream had to look right. Hold its shape. Move smoothly through production. Deliver the same result, again and again. That shift took decades. But it changed what producers needed, and what equipment had to deliver.
Gram Equipment worked closely with producers and stayed focused on what actually happens in production.
In 1937, the RIA 3 automated popsicle production. In 1981, Vojens produced the world's first figure stick equipment, giving producers new options for product shape and format. Neither came from a single moment of invention. They came from years of working alongside producers, understanding how products behave, what makes them hold, and what makes people enjoying them.
Ice cream is simple. That is exactly what makes it difficult. The texture and consistency have to be right even when volumes increase.
Over time, the business expanded alongside the market: from individual machines to complete production lines, from local operations to a global presence. More variety, more formats, and high expectations on quality. Expectations around energy use and waste have grown. Production today is more complex than it has ever been.
For 125 years, staying close to industry has been what matters. Listening to producers. Questioning what could work better. Keeping the work grounded in what creates value in practice.
Ice cream has always been at the center. It still is.
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