Charles Tellier was a French engineer who always showed great interest in mechanical engineering. After several unsuccessful attempts, Tellier managed to carry out a pioneering overseas shipment. In 1876, he fitted a methyl-ether refrigerating plant in a cargo ship. The vessel was renamed Le Frigorifique and travelled from Rouen to Buenos Aires with fresh meat. After a 3-month journey, the meat reached Argentina in perfect conditions on 25 December 1876. Tellier’s revolutionary vision triggered the mass exportation of meat from Argentina to Great Britain. However, Tellier did not exploit commercially his invention. In 1908, the first International Congress of Cold was held and Tellier, who became known as the “Father of cold”, received a sustained applause. In 1910, he wrote his interesting book Histoire d´une invention moderne, where he narrates all his challenges.

Frederick McKinley Jones was an American engineer who did not conquer the seas, but he revolutionized the field of portable air-cooling units in 1935. His first breakthrough consisted in a cooling system placed on the outside of trucks that carried perishable foods. He also developed an air-conditioning unit that was used by the US Army in World War II. The converted truck units led to the first refrigerated marine containers in the late ‘60s. McKinley was coined the “King of Cool”. He even co-founded Thermo-King.