Program

Great American Rail-Trail

Subject

Industry & Commerce, People

Location

2300 Acorn Dr, Dayton, OH 45419, USA

Lat/Long

39.715525, -84.157493

Grant Recipient

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

Ermal Cleon Fraze was born in 1913 in Randolph County, Indiana. He natural-born tinkerer who honed his skills through the General Motors Institute Engineering Program. In 1937, he moved to Dayton, Ohio—a city then known as a hub for American innovation.

By 1944, he had married Martha Louise Wolfe, with whom he would raise two sons, Terry and Mark. In 1949, Fraze founded the Dayton Reliable Tool & Manufacturing Company, a specialized tool and die manufacturer.

In 1959 Alcoa (Aluminum Company of America) approached Fraze to develop a new form of tab top for metal containers. At the time, opening a beer or soda required a can opener. Fraze went to work in his shop, designing and engineering a prototype machine to manufacture easy-open cans with an attached tab. In 1963, Fraze received a patent for his “tear strip opener.”  By pulling a ring-shaped tab, the user tore a strip of aluminum out of the lid to form a spout.

The tab top can, also known as the “pop top” or “snap top,” was revolutionary to the beverage industry. It was reported that by 1965, over 75% of all U.S. breweries had adopted Fraze’s design. It quickly expanded beyond beer to frozen juices, soup, coffee, and other liquids.

Fraze didn’t just invent the tab top; he invented the means to mass-produce it. His plant developed machines capable of producing 400 can tops per minute. Fraze’s success prompted Dayton Reliable Tool and Manufacturing Company to expand to a workforce of 360 people across five plants.

He struck a landmark deal with Alcoa, selling them the exclusive right to license the technology to packers and can companies, while Alcoa supplied the specialized aluminum strips. This pivotal deal allowed this technology to surge in popularity and scale. By 1968, an estimated 10 billion beer cans featured his easy-open top.

As the 1970s arrived, the industry shifted toward the non-removable stay-tab to address litter and safety concerns—a design that evolved directly from Fraze’s original concept.

Not only was Fraze a trailblazing industrialist, but he was also a pillar of the local community. He served on the boards of the Third National Bank, the University of Dayton, and Wright State University, giving back to the institutions that fueled the region’s intellectual and economic life.

Ermal Fraze passed away in Kettering, Ohio on October 26, 1989.