In 1976, identical twin brothers, Jim and Jerry Mashburn, created Magma Products. They were two young California sailors who, besides their love of sailing, loved to barbeque. However, experiments with attaching grills to their boat proved unsuccessful. The porcelain metal grills available in the mid 1970’s were just not up to the task. After a short time attached to the stern of Jim and Jerry’s boat, the grills simply rusted out and became completely unserviceable. Knowing the durability of stainless steel in marine environments, the twins set to work making a stainless steel grill that would withstand the hardships of a salt water environment.
But developing a grill that could work on a boat and survive the environment was not their only challenge. Starting on the west coast where they lived no marine store was willing to stock their grills, so the brothers often left their invention in the stores on consignment. The brothers would work the nearby docks to drum up customers, find a customer for their products, and lead them directly to the marine store to purchase the consigned grill. This convinced the marine store buyers of the demand for their product and orders soon followed.
Forty years later, the familiar shape of Magma Grills can be seen in every harbor from Newport to New South Wales, from Cape Cod to Cape Horn, from the South of France to San Francisco. Their first grills used charcoal, but over time they adapted them to propane. That original charcoal grill is still available and is now complemented with several round and rectangular propane models.
The company has developed mounting devices to accommodate any possible boating need, Cookware and Fillet Tables to help prepare and to serve your Marine Cuisine on board, Umbrellas to keep you shaded while doing so, and anti-roll devices to steady the boat while you enjoy your favorite meal. Magma also manufactures grills, griddles, cookware, accessories and even a pizza oven for camping and backyard grilling.
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