Breaking and freezing of eggs began in U.S. in the 1890s in Minneapolis, Minnesota. George Dole, who owned one of the first cold storage facilities in the United States, and former school teacher H. J. Keith were the first to open an egg-breaking business, the H.J. Keith Company. They also began separating yolks from whites and selling them as separate products. In 1898, Keith made a deal with H. A. Perry of Salina, Kansas. Perry was the founder of Seymour Foods, and had invented a hand-operated yolk-and-white separator which dramatically improved productivity. Keith licensed this technology from Perry and dramatically increased production.