Howard Hall

Founder / Iowa Manufacturing / 1894 - 1971 / Inducted 1993

In 1923, with America's nationwide road improvement campaign in full swing, Howard Hall founded Iowa Manufacturing Company and led in the development and manufacture of the first portable rock crusher one year later. The concept of a portable crusher effectively combined the formerly separate processes of crushing, conveying and screening into one machine.

For the first time, a contractor could move his "one piece outfit" onto and off a jobsite without loss of time and profit. Hall's innovative approach also provided the solution to the military's critical need for mobility in wartime conditions. This machine could be hauled from project to project, at speeds of up to 50 mph, for construction of landing strips and roads wherever Allied forces set foot. And although the machine has been refined and modified over the years, Howard Hall's innovation was the foundation for today's portable rock crushers.