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Howard Hall
1894 - 1971

A pioneer in the rock crusher equipment field, Howard Hall, while serving as president of Iowa Steel and Iron, purchased the Bertschy Engineering Company in 1923. This marked the founding of his new company, the Iowa Manufacturing Company, where in less than one year he had led the development and manufacture of the first portable rock crusher.

At a period in America's history when a full-scale, nation-wide road improvement campaign was underway, his company's turning-point development in construction equipment came as a welcome response to industry needs. 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 of a job site without loss of time and profit. Hall's innovative approach also provided the solution to the military's critical needs of mobility demanded by wartime conditions. This machine could be hauled from project to project, at speeds up to 50 mph, for construction of landing strips and roads wherever Allied forces set foot. Although the machine has been refined and modified over the years since its introduction, Howard Hall's innovation remains the forerunner of today's portable rock crushers.

Howard Hall was a stellar community leader and philanthropist. He served on the boards of numerous local corporations, utilities and banks, as well as hospitals, foundations and colleges. He received numerous distinguished awards from such organizations as the Iowa Medical Society and Mt. Mercy College, and was awarded an honorary doctorate in humanities from Coe College in 1956.

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