H.B. Mellott: An Adaptable Businessman
In 1927, Herman Benjamin Mellott (H.B.) started a lumber company with a World War I army surplus truck. In the late 1930s, construction of the Pennsylvania Turnpike fueled demand for aggregates. H.B. saw an opportunity and entered the quarry business.

When World War II lowered demand for aggregates, H.B. quickly adapted to the changing times and used his equipment for processing coal. Within a few years, Mellott employed over 200 people at several coal operations in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. In 1948, H.B. placed his son Herman Jr. in charge.

Tragedy and Perseverance
On July 16, 1948, while flying from Charleston to Chicago for an equipment show, the small plane--carrying H.B., Herman Jr., a superintendent, and the pilot--crashed, killing all aboard. Operations were taken over by H.B.'s widow Amy and his twenty-one year old son, Paul. Amy and Paul faced enormous challenges. H.B. died without a will or a life insurance policy. Further, the coal industry was entering a period of low demand and low prices.

To pay estate taxes, the coal-related properties and equipment were sold and all efforts focused on the quarry business. To this end, H.B. Mellott Estate, Inc. was incorporated in 1952 with Paul Mellott in charge.

Growth and Success in Aggregates
In 1954, Paul Mellott continued his father's success through adaptability when he opened a ready-mix concrete operation at the company's home base in Warfordsburg, Pennsylvania. The following year he opened a silica sand deposit which complemented the existing quarry and concrete operations.

Paul's brother Forrest joined HBM in the summer of 1958, and business boomed with the beginning of construction of the new interstate highway system. Paul and Forrest added four quarries to the operation in the 1960's and 70's. They developed Beaver Creek Quarry in Hagerstown, Maryland in 1965, and leased a quarry in Frederick, Maryland in 1966. Further quarries were added: Hancock, Maryland in 1968; Rockdale Quarry of Hagerstown in 1975, and Big Cove Tannery, Pennsylvania in 1990.

The Emergence of Portable Crushing Plants
The third generation of Mellotts came onboard when Paul's oldest son Paul Jr. joined HBM in 1974. His other two sons, Herman and Brian, started full-time the following year. The three sons were exposed to all facets of the company and became very involved in HBM's newest business: custom portable contract crushing operations.

The initial venture into this type of work had been made on various road jobs in 1966, but in 1975 HBM began to crush for customers in quarries with their first new portable crushing plant. By 1977 there were four portable plants in operation, and the business has grown over the years to include 22 plants currently operating in the field.

MEI: Completing the Circle of
Aggregate Production
By 1991, H.B. Mellott Estate, Inc. was providing customers with industry-leading aggregate products through quarrying, portable stone crushing and concrete production. With decades of knowledge and experience, it was natural for the Mellotts to complete the circle. They founded Mellott Enterprises, Inc. as a designer and supplier of crushing, screening, and washing equipment. MEI has capabilities to design, engineer, fabricate and install a complete plant or system.

A Total Supplier to the Aggregates Industry
Today, the Mellott Companies are a world-class, total supplier to the aggregates industry. They are a family-owned and operated business that was born from ingenuity and an extraordinary ability to adapt to changing conditions and efficiently meet customers' needs.

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