Hawley Products Company
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President Harry Truman's sun helmet, made by Hawley Products.
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| Private | |
| Industry | Manufacturing |
| Founded | 1917 Geneva, Illinois, U.S.A. |
| Founder | Jesse Barnum Hawley, Senior |
| Headquarters | 1567 North 8th Street, Paducah, Kentucky, U.S.A. |
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Key people
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Todd Yocum (President), Don Hawley (President) |
| Products | M1 steel helmet liners, military sun helmets, globes, suitcases, furniture, fish tackling, loudspeakers |
| Brands | Hawlite Microbolic Kurvabolic |
| Parent | Hitco Carbon Composites |
| Website | http://www.hawleyproducts.com/ |
Hawley Products Company is a manufacturer of loudspeaker components. The company is the oldest manufacturer of loudspeaker diaphragms in the world. Historically, the company produced a variety of products composed of fibrous or plastic materials, including helmets, globes, microwave trays, automotive components, suitcases, and furniture. Most notably, the company is remembered for its World War II military helmets and helmet liners used by soldiers in the United States Army, Marines, and Navy. Hawley Products is the original designer of the M1 steel helmet liner. The company is also one of the two original manufacturers of the M1 steel helmet liner, alongside General Fibre Company. Additionally, Hawley Products designed and manufactured several versions of the pressed fiber military sun helmet used by the US military during World War II. The military continued to use this sun helmet throughout most of the 20th century, including Naval personnel during the Persian Gulf War.
The company was founded in 1917 in Geneva, Illinois by Jesse Hawley. However, Hawley's participation in the company was limited in the early years of the company due to the shifting commitments of Hawley's college football coaching career. The company was incorporated following Hawley's years coaching football at the University of Iowa from 1910 to 1915. Subsequently, two years into the company's founding, Hawley accepted an adviser role with Dartmouth's football program in 1919. This eventually led to his promotion to head coach of the Dartmouth football team from 1923 to 1928, a position he accepted for free without salary.
Hawley Products built the Newcomb Hawley factory in St. Charles, Illinois at 333 North 6th Street. The factory also served as the headquarters of the company, which produced military sun helmets and M1 steel helmet liners for the US military during World War II.
Under Jesse Hawley, the company invested heavily in research and innovation. During the 1930s, Jesse and his brother Don Hawley personally designed and patented products for the company. Dr. John C. Williams headed the Hawley Products research division in the 1940s and 1950s.
Jesse Hawley managed the company until his death in 1946, at which time his brother and fellow executive, Don M. Hawley, became president of Hawley Products. Don Hawley was also an inventor of several of the products and methods of production at the company. By 1946, Hawley Products had expanded its product lines into plastics, sound diaphragms, molded fiber, and filters.
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Wikipedia