In 1976, Industrial Screw Conveyors, Inc. was founded with a focus right in the name: screw conveyors.
Fifty years later, screw conveyors remain at the foundation of who we are, but the company built around them has grown into something much larger.
Today, ISC Manufacturing engineers and manufactures complete bulk material handling systems, mechanical conveying equipment, material storage equipment, mixers and blenders, structural assemblies, machined components, and large-scale custom fabrication for customers across a wide range of industries.
As ISC celebrates 50 years in business, we’re looking back at how a company built around the screw conveyor evolved into the manufacturing operation it is today—and where we’re headed next.
Where It Started: Industrial Screw Conveyors
Industrial Screw Conveyors, Inc. was established in Burleson, Texas in 1976 to manufacture screw conveyors, related bulk material handling equipment, and replacement parts.
From the beginning, the ability to manufacture equipment around a customer’s application was an important part of the business. ISC supplied standard CEMA screw conveyor equipment, but also developed custom conveyors and replacement components for applications that required something different.
That foundation in screw conveyor design and fabrication would ultimately provide the experience to take on much more.
Growing Beyond the Screw Conveyor
As customer needs changed, ISC’s capabilities expanded with them.
Screw conveyors led naturally into other areas of bulk material handling. Over time, the company’s equipment portfolio grew to include screw feeders, bucket elevators, drag conveyors, belt conveyors, live bottom bins and feeders, hoppers, silos, mixers, blenders, and other processing and storage equipment.
The industries ISC served expanded as well. Equipment manufactured in Burleson began supporting applications across mining and minerals, aggregates, chemicals, agriculture, food processing, waste and recycling, forestry, plastics, and other industrial markets.
The change wasn’t simply about adding more products. Each new application pushed ISC to solve larger and more complex material handling problems.
Instead of supplying one conveyor, projects could involve multiple pieces of equipment engineered to operate as a complete system.
From Equipment Manufacturer to Manufacturing Partner
As the equipment became larger and more diverse, ISC’s manufacturing capabilities grew alongside it.
Machining, CNC cutting, forming, welding, assembly, and engineering capabilities allowed more of the manufacturing process to remain in-house. The same capabilities used to manufacture ISC equipment also opened the door to increasingly complex custom fabrication and OEM work.
Today, ISC operates from a 200,000+ square foot manufacturing facility on 75 acres just outside Fort Worth, Texas.
That capacity allows our team to manufacture everything from a replacement screw, shaft, or wear component to large bins and hoppers, structural assemblies, mining equipment, and complete turnkey bulk material handling systems.
The evolution from Industrial Screw Conveyors to ISC Manufacturing reflects that change. Screw conveyors are still part of our identity, but they no longer define the limits of what we can build.
A New Generation of Ownership
Growth also brings changes in leadership.
After meeting ISC’s founder, Bill Hartley initially became involved with the company as a passive investor. As the founder approached retirement, the opportunity emerged for Bill to purchase the business and carry it into its next chapter.
Under Bill’s ownership, ISC has continued building on the company’s manufacturing foundation while investing in its people, technology, engineering capabilities, and ability to take on larger and more complex projects.
That next chapter isn’t about leaving the original Industrial Screw Conveyors business behind. It’s about using 50 years of manufacturing experience as the foundation for what comes next.
50 Years of Building
A lot has changed since 1976.
The equipment is larger. The projects are more complex. The industries we support are broader. Our manufacturing capabilities have expanded considerably.
But the core of the business remains familiar: solve the customer’s problem, engineer the right equipment for the application, and build it here in Texas.
Fifty years after Industrial Screw Conveyors opened its doors, screw conveyors remain one of ISC’s core product lines. Alongside them today are bucket elevators, drag and belt conveyors, feeders, mixers, hoppers, silos, bins, structural fabrication, machined components, and custom equipment that the company could not have imagined building when it started.
That journey is what turned Industrial Screw Conveyors into ISC Manufacturing.
Built on 50 Years. Still Building What’s Next.
Reaching 50 years in manufacturing doesn’t happen because of one product, one project, or one person.
It comes from generations of employees who built the equipment, customers who trusted ISC with their projects, vendors and partners who supported the work, and a willingness to continue adapting as industries and manufacturing technology changed.
We’re proud of where ISC started, proud of what it has become, and excited about what we’ll build next.
Thank you to everyone who has been part of the first 50 years of ISC Manufacturing.
