In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, convicts in the U.S. and the U.K. were often forced to crush rocks with picks and sledge hammers. The task was more than punishment or “rehabilitation.” Prisons sold the quarried stone and crushed gravel as profitable commodities.

These days, the job of crushing rocks is done by big, heavy machines. One of the world’s leading manufacturers of such equipment is the Minerals Processing Systems (MPS) division of Terex Corp. Terex MPS manufactures crushers, washing systems, trommels, conveyors, cranes, concrete mixers, and machinery for processing wood and biomass. The company’s machines are used in construction projects, quarrying and mining applications, demolition and recycling operations, and the landscaping and biomass production industries. Terex MPS machines can process hard and soft rock, sand and gravel, ore and industrial minerals.