The Portable Elevator Manufacturing Co. began in 1902 through the work of A.B. Hoblit, Frank Evans and A.F. White. The business started out of a relatively small building of 4600 square feet and after successive additions were made to the building, in eight years it grew to cover 66,000 square feet and grew from a small local company to be a firm that supplied farms all over the United States with grain moving equipment. The factory was located on East Grove Street, near the Illinois Central Railroad.
In 1912 the company installed as 12 ton hydraulic press for forming sheet metal in to elevator parts. In 1914 the Pantagraph reported that sixty or seventy men were working two shifts at the factory to supply farmers with supplies that year!
In 1918 the men unionized and struck for shorter hours, higher pay and a closed shop. The owner's reaction was to offer more pay but refused to shorten hours or allow a closed shop. After a two week strike the men returned to work but the terms of the settlement did not appear in the Pantagraph. The company was experiencing a shortage of men during the Great War, like many factories in McLean County.
The day the end of the strike was announced, Otto Sablotzke's departure for the war was also reported. Otto was a member of the union at Portable Elevator and was given a watch by his work mates upon his departure for Camp Dodge. Otto was the son of German immigrants and was a cook in the army. After the war his career changed to baker. Ten other men from Portable Elevator were noted as serving in the war, all surviving the war.