Transforming paving with innovative equipment, leading and growing business while championing industry and community progress
Inducted 2026
Michael “Mike” Manatt earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in July 1975, the same year he married his Cyclone sweetheart, Jo-Ann. His summers at Iowa State were spent working on Manatt’s Inc. crews to pay for his tuition. Manatt’s Inc. was started by two of Manatt’s uncles and his father in 1947.
Manatt and his wife moved to Chicago for an engineering position with De Leuw, Cather & Co. After several years, his uncles urged him to return to the family construction business to build a concrete pavement branch for Manatt’s Inc. He returned in 1978, and by 1980, had secured the company’s first interstate paving project. Manatt earned his Professional Engineering license in 1983.
Manatt’s Inc. has since grown into one of the largest Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) paving contractors in the Midwest, completing projects ranging from city streets to interstate highways to military bases and Air Force runways across the United States.
Manatt played a key role in designing and constructing one of the most innovative pieces of concrete construction equipment of his generation. Nicknamed the “Paradigm” for its transformative impact, the machine crushes concrete and removes rebar and other metals from concrete pavement while tracking down a jobsite. The Paradigm could move from project to project, taking in broken pavement at one end and producing separated metals for recycling and graded material for new subgrade at the other. The Paradigm crusher earned the prestigious NOVA Award from the National Marketing Association, and Manatt received additional recognition from the Spaulding Center for Transportation for his industry contributions.
Beyond his technical leadership, Manatt was a dedicated mentor and industry advocate. He served as president of the Iowa Concrete Paving Association and the Associated General Contractors of Iowa, earning induction into the Associated General Constractors (AGC) Hall of Fame and receiving the AGC Lifetime Achievement Award. He was also active in the American Concrete Pavement Association, serving as chair of the Innovative Technology Committee. as well as ICPA’s Knutson-Smith Award for lifetime contribution and innovation in concrete paving. He was also active in the American Concrete Pavement Association, serving as chair_ of the Innovative Technology Committee.
Manatt was equally committed to his hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa. Known for his effective leadership and quiet demeanor, he served on numerous local boards and committees. During planning for Brooklyn’s business district, he championed the inclusion of acommunity center, insisting it would bring vitality and attract families to the historic downtown. After his passing in 2005, community and industry leaders came together to build and name the facility in his honor: the Michael J. Manatt Community Center.