After attending the Kieler Gelehrtenschule [de], he served an apprenticeship as a mechanical engineer at "Schweffel & Howaldt", with his father, August Howaldt. He then completed a formal study of the subject at the Technical University of Hanover.
In 1880, following August's retirement, he and his brothers, Georg [de] and Bernhard [de], took over the company and changed its name to "Gebrüder Howaldt". he worked as the chief designer and, later, Operations Manager. When the company was incorporated as "Howaldtswerke AG" in 1889, he became a board member and Director of the machine factory. Just before his death, he was elected a member of the Kreistag (District Council) for the Landkreis Kiel [de]. It is generally believed that he died from overwork.
He was married twice, to Emma Amalia Christiane, née Jungclaussen (1859-1885), and her sister, Maria Elisabeth Magdalena (1852-1930). He had five children, altogether. His son, Erwin, married Anneliese Scheibe, daughter of the mineralogist, Robert Scheibe [de].
In 2005, HDW became a division of "ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems".
In Kiel, at the mouth of the Schwentine, the site of the original shipyard is now occupied by the Industriemuseum Howaldtsche Metallgießerei [de], an old factory building that was reimagined as a museum, by the architect, Heinrich Moldenschardt [de].
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