Ingersoll Machine Tools D-Bay & MES IV Expansion

JP Cullen completed the new expansions for Ingersoll Machine Tools in Rockford, IL. Ingersoll Machine Tools manufactures large machinery and equipment for the United States government and precise machinery for businesses across the world. The new expansions house the development of the Giant Magellan Telescope and additional production capacity that is home to a new Gantry machine that is being used to produce a variety of parts for both the defense and aerospace industry.

The original material that was going to be used was joist in deck. So early on we worked with the owner and the structural engineer to change the design of the building from steel joists to long span trusses with structural steel beams. This not only allowed us to get the structure started sooner, but it also saved the owner cost due to steel joists being overly inflated due to demand and gave them a better long-term project.

For both the large telescope to be constructed, along with a solid foundation for the Gantry machine, each bay had its own mass concrete foundation that needed to be poured. The mass foundation for the telescope was over 800 yards of concrete and was circular in shape. The MES-IV foundation was even larger, consisting of approximately 1,400 yards of concrete. In the MES-IV foundation, the team had to set (26) steel frames which held over (750) spiral pipe “cans” that would be used later to grout in anchors used in supporting the Gantry machine beds and tables. They also had to set about 280 LF of trenches.

These mass pours took place in July of 2021, so the teams ran into the challenge of a sizzling summer. To overcome the summer heat, the concrete crew began pumping concrete from Point Ready Mix with (2) concrete pumps from ACE Pumping at 3:00 am and averaged 95 yds. per hour. The crew of 14 had paced and bull floated 759 yards of concrete by ­­­11 am. Along with the concrete placed, 33 tons of rebar was placed by Harris Rebar for support in the foundation. To form the telescope mass foundation, Symons forms and specialty ties were used to create the circular formation of the foundation. Thanks to cooler weather and another early morning start we again were able to keep the concrete temperatures below the required 82 degrees pouring temperature through the entire pour.

Since the Ingersoll site is next to a neighborhood there was a lot of coordination by the owner to make sure the city and neighbors were informed about the early morning operations. Most importantly, both critical operations were done without any safety issues. Our team had multiple flaggers directing traffic due to the constant in and out of concrete trucks and to ensure the crews stayed aware.