The Concrete Division at Cullen fought frigid, winter temperatures laying the foundation for a building expansion and tabletop construction to support a 575-ton, German printing press for the Register Star in Rockford, Ill.

The project demanded 1300 cubic yards of structured concrete and 141 tons of rebar forming a 60 x 100' foundation, five-feet-thick, and 16 columns, measuring 14 feet tall, forming the tabletop to support the massive press. Plastic tents discouraged wind, sleet and snow from hampering the Cullen efforts, along with heaters and ground thawers, in order to keep the job on the projected timeline.

The most challenging task of the project, according to Cullen's Project Superintendent was aligning the embedded plates and boxouts for the press' paper rolls while maintaining a tight, one millimeter tolerance to create a flat and perfectly level tabletop surface.