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Cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 51F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.
A crane is prepared Aug. 17 to hoist a mooring dolphin completed by Fulton, Ill., metal fabricator J.T. Cullen Co. onto a barge near Fulton to transport it upriver into Wisconsin.
A mooring dolphin is lifted onto a barge in Fulton, Ill., on Aug. 17.
A mooring dolphin is constructed at J.T. Cullen in Fulton, Ill.
A crane is prepared Aug. 17 to hoist a mooring dolphin completed by Fulton, Ill., metal fabricator J.T. Cullen Co. onto a barge near Fulton to transport it upriver into Wisconsin.
A mooring dolphin is lifted onto a barge in Fulton, Ill., on Aug. 17.
A mooring dolphin is constructed at J.T. Cullen in Fulton, Ill.
FULTON, Ill. – Mooring dolphins completed by Fulton metal fabricator J.T. Cullen Co., Inc. were loaded by crane onto barges on the morning of Aug. 17 to transport them upriver into Wisconsin to be placed in locks and dams for the Corps of Engineers.
Eleven units total were made, all identical with the exception of one that’s a mirror image of the others. J.T. Cullen Operations Manager Michl Peters estimates that at about 15 feet in height, each of the units weighed in at about 50,000 pounds.
Once these large steel tubes welded together have been installed, after they’ve been filled with concrete and other pieces have been attached, each unit will weigh closer to 65,000 pounds.
The project began in December with an engineering phase. Once the Corps of Engineers gave its approval, building the dolphins began in April. Peters says three or four people in administration were involved in the project, with 16 people performing the fabrication.
After completion, they were transported on a custom-made trailer 15 feet wide to a harbor belonging to J.T. Cullen Co., and just north of the U.S 30 bridge. After being loaded onto barges there, the units traveled about eight hours north to Dubuque to undergo blasting, painting, and other prep work before continuing their journey upriver for two more days to their site of installation near central Wisconsin.
While these units are a major accomplishment, the project represents less than one-fifth of the company’s annual business.
“It’s a big egg in the basket,” Sales and Engineering Manager Scott Peth, says, “but it’s one of many.”
In 1957, Frank Johnson bought J.T. Cullen Co. from John Cullen. Johnson introduced custom-metal fabrication to become part of the ever-expanding company. It expanded into two Iowa facilities, a fabrication shop in Clinton and a machine shop in Camanche, until the mid-1990s when three merged into one under the roof of a new 122,000-square-foot facility at 901 31st Ave. in Fulton.
Today, the employee-owned company with ISO 9001 certification does a significant amount of work for the power industry in projects ranging from $700 to $14 million. The company is currently also working on the steel of large ductwork that will contain technology to filter air as per EPA regulations.
Numerous equipment improvements have been made, including new cranes, a large high-definition plasma table, large brake presses and rolls, a paint booth, and structural blasting equipment.
Inside the shop that contains all of this equipment, the smell of hot steel permeates the air while welders behind protective hoods work with stainless steel, aluminum, titanium, and the steel of a specific grade meant for marine applications used to create the mooring dolphins with an infinite lifespan.
“It’ll outlive us for sure,” Peth says. “We won’t see something that looks like that for probably another five years, if we ever see it again, and then the next thing will come in that you’ve never seen before. It’s always something new.”
Peters says the company is looking at further growth and possible expansion in its near future, and is looking to hire for production positions to help with that growth.
“The industry is very hot right now.” Peth says.
Interested applicants can find postings for the positions on Indeed.com or can also apply through the company’s website, JTCullenCo.com.
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