Portland Cement, Skokie, IL

Job we recently completed at the Portland Cement Company, located in Skokie, IL.

The Portland Cement Company operated its research and laboratory divisions out of its Skokie location for almost 90 years. They were responsible for testing new structural applications for products such as precast frames and bridges, shell structures and folded plates. One of their laboratories was in itself, a giant testing machine, capable of resisting forces of over 10 million pounds, and had 24 inch thick concrete floors. Among their 30 laboratories, several also conducted research on the physical properties of concrete and reinforcing materials during exposure to fire, which is why one of the buildings housed five furnaces. Portland Cement was also home to the only million-pound press in private ownership. This press was capable of one-million pounds of compression, while still being accurate enough to measure the correct pressure to crack an egg. In fact, much of what we now know about the properties and safe uses of concrete can be directly attributed to the work done at this facility.

And this is why it was such an exciting project for Johler Demolition to complete! Rarely these days do we come across buildings built this structurally sound, so total demolition of these structures was no easy task. But with the right fleet of equipment and highly skilled operators, laborers and management team, it was efficiently and safely dismantled. Thank you to our team for all of their great work on this project!