Washington, D.C., Dec. 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sara Schuttloffel
sschuttloffel@impact-net.org
(202) 383-4885
E.S. Fox Limited Wins Prestigious Industry Award for Precision, Innovation, and Exceptional Craftsmanship
Niagara Falls, Ontario — December 1, 2025 — E.S. Fox Limited is proud to announce that the company has been awarded IMPACT’s Project of the Year for its complex and high-stakes rehabilitation of the historic Mitre Gates at Lock 7 on the Welland Canal of the St. Lawrence Seaway System. Lock No. 7 is the last Lock at the top of the Flight Lock System that lifts the ships to the full 326’ elevation change of the Niagara Escarpment. IMPACT is an association comprised of over 4,000 contractors and 130,000 ironworkers that supports industry growth by expanding work opportunities for union ironworkers and partner contractors in the U.S. and Canada.
The Lock 7 project stands as a remarkable feat of engineering and ironworker expertise, requiring precision execution under challenging winter conditions and involving some of the heaviest and most technically demanding lifts performed in the region.
E.S. Fox began by carefully hoisting and removing the original lock gates—massive steel structures weighing approximately 1,000,000 pounds each. They are even heavier when packed with decades of accumulated silt. After removal, the team transported the decommissioned gates for scrapping.
To replace them, Iron Workers Local 736 (Hamilton, Ontario) crews “harvested” two historic gates constructed in the 1930s that had been preserved underwater near Port Weller since the 1950s. Once raised, floated, and tugged to the company’s Port Robinson facility, the gates underwent an extensive off-season restoration. The ironworkers blasted, inspected and then repaired, reinforced, and fully re-painted the structures, restoring them to near-original condition while meeting modern engineering requirements.
In the early winter of 2025, the refurbished gates were floated back to Lock 7 and installed using a specialized barge outfitted with two large derrick cranes—each capable of lifting 216 metric tonnes. Working in tandem with custom-designed spreader beams, the cranes carefully rotated the horizontal gates to a vertical position, set them onto their pintles, and connected the massive eyebars using 8-inch connection pins. The gates were then successfully re-commissioned.
The operation required meticulous coordination, with some components relying partly on water buoyancy to achieve lift and alignment. Despite the extreme weight, tight tolerances, and harsh winter weather, the entire project was completed without any recordable incidents.
“E.S. Fox Limited is grateful to receive the recognition by IMPACT of the outstanding and difficult work performed by our ironworkers on this project,” said Pat Cimek, vice president of construction and fabrication services, E.S. Fox Limited. “This achievement reflects the expertise, discipline, and unwavering commitment of our crews, who delivered a complex and essential infrastructure upgrade safely and successfully.”
The award highlights E.S. Fox’s longstanding reputation for delivering technically challenging industrial projects through innovation, deep collaboration, and craft excellence.
About E.S. Fox Limited
E.S. Fox Limited is a multi-trade constructor and fabricator serving the industrial, institutional, commercial, and energy sectors across Canada. With a focus on safety, precision, and technical excellence, the company provides integrated solutions in structural steel, mechanical systems, fabrication, and construction services for complex, high-impact projects.
Sara Schuttloffel Ironworker Management Progressive Action Cooperative Trust 2023834885 SSchuttloffel@impact-net.org
