Ironworkers: The Best Kept Secret in Mass Timber Construction
Union Ironworkers bring steel expertise to timber, making them the best, safest, most efficient choice for mass timber.
Washington, D.C., Sept. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sara Schuttloffel
srschuttloffel@impact-net.org
(202) 383-4848
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ironworkers: The Best Kept Secret in Mass Timber Construction
Union Ironworkers bring steel expertise to timber, making them the best, safest, most efficient choice for mass timber.
Washington, D.C. – September 29, 2025 – When most people think of ironworkers, they think of steel—cranes, rigging, and iconic skyscrapers. Mass timber is not the first thing that comes to mind. But that perception is changing fast.
The International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers (Iron Workers) in partnership with its labor management arm Ironworker Management Progressive Action Cooperative Trust (IMPACT), is proving that ironworkers are not only part of the mass timber conversation, but they are the best equipped trade to erect these projects.
From landmark projects like the Walmart Headquarters in Arkansas, the largest mass timber building completed to date in the country, erected by Iron Workers’ signatory contractor Foust Fab & Erectors, to countless hybrid timber-and-steel structures across the United States and Canada, ironworkers are quietly setting the standard for mass timber erection. Ironworkers have proven that their structural steel expertise, efficiency, and safety culture make them the #1 choice for this growing market.
“Mass timber growth aligns with structural steel; the material is different, but the work is the same,” said Eric Dean, general president of the Iron Workers. “Ironworkers already know how to rig, hoist, bolt, and connect structural members. They have been doing this for generations. Whether it’s steel or timber, no one does it safer or more efficiently.”
“Swinging structural members is nothing new to ironworkers,” said Iron Workers Mass Timber Consultant Tom Baun of 3 Tree Consulting Inc. “A glulam beam must be rigged, hoisted, and connected just like structural steel members.”
Why Ironworkers Are the No.1 Choice for Mass Timber:
- Transferable Skills: Ironworkers have been erecting structures for generations. The skill set and expertise required to erect a mass timber structure is the same. More than any other trade, ironworkers have been specializing in structural erection for centuries. When it comes to mass timber projects, instead of steel, they work with CLT, GLT, Glulam, MPP, and any other Mass Timber products that are offered. The skills required to erect a structure remain the same.
- Proven Track Record: Union ironworkers erected Walmart’s sustainable HQ campus and many other large-scale projects demonstrating their leadership in mass timber at scale.
- Specialized Training: Through a partnership with WoodWorks, Iron Workers created a nationally validated and third-party verified, mass timber curriculum. Iron Workers locals are already using more than 35 mockups designed and supplied by FOUST Fab & Erectors, which now offers a wide range of hybrid mockups, to train a new generation of ironworkers, getting them an early start on mass timber from their apprenticeship programs.
- Hybrid Advantage: Since most modern projects combine timber and steel, ironworkers’ dual expertise makes them essential for the future of construction.
Our mass timber training is in partnership with WoodWorks, and therefore, third-party validated,” said Iron Workers Executive Director of Apprenticeship and Training James Owens. “The National Training Fund has established an extensive mass timber training program to train the trainers and ironworkers. We have integrated and implemented mass timber training into our already robust training and safety of over 30 Iron Workers registered apprenticeship programs across the United States and Canada. We are leading the construction industry in mass timber training.”
In addition to the comprehensive mass timber training, Iron Workers’ labor-management arm, IMPACT has launched a new Mass Timber Estimating Course, equipping Iron Workers’ signatory contractors to bid competitively and win projects.
“Mass timber may be a different material, but it demands the same precision, planning, and structural know-how we’ve built our name on,” said Coby Foust, fourth generation ironworker and president of FOUST Fab & Erectors whose ironworker workforce erected the Walmart HQ. “As ironworkers, our experience gives us a powerful edge in delivering mass timber at the highest level.”
With demand for sustainable building materials on the rise, ironworkers are ready to deliver the next generation of mass timber projects across the United States and Canada—safely, efficiently, with expertise developers and contractors have grown to trust.
For all media inquiries, please contact Sara Schuttloffel at sschuttloffel@impact-net.org or (202) 383-4848.
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The International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers (IW) represents over 130,000 members throughout the United States and Canada.
Sara Schuttloffel Iron Workers 2023834885 SSchuttloffel@impact-net.org
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