Lake Shore, a leading designer and manufacturer of heavy equipment for the maritime and mining industries since 1858, is integrating into Trident Maritime Systems, Lake Shore President and CEO Jessica Frost said.

Trident, based in Arlington, Va., is a leading provider of turnkey marine systems and solutions for government and commercial vessel, new construction, retrofit and repair both in the U.S. and internationally. The companies have worked side by side for decades and will now join forces to provide a comprehensive network of integrated services that will better serve customers worldwide, Frost said.

Both Lake Shore and Trident Maritime Systems are owned by J.F. Lehman & Co.

Lake Shore has maintained its primary manufacturing and engineering facilities in the Upper Peninsula for more than160 years. The current primary locations include Kingsford, Iron River and Ontonagon, along with Rhinelander, Wis.

Lake Shore Systems Inc. will rebrand Saturday as Trident Maritime Systems-Heavy Equipment Group. (Betsy Bloom/Daily News photo)

New signs will be installed at each Lake Shore facility in early January and integration efforts will continue into 2022. All Lake Shore facilities will remain open and all employees will be retained.

The newly named Trident Maritime Systems-Heavy Equipment Group will continue to operate as a designer and manufacturer of safe, reliable, innovative equipment and solutions in the maritime and mining industries, Frost said.

“This is a tremendous group of people who care about our work and our customers, and it shows,” she said. “As we begin the new year, we are excited to join the Trident family and look forward to many more successful years.”

Lake Shore’s products are found on every surface ship in the U.S. Navy and include shipboard cranes, anchor handling systems, elevators, ramps, and doors, to name a few. The company’s Cannon Mining product line includes drill jumbos, roof bolters, ANFO rigs, scalers, and utility trucks for the underground hard rock mining industry. The company employs about 500 people, primarily in the Upper Peninsula and northern Wisconsin.

Lake Shore began business operations as Lake Superior Foundry Co. in Marquette on July 14, 1858. While the company has adapted to changing markets over time, there has consistently been a focus on maritime and mining equipment. In the early days, Lake Shore made equipment for iron ore mines and Great Lakes freighters. In 1910, the company became Lake Shore Engine Works.

In 1938, Service & Supply Co. of Iron Mountain merged with Lake Shore Engine Works and the company became known as Lake Shore Engineering Co. Wayne Oldenburg bought the company in 1987, when it became part of Oldenburg Group Inc. J.F. Lehman & Co. acquired the company in 2016, returning it to the Lake Shore name.