—About · File 0001

Family Owned hand-craftmanship

Coal Creek Iron Works is a family-run fabrication shop in East Tennessee — born from a Lake City garage, certified in Jacksboro, and quietly building a reputation across the region for decorative metalwork that's measured, welded, and installed by hand.

We're small on purpose. Every project goes through the principals — John for the fabrication, Glenn for the engineering — so the seams you can't see and the loads you can't feel are still answered for.

—02 / Lineage

Two
decades
at the
anvil.

2001

Enrolled at TN Tech School, Jacksboro

Welding · Machining · Forming
2005

Founded Cox Brothers Fabrications

Turn-key handrails + decorative fencing
2011

Renamed Coal Creek Iron Works

Tribute to Lake City's original name
2012

First company website launched

Showcasing portfolio and craftsmanship
2026

21 years at the trade

And the shop is still hiring its own welders
Portrait of John G. Cox
PRINCIPAL · 01
—Principal 01

John G. Cox

Founder · Principal Fabricator

Welder, foreman, owner — directs daily operations of the shop.

John learned metal and wood working alongside his father Gordon in a Lake City garage — building everything from steel work tables to Christmas tree stands. The appreciation for the craft stuck.

In 2001 he enrolled at the Tennessee Technology School in Jacksboro to formalize the trade, earning certifications in welding, machining, cutting and forming across steel, aluminum and stainless. In 2005 he founded Cox Brothers Fabrications — focused on turn-key handrails and decorative fencing.

He takes complete responsibility for every job from drawing to final installation. In January 2011, the company became Coal Creek Iron Works — a tribute to his hometown of Lake City, Tennessee, originally named Coal Creek.

TN Tech School, Jacksboro
Welding, Machining, Forming
Certifications
Steel · Aluminum · Stainless
Years at the trade
21
Lives
Knoxville, TN — with Leah, Weston & Andrew
—Principal 02

Glenn C. Cox, P.E.

Structural Engineer · Project Consultant

Estimating, proposals, preliminary and final detailed drawings.

Glenn handles the engineering side of the shop — consulting on load-bearing fabrications, drafting shop drawings, and reviewing client and architect requirements before a job ever hits the welding bay.

He earned his B.S. and M.S. in Civil Engineering (structural emphasis) from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, with over 16 years of practicing structural engineering experience. He lives in Andersonville, TN with his wife Ashley and daughter Peyton.

B.S. & M.S. Civil Engineering
University of Tennessee
Specialization
Structural Engineering
Experience
16+ years
Lives
Andersonville, TN
PORTRAIT — GLENN C. COX, P.E.
PRINCIPAL · 02
—03 / How we work

Four standards.
No exceptions.

STD/01

Turn-key responsibility

Proposal, drawings, fabrication, finish, install — one shop, one accountable name on every job.

STD/02

Engineered to code

OSHA-compliant guardrails, AWS-certified welds, AutoCAD shop drawings reviewed before steel is cut.

STD/03

Built for weather

Standard primer, powder coat, or hot-dip galvanized — finished for the climate it'll spend its life in.

STD/04

Shop-built by hand

Every weld measured, ground, and finished by hand in our East Tennessee shop — never outsourced.