1997

In response to customer requests for horizontal directional drilling services and the completion of several projects, Michels bolsters its Canadian presence with the creation of Michels Directional Crossings Co. in Calgary (Airdrie), Alberta. The Canadian facility and workforce establish a greater directional drilling presence throughout Canada.

2002

Michels is recognized for its exceptional record of safety in the specialty contractor category by Pipe Line Contractors Association of Canada.

Michels receives an Award of Excellence from the Consulting Engineers of Alberta for its directional drilling work on the Forest Lawn Siphon Project in Calgary.

2004

Michels moves its office and yard to Nisku, Alberta to better service the industry.

2005

Michels expands its range of services to include tunneling and is awarded its first tunnel project for the City of St Albert. This project consisted of 1,500 metres of 48" ID concrete sewer pipe installed by microtunneling

2006

Michels Directional Crossings Co. is renamed Michels Canada. The new name represents the breadth of the services and capabilities Michels offers in Canada.

Michels again expands its range of services in Canada with the addition of CIPP (Cured in Place Pipe) and Receives Contracts from City of Edmonton, Vancouver and Red Deer. Michels receives Trenchless Technology magazine's Project of the Year recognition for a 7,600-feet, 20-inch diameter crossing under the St. Lawrence River in Canada.

Michels Canada is recognized for its exceptional record of safety in the specialty contractor category by Pipe Line Contractors Association of Canada.

2008

Michels completes its first mainline pipeline project, which is 155km of NPS20 and 15km of NPS36 for Enbridge on the Southern Lights Project.

Michels completed 9 HDDs from Alberta to New Brunswick.

Michels Canada is awarded the PLCAC James L. Abraham Safety Performance Award of Excellence in the category of Specialty Contractor for Lowest Lost Time Accident Frequency Rate - under 20,000 hours.

2009

Michels Canada is awarded the PLCAC James L. Abraham Safety Performance Award of Excellence in the category of Specialty Contractor.

2010

Michels completes four projects for Enbridge under the Integrity program and in their Facilities.

Michels is honoured for outstanding safety performance at pipeline facilities and pump stations with an Award of Excellence from TransCanada.

Michels receives a Spread Safety Award from Enbridge for having two of the safest construction spreads on the Alberta Clipper project.

2011

Michels completes 86km of 36" for Enbridge on the Woodland Pipeline Project. Michels completes 9 HDDs for five different companies.

Michels Canada is awarded the PLCAC James L. Abraham Safety Performance Award of Excellence in the category of Specialty Contractor for Lowest Lost Time Accident Frequency Rate- over 20,000 hours.Michels is named a runner-up in the Trenchless Technology Project of the Year competition for the Vancouver City Central Transmission Project. This project was recognized in the new installation category.

Michels Canada is named a runner-up for Lowest Lost Time Accident Frequency Rate in the Mainline Pipeline Construction category.

2012

Michels receives a safety award from TransCanada and the James L. Abraham Safety Performance Award of Excellence from the Pipe Line Contractors Association of Canada. Michels received the award for having the lowest lost-time accident frequency rate in the Specialty Contractor (HDD) category. In addition, Michels Canada is awarded for its exceptional record of safety in Mainline Pipeline Construction with Lowest Lost Time Accident Frequency Rate.

2013

Michels Canada receives the NASTT Northwest Project of the Year for its work on the Big Lake Offsite Sanitary Gravity Sewer (W14) Project for the City of Edmonton. The project consisted of 1.3 miles of 47-inch sewer and was constructed in 10 microtunnel runs, with a total of 11 shafts for the launch and retrieval of the microtunnel boring machine.

Michels uses Direct Pipe technology to install 1,122 feet of a 42-inch oil pipeline under the Beaver River as part of the Cold Lake and Polaris Expansion Program. The project is the first time Direct Pipe was successfully used in Canada.

Michels completes 7 HDDs, 5 of which are over 1,200m each.

Michels receives a safety award honouring its outstanding safety performance on 2013 Integrity Dig Program in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Michels Canada earns the Mainline Pipeline Construction Safety Award from the Pipe Line Contractors Association of Canada.

2014

Michels solidifies its reputation as a leader in pipeline construction with the completion of a 63km NPS 36-inch mainline for the Enbridge Edmonton to Hardisty (E2H).

Michels Canada is awarded the PLCAC James L. Abraham Safety Performance Award of Excellence in the category of Specialty Contractor for Lowest Lost Time Accident Frequency Rate- under 20,000 hours.

2015

Michels Canada raises and donates $221,420 to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation (CBCF). Crew members raised money on Enbridge's Greater Toronto Area natural gas distribution pipeline project. Association of Fundraising Professionals issues a Health Award for Michels Canada's fundraising efforts for Breast Cancer Research.

Michels Canada sets a new horizontal directional drilling record by installing the longest horizontal drill of a 42-inch pipeline in North America. The 2,195-metre crossing passed under the Athabasca River and a nearby highway in a remote area 60 km north of Fort McMurray, Alberta.

Michels Canada is awarded the PLCAC James L. Abraham Safety Performance Award of Excellence in the category of Mainline Pipeline Construction for Lowest Lost Time Accident Frequency Rate.

2016

Michels Canada doubles the size of its headquarters in Nisku, Alberta, to reflect its commitment to serving customers and continuing its growth. The expansion project transforms Michels' space into a two-story structure with 6,900 square feet of office space and a 10,500-square-foot shop. The facility is strategically designed to be flexible, collaborative and environmentally efficient.

Michels Canada builds the 90-kilometre Northern Courier Pipeline in Northern Alberta for TransCanada. The project was named the North American Society for Trenchless Technology Northwest Chapter's Project of the Year. The complex project includes eight major crossings under large bodies of water and busy roadways.

Michels Canada is awarded for its exceptional record of safety on Mainline Pipeline Construction projects in Canada with the James L. Abraham- Safety Performance Award of Excellence for its record of safety in the Specialty Contractor category - more than 20,000 man-hours.

Michels Canada receives Excavator of the Year (Gas Sector) from Ontario Regional Common Ground Alliance. Michels was recognized for its work on the GTA gas distribution construction project in Toronto, Ontario. Michels performed work on 31 miles of right-of-way with 70 trenchless crossings. More than 10,000 locate responses were audited and archived. No buried infrastructure was contacted or damaged during construction.

2017

Michels Canada is proud to be the recipient of the inaugural CEPA Foundation Safety Award, which recognizes advancements in safety on transmission pipeline construction projects.

Michels starts a full rehabilitation project for the Regional Municipality of York. The 104-inch sewer trunk was plugged and a surface bypass pipeline was constructed between manholes to rehabilitate 1.5km of sanitary sewer trunk under 16th Avenue. Crews apply GeoSpray, a spray-on fibre-reinforced geopolymer mortar lining, to the thickness of 4 inches. The project involves injection grouting point repairs to stop groundwater leaking and infiltration at several pipe joints.

2018

Michels Canada establishes a permanent office in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) to conveniently serve eastern operations.

Michels Canada begins construction in a densely populated area to update a crucial gas pipeline in the Lower Mainland for FortisBC. Michels replaces an aging 20-kilometre gas line from Vancouver to Coquitlam, BC. The 60-year-old, 20-inch diameter pipe is upgraded to a 30-inch pipeline.

2019

Michels Canada is part of a two-party joint venture completing six drives of a 2400mm diameter pipe (totaling 1250m) and three drives of a 1500mm diameter pipe (totaling 322m) for the North Shore Conveyance Project in North Vancouver.

Michels completes 2 million man-hours for Fortis BC on the IP Project.

Michels Canada expands its capabilities by completing a pilot project in the metropolitan Vancouver area using geopolymer spray to rehabilitate manholes and other structures permanently. The project is completed in seven days, three ahead of schedule.

Michels Canada is honoured to be part of the McLoughlin Point Wastewater Treatment Plant outfall project named the 2019 Canadian Project of the Year at No-Dig North in Calgary, AB.

2020

Michels Canada surpassed a major safety milestone of working 4 million exposure hours without a single lost-time injury.

Michels continued to find ways to support causes despite a global pandemic. Michels hosted its Pink Campaign and raised $40,094. Since 2014, Michels Canada has contributed $415,094 to this important cause.

Michels Canada constructed 22km of 42-inch natural gas pipeline and associated fabricated facilities on the Rocky View section of the Western Alberta System Mainline Loop (WASML).

Michels Canada is honoured with the Tunneling Association of Canada's 2020 Innovation Initiative of the Year. Michels Canada used HDD to install a 940-metre of a 1-inch thick, 42-inch diameter steel pipe and microtunneled 122-metre in a single drive of an 83.5-inch lined and coated Permalok steel pipe for a wet retrieval.

2021

Michels Canada named Gold Winner for Best Health and Safety Culture.

Pipe Line Contractors recognizes Michels Canada with a James L. Abraham Pipeline Construction Safety Award in Mainline Pipeline Construction and for the recognition in Specialty Contractor - Pipeline Construction (more than 20,000 hours).

Michels Canada completed Canada's longest HDD installation surpassing the previous record of 2,195 metres, also set by Michels Canada. HDD was used to install a 12-inch steel pipe 3,540-metre crossing in Burlington, Ontario, under the Hidden Lake Golf Club.

Michels Canada and crew members working on the Deep Valley North Pipeline donated $40,000 to the Wellspring Family Resource & Crisis Centre.

Michels expanded its services by adding electrical power construction.

2022

Michels Canada celebrates 25 years.