Another confirmation that comes from South America, where ATB has been present for over a century. There are many hydroelectric projects that have been developed in this geographical area and in which the company has successfully applied its know-how. The latest of such projects is: Alto Maipo. Since 2017 ATB have been established in Chile to work on the construction of the penstocks for three vertical shafts of AES Gener, hydropower plant.
ATB Group was chosen by Strabag, the Austrian general contractor, to manufacture these penstocks. The performance in the first tranche of the work has led ATB to win a new order, this time to design, build, and commission a large package of hydro-mechanical components: a total of forty-six gates (flat, sliding, fixed-wheel, radial) and 13 grids, plus the electrical distribution works. «In this case we have a turnkey order too», stresses Enrico Camparada, Managing Director of the Hydro-Mechanical Equipment Division. «To coordinate all works best, we will use the organisation that we have already implemented at the site, and that today manages all the activities at the site, installation in particular». The manufacturing stages, instead, will be subdivided between the facilities in Italy and in Colombia.
The total weight of the supply is around 500 tons. The deadline of the works is expected by the spring of 2021.
«The components will be part of the intake structures at the service of Las Lajas (267 MW) and Alfalfal II (264 MW) plants. The gates will be deployed in remote areas and at high altitudes, under extreme weather conditions, hit by the snow of the austral winter, and therefore, areas that cannot be reached during some periods of the year», adds Paolo Zenocchini, Engineering Manager of the HME Division. «The installation program will therefore have to take into account the logistics factors, since we are aware that some areas are impassable during the winter months».
