Building (And Giving) A Dam: The Story Behind The Shipment

When it comes to renewable energy sources, we’re all in on doing our part. We’ve played a role in helping grow the clean power of wind energy by coordinating the delivery of reusable concrete template rings used for the foundation of wind turbines. For this story, our role was more water than wind; we had the opportunity to coordinate the transportation of a telescopic conveyor belt for a dam!

This is a generator unit at Pointe du Bois station, the oldest Manitoba Hydro generating station still in use.  
ZMac’s delivery helped add to the Manitoba Hydro project that is over 100 years old.

The Power of Falling Water

Falling water is one of three primary sources of energy used to generate electric power. While there are many types of hydroelectric facilities across the globe, all are powered by capturing the kinetic energy of water flowing downstream. Turbines and generators (and their oversized parts which we frequently transport) catch and convert the energy into electricity, feeding electrical grids and, in turn, supplying power to vast areas. And, that was the case in Manitoba, Canada, where the growing population and booming industry required a reliable source of energy that prepared them for the future. That’s where we came in.

What’s The Story Behind The Shipment?

The Manitoba Hydroelectric project needed to build dams across Gull Rapids on Nelson River. We facilitated the delivery of a mobile telescopic conveyor belt and chassis, an instrumental piece of the dam construction, to Manitoba, Canada. The mobile telescopic conveyor belt weighed in at 61,750 pounds and measured 88 feet 6 inches long, 8 feet 6 inches wide, and 11 feet 2 inches high. It’s sheer size required loading onto the truck with a Mi-Jack. The chassis weighed 105,800 pounds and measured 45 feet 9 inches long, 11 feet wide, and 13 feet high. This load traveled to Manitoba, Canada to play its part in building the dam.