A 12-axle trailer left Voith Hydro’s manufacturing shop in Manaus, Brazil, transporting a 320 ton runner, impressive for its size – 8.5 meters in diameter and 5 meters tall -, the runner is heading to the Belo Monte hydropower plant.

After a short trip of less than 20 kilometers by truck, the runner was loaded onto a heavy duty barge to travel a journey of 890 kilometers downstream towards the state of Pará, where the Belo Monte hydropower plant is being constructed. The equipment is planned to arrive still this January.

Happy about the accurate shipping on time, Marcos Blumer, President & CEO of Voith Hydro Latin America, says: "Our new manufacturing plant in Manaus is a strategic location, since it is the geographic center of a region with several hydropower projects, planned or in progress. This proximity to those sites enables greater flexibility and speed. Our customers benefit from it, from purchase to maintenance of equipment," says Marcos Blumer, President & CEO of Voith Hydro Latin America.

As the Belo Monte hydropower plant on the Xingu River is still under construction, it is expected to be commissioned in 2019. It will have an installed capacity of 11,233 megawatts.

Voith delivers four Francis turbines, four generators, electrical and mechanical auxiliaries, as well as the automation system. Furthermore, Voith Hydro also provides the complete engineering of the project.