Iron Gate - 35 Years

On 16 of May there were 35 years since the first hydro power unit of 178 MW from S.H.E.N. Iron Gates I was put into operation. Apparently, a simple date in the calendar, this represents one of the many events (important ones) in the long history of our Company. Still, I believe this is more than a simple anniversary. In those far-off years, our company was involved in several programs to assimilate Diesel engines and locomotive bogies, steam turbines of 12 and 50 MW, compressors, electric motors and half-bearing shells. At the same time, significant works to update and endow the substructure were developed in order to comply with the new engineering requirements.

At the time, the experience in the manufacture of hydro power units was reduced; only a number of 25 such units were manufactured at the beginning of 1966 for the power plant on Bistrita – downstream, Firiza and Paltinu. The imperative need to perform the largest Kaplan turbines designed until then in Europe, together with the driving mechanisms of the locks and also about 12000 tons of hydro-mechanical equipments represented a technical challenge which size and importance we've succeed to achieve only much later.

Our generation had the opportunity, in a way or another, to be involved in this big and important project that took over seven years to be accomplished in excellent conditions. Many years have passed since then, so many that some believe that this energetic and navigation system together with all its components was always there, and we had the time and strength to modernize and rehabilitate these power units after almost one generation.

We all have learned during these years both in the technical field of activity, since the requirements of the project were huge, and as concerns the organization, the human relations and the „style“. This was a very important step, not only for our company and its extraordinary persons who have all the credits for what they have achieved, but also for the entire country (many companies were involved in this program) and represents a symbolic moment since, by opening the navigation channel on Danube River, we succeeded to create a natural passage – a real doorway of Europe.