On the 26th of June, Manuel García-Sañudo, Managing Director of MAXAM Civil Explosives, took part in the inauguration ceremony for the expansion of the Panama Canal, one of the largest civil engineering projects in the history of humanity. The Company has performed more than 3,500 blasts over the course of this emblematic project, which will improve and increase global maritime trade.
The project, carried out by the international consortium “Unidos por el Canal” (GUPC), has counted on MAXAM as the main supplier of blasting solutions. MAXAM’s mission has been to deepen and lengthen the canal's third lock. By blasting the seabed rock, the lock is now 21.5 m wider and 5.3 m deeper, whilst its length has also increased by 107 m up to 427 m.
“It has been an honour and a priviledge to have taken part in this complex, historical project of global importance. The work carried out in the Panama Canal has allowed MAXAM to position itself as a world leading reference in complex blasting solutions in general and specifically in underwater operations. Our contribution towards this achievement has been the execution of more than 3,500 blasting operations carried out with the highest safety standards, without impacting on either the rest of works being undertaken or infrastructures being built, and always respecting the environment and rich wildlife of the area, reducing the initially scheduled timings and cushioning the impact of other activity delays that usually arise in projects of this magnitude. In one of the phases, we took just five months to complete a work which was scheduled to last between 18 and 20 months." - Manuel García-Sañudo
MAXAM has fulfilled an essential role in this project, which will know allow the transit of larger ships along the 80 km of the canal. These new Post-Panamax ships are 366 m long, 49 m wide and 15 m deep, and also have greater cargo capacity, carrying up to 12,000 containers, compared to the previous figure of 4,500. The passing of up to three times bigger vessels will avoid more than 160 million tones of CO2 emmissions to the atmosphere, will produce direct benefits for trade allowing passenger boats, bulk cargo vessels and gas carriers through the canal, meeting the increasing requirements generated by a increasingly global world.
The acting Minister of Development in Spain, Ana Pastor, has referred to the expansion of the Panama Canal as “one of the most important pieces of work ever achieved by Spain” and has highlighted that it is "an outstanding example of the expertise of Spanish companies."
MAXAM - maxamcorp.com
MAXAM is a global technology company, specializing in the design, development, manufacture and application of energy materials. It structures its activity in four business units: blasting solutions for mining, quarries and civil works; cartridges and gun powders for use in hunting and recreational shooting; products and systems for the defence and security sector; and production of key primary products in nitro chemical activity.
Founded by Alfred Nobel in 1872, today MAXAM employs more than 6,500 people on five continents, in 80 industrial facilities, with subsidiaries in more than 50 countries and commercial operations in over 100 countries. At the close of the 2018 financial year (31 March 2018), the company’s turnover stood at over 1.14 billion euros.