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Machine movement in Doncaster and across South Yorkshire
We provide machine movement in Doncaster for distribution parks, steel and engineering works, rail businesses and public buildings across South Yorkshire. The work covers single machines and whole production lines: new installations, relocations between sites, re-layouts to make space for new equipment, removals for resale or scrap, and the loading, transport, storage and breakdown replacement in between. Rail lines run close to many Doncaster works, so some moves are planned around a nearby line.
Our Doncaster work reaches Balby, Bentley, Armthorpe, Thorne, Conisbrough and Mexborough, and out to Rotherham, Barnsley, Worksop and Goole. Send us the details and we will price the job the same working day from a desktop survey.
What a machine move involves
The machine is disconnected and made safe, rigged and extracted, then transported, positioned, levelled and set down on its mounts. A move between sites needs a crane and a low loader. A move across the same floor can be done with jacks, skates and gantries. The weight, the route out and how long you can stop production for tell us which kit to bring.
What we move in Doncaster
| Equipment | Where it usually is | How it moves |
|---|---|---|
| Conveyors, sortation and racking | Distribution sheds at iPort, the Airport Business Park and Balby Carr | Installed or stripped out bay by bay while the rest of the shed keeps working |
| Presses and CNC machine tools | Steel and engineering works from Mexborough through Swinton | Lifted on jacks, run out on skates and loaded with a gantry or crane |
| Process and fabrication plant | Manufacturing units along the lower Don Valley | Broken down into modules, moved and rebuilt in the new layout |
| Rail maintenance equipment | Rail yards and workshops around Doncaster | Moved inside an agreed possession with clearances set in advance |
| Transformers and generators | Substations, energy and waste sites | Craned onto hardstanding, then jacked and skated to the plinth |
| Chillers and air handling units | Hospital, school and college plant rooms | Craned to the roof or taken through the building on a gantry route |
Tell us the weight, size and both locations and we will set out how we would move it. More detail is on our machine movement service page.
Contact us
Get In Touch
Please leave a few details and a member of our machine movement team will be in touch to discuss your requirements in more detail.
Where we work in and around Doncaster
Our Doncaster machine moves come from a wide spread of sectors.
Logistics parks and distribution
iPort, the Airport Business Park and the Balby Carr estates hold some of the biggest warehouses in the north. When an operator changes contract or automates, conveyors and mezzanine steel come in or out, fitted around shift changes and yard traffic. See our industrial sector page.
Steel and manufacturing in the lower Don Valley
Between Mexborough, Swinton and Rotherham there is steel processing, fabrication and general manufacturing. The jobs here are heavier: presses and CNC machines moved within a works, process plant replaced, old lines stripped out for scrap and whole factories relocated to new units. See our plastics and metals page.
Rail engineering
Doncaster’s rail engineering goes back a long way and its yards are still busy. Workshop machinery and maintenance equipment move inside possessions booked with the rail operator, so the date is fixed well ahead. See our rail sector page.
New industrial units by the motorways
New units around the motorway junctions need machinery delivered and installed once the building is handed over. These sites usually have room for a crane and trailer, so set-up is quick. See our construction sector page.
Energy, utilities and waste
At substations and on waste and recycling sites we swap transformers, generators, shredders and balers, working to the outage or shutdown the operator has booked. See our power and renewables and waste and recycling pages.
Hospitals, schools and colleges
Chillers and air handling units in public plant rooms are replaced while the building is in use, at a weekend or in the holidays, with the route agreed with the estates team first. See our healthcare and pharma and education pages.
Access and planning for a machine move in Doncaster
Points we check on most Doncaster jobs:
- Getting loads in and out. The A1(M), M18 and M180 all meet at Doncaster, with the M1 a few miles west, so sites across the area have a quick run to a motorway. We still check the last mile for low bridges and weight limits before we price.
- Working near the railway. Where a crane or load-out sits close to running lines, clearances and any possession are agreed with the rail operator and written into the programme.
- Floors and ground. Parts of the lower valley stand on made ground from old industry, and newer yards can be soft past the hardstanding. We check what the floor or ground will carry before fixing a skate route or crane position.
- Shift patterns. Distribution and manufacturing sites here run long hours. We agree which shift or shutdown the move goes into and fit the set-up and clear-away inside it.
- Road closures. If a load-out needs part of a road or footway, we arrange the traffic management and road closure with City of Doncaster Council.
Moving large or heavy machinery by road
A vehicle and load over 44,000kg gross, 2.9m wide or 18.65m long is an abnormal load. Up to 80,000kg the highway and bridge authorities need two clear working days’ notice through ESDAL, rising to five above that, when the police need notice too. Loads over 2.9m wide or 18.65m long also need two clear working days’ notice to the police. Above 150,000kg or 6.1m wide a Special Order is needed, applied for about ten weeks ahead. We handle the notifications ourselves or with your haulier. From Doncaster, heavy loads can be on the A1(M) or M18 within a few miles, and the M180 heads east towards the Humber ports.
Postcodes and areas we cover
We cover every DN postcode and the districts around Doncaster:
- Doncaster: Wheatley, Bentley, Balby, Bessacarr, Armthorpe and the town centre
- North and east: Thorne, Hatfield, Dunscroft, Askern, Adwick and Auckley
- South and west: Mexborough, Denaby, Conisbrough, Tickhill and Bawtry
- Wider area: Barnsley, Rotherham, Goole, Scunthorpe, Retford and Worksop
We also move machinery right across the UK.
Why Doncaster firms choose Synergy Lifting for machine movement
- Used to busy sites. Much of our Doncaster work is in sheds and works that keep operating, so trailer movements and permits are planned from the first visit.
- A price you can plan with. We look at the route out, the floor and the lifting points before we quote, so what happens on the day matches what we priced.
- One firm from start to finish. Crane, skates, jacks, gantries and transport are all ours and run by our own team, so one contractor carries the move from survey to set-down.
- Qualified and accredited. CPCS and NPORS operators, lifts planned to BS 7121, equipment inspected under LOLER and PUWER, SSIP approved, Constructionline Gold Member, certified to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, and members of the Construction Plant-hire Association.
More than machine movement
Machine moves in Doncaster often come with other work, so we also offer:
How a machine move works
- Tell us the weight and size of the machine, where it is now, where it needs to go and when. Photos help.
- We price it from a desktop survey, usually the same working day, and visit site first for complex moves.
- We write the method statement, risk assessment and lift plan.
- On the day we rig and extract the machine, transport it and put it in position.
- We set it down and level it, then hand it over for commissioning.
Common questions
Can you install equipment in a distribution centre while it is running?
Yes. We agree with your site team how we get in, where vehicles stand and which areas are closed off, then work in sections so the rest of the shed carries on.
Can you move our works from the Don Valley to a new unit near the motorway?
Yes. We survey both sites, agree the order machines come out and go back in, and move them in batches so the new building is producing as early as possible. Anything not making the move can go for resale or scrap at the same time.
Who disconnects and reconnects the machine?
Mechanical disconnection and making safe are normally our job, and the machine is placed accurately enough for commissioning. Electrical and control reconnection is coordinated with your engineers or the manufacturer, and who does what is agreed when we survey.
Can you move a machine that has broken down?
Yes. A breakdown goes to the front of the queue because your production has stopped. Ring us with the machine details and we will give you a firm attendance time during the call.
Get a quote for machine movement in Doncaster
- Phone: 01302 238 334
- Email: doncaster@synergy-lifting.co.uk
Send us what the machine weighs, its dimensions and where it is going, plus photos if you have them.
We also provide machine movement in Sheffield, Chesterfield, Leeds and York. See all the machine movement locations.