Machine Movement Stoke

Machine movement in Stoke-on-Trent and across Staffordshire

We provide machine movement in Stoke for pottery, tile and sanitaryware works, engineering and plastics firms, food producers and the distribution sites along the A50 and A500. We move single machines and whole lines: new installations, relocations between sites, moves within a building, and removal of plant being sold or scrapped. A lot of the older works buildings have low roofs and narrow doorways, so the route out is planned as carefully as the move.

We work across Hanley, Burslem, Tunstall, Longton, Fenton and Stoke itself, and out to Newcastle-under-Lyme, Trentham, Stone and Leek. Most enquiries are priced the same working day from a desktop survey.

What a machine move involves

Each move runs through the same stages. The machine is disconnected and made safe, rigged and extracted, then transported, positioned, levelled and set down on its mounts. Some jobs need a crane and a low loader. On others nothing leaves the building and jacks, skates and gantries do the work. Which way we go comes down to the weight, the way out and how long production can stop.

What we move in Stoke

Equipment	Where it usually is	How it moves
Kilns, dryers and firing equipment	Pottery, tile and sanitaryware works across the six towns	Split into modules, skated to the door and reassembled at the new position
Presses and forming machines	Ceramics and engineering works around the city	Raised on jacks and walked out on skates to a waiting trailer
Machine tools, CNC and moulding machines	Units at Etruria Valley, Trentham Lakes and Festival Park	Jacked, run out on skates and loaded with a gantry
Conveyor and sortation equipment	Distribution sites on the A50 and A500	Removed and refitted section by section between shifts
Processing and packing lines	Food producers around Staffordshire	Broken down and put back in running order during a shutdown
Chillers, air handling units and substation plant	Hospital, university and utility plant rooms	Craned into the yard or onto the roof, then skated onto its plinth

Tell us the weight, the dimensions and where it is going, and we will work out what the move needs. Our machine movement service page explains the process in more detail.

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 Stoke

Our machine movement work in Stoke comes from a handful of sectors.

Ceramics, tiles and sanitaryware

Ceramics is the work most particular to Stoke. Kilns, presses and spray dryers are changed out during a works shutdown while the rest of the site carries on, and a large kiln generally leaves in sections to be rebuilt at its new home. See our industrial sector page.

Engineering and manufacturing

Etruria Valley, Trentham Lakes and Festival Park hold engineering, plastics and fabrication firms. When one of these businesses expands, we move its machine tools and presses to a bigger unit or bring new ones in off the trailer. See our plastics and metals page.

Distribution along the A50 and A500

Warehouses between the M6 and the A50 change their conveyors and sortation kit when a contract changes hands. We strip out the old sections and install the new ones between shifts, with the building still trading.

Food and drink production

Staffordshire’s food manufacturers stop their lines for short shutdowns. A line that comes out goes back in the order the site wants it running, and we follow the hygiene rules on site. See our food and beverages page.

Hospitals and universities

Lab equipment, imaging kit and plant room machinery in the city’s hospital and university estates are moved around people who are still working and studying. We agree the route and the timing with the estates team first. See our healthcare and pharma and education pages.

Energy, waste and utilities

Recycling and energy from waste plant, substation equipment and water treatment kit are changed during booked outages, and our extraction and replacement are planned to those dates. See our waste and recycling and power and renewables pages.

Access and planning for a machine move in Stoke

Points we check on most Stoke jobs:

Getting loads in and out. The M6 serves the city at junctions 15 and 16, the A500 links them through the middle and the A50 heads east towards Derby. We check low bridges and weight limits on the route before we quote.
Old works buildings. Headroom, door widths and the path to the yard are measured at survey. Where plant is too big for the doorway, an opening can be widened as part of the job.
Floors and made ground. Much of the city sits on former colliery, marl and pottery waste ground, and old works floors carry unknown loads. We confirm what the floor and yard will take before setting a skate route or crane position.
Shutdown dates. Kiln and line changes are planned back from the day production stops, with nights and weekends used where the works needs them.
Road closures. Where a load-out needs part of a road or pavement, we can arrange the traffic management and road closure with Stoke-on-Trent City Council or Staffordshire County 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 Stoke, heavy loads join the A500 and reach the M6 at junction 15 or 16, or head east on the A50.

Postcodes and areas we cover

We cover every ST postcode and the districts around the city:

Stoke-on-Trent: Hanley, Burslem, Tunstall, Longton, Fenton, Stoke, Trentham and Etruria
West and south: Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stone, Eccleshall and Stafford
North and east: Kidsgrove, Biddulph, Leek, Cheadle and the Staffordshire Moorlands
Wider area: Crewe, Congleton, Macclesfield, Uttoxeter, Derby and Telford

We also move machinery right across the UK.

Why Stoke firms choose Synergy Lifting for machine movement

Measured up before we quote. We check the machine, the lifting points and the route to the trailer first, so the price holds on the day.
Planned to your shutdown. The programme runs from the day your line stops to the day you need it back, with nights and weekends where needed.
One firm from start to finish. Our own people run the crane, skates, jacks, gantries and transport, so one contractor answers for the whole move.
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

A Stoke machine move sometimes needs more than the move itself, so we also offer:

How a machine move works

Send us the weight and dimensions, where the machine is now, where it is going and your dates. Photos help.
We price it, usually the same working day from a desktop survey. Complex moves may need a site visit first.
We prepare the method statement, risk assessment and lift plan.
On the day we rig, extract, transport and position the machine.
It is set down and levelled, ready for your engineers to reconnect and commission.

Common questions

Can you move a kiln to a new site?

Yes. A large kiln is taken apart into sections, each one rigged and moved out through the widest available opening, then rebuilt on a prepared base at the new works. Send us photos or drawings of the kiln and the building and we will explain how it would come out.

Our works floor is old. Will it take a skate move?

We find out before anything is lifted. Once we know what the floor was built for and what is underneath it, we set the skate route and jacking points to suit and lay steel plates or mats wherever the floor needs help.

Who disconnects and reconnects the machine?

Mechanical disconnection and making safe is usually ours, and we position the machine precisely enough for commissioning. Electrical and control reconnection is coordinated with your own engineers or the machine manufacturer, and who covers what is agreed at survey stage.

Can you move a machine that has broken down?

Yes. Breakdown work is prioritised because production has usually stopped. Call us with the machine details and we will give you a firm attendance time on the call.

Get a quote for machine movement in Stoke

Phone: 01782 841 268
Email: stoke@synergy-lifting.co.uk

Send us the weight, the dimensions and both locations, with a few photos if you have them.

We also provide machine movement in Stockport, Wolverhampton, Derby and Warrington. See all the machine movement locations.