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Machine movement in Norwich and across Norfolk
We provide machine movement in Norwich and across Norfolk for engineering firms, food processors, laboratories, hospitals and energy businesses on the coast. We handle single machines and whole production lines: installing new equipment, relocating a business from one site to another, re-laying a factory floor to fit in a new line, and removing old plant for resale or scrap. Loading, transport, storage and breakdown moves come under the same service.
With no motorway into the county, loads come in on the A11 or the A47, so we plan the road side of a move from the start. We work across Norwich, Thorpe St Andrew, Hellesdon, Costessey, Wymondham, Dereham and Aylsham, and out to Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft and King’s Lynn. Most enquiries get a price 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. Bigger jobs bring in a crane and a low loader, while plenty never leave the building and are done with jacks, skates and gantries. The weight and the way out decide the equipment.
What we move in Norwich
| Equipment | Where it usually is | How it moves |
|---|---|---|
| CNC machines, press brakes and machine tools | Engineering and fabrication units at Broadland Business Park and on the estates north of the city | Jacked up, set on skates and taken to a trailer or a new bay |
| Grading, milling and packing lines | Food and vegetable processing sites across Norfolk | Split into labelled sections and rebuilt in running order |
| Silos, tanks and cold store plant | Farm, grain and food sites out in the county | Lifted by crane onto prepared bases, then levelled and fixed down |
| Workshop and handling equipment | Harbour-side yards at Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft | Loaded out by crane and trailer, timed to the quay |
| Laboratory and imaging equipment | Hospital, research and university buildings | Moved on air skates along protected floors and set to marked positions |
| Chillers, boilers and air handling units | Basements and roofs of older city-centre buildings | Brought down by crane or walked out on skates and dollies |
Tell us the weight and both locations and we will say how we would move it. Our machine movement service page sets out the full process.
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 Norwich
Our machine movement work around Norwich spreads across five sectors.
Broadland Business Park and the northern estates
Engineering and component manufacturers work from Broadland Business Park on the eastern edge of the city and from the estates on the northern edge of the city. We bring in new machine tools and move firms into bigger units as they expand. See our industrial and automotive sector pages.
Food processing and farming
Norfolk’s farms supply processing, milling and packing sites all over the county. We install and swap grading and packing lines during short shutdowns and set silos and tanks on new bases, working to the site’s hygiene rules. See our food and beverages page.
Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft and the energy coast
Oil and gas firms and a growing offshore wind sector keep workshops and handling equipment around both harbours. When a yard changes hands or a contract ends, that kit moves, with load-outs planned around vessels and the tide. See our power and renewables and maritime pages.
Hospitals, laboratories and universities
Scanners and plant room machinery in hospital, research and university buildings around the city are moved with staff and patients still about. Routes and timings are agreed with the estates team beforehand. See our healthcare and pharma and education pages.
The city centre and older buildings
Offices and small workshops inside the old city often sit behind narrow frontages with no loading bay. Chillers, boilers and air handling units come out of basements and off roofs, and the replacement plant goes back in the same way. See our HVAC sector page.
Access and planning for a machine move in Norwich
Points we check on most Norwich jobs:
- Getting loads in and out. Heavy loads arrive on the A11 from Cambridge or along the A47, both single carriageway in places. We check bridge heights and weight limits and plan the timing before we quote.
- The medieval centre. Lanes in the old city are narrow, many of them one-way or pedestrian, with listed frontages on both sides. A central load-out is planned around the one spot where a vehicle can stop.
- Floors and ground. Low-lying ground by the Wensum and the Yare, and softer ground out towards the Broads, can carry less than it appears to. We confirm bearing capacity and use mats or steel plate where needed.
- Shutdowns and hours. Tell us when production can stop and we build the programme to it, allowing for set-up and clearing away.
- Road closures. Where a load-out needs part of a road or pavement, we can arrange the traffic management and road closure with Norfolk County Council, or with Suffolk County Council for Lowestoft.
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 Norwich, heavy loads pick up the A47 on the southern bypass or head south-west on the A11 towards Cambridge and the national network.
Postcodes and areas we cover
We cover every NR postcode and the towns across Norfolk and north Suffolk:
- Norwich: city centre, Thorpe St Andrew, Hellesdon, Costessey, Sprowston and Eaton
- South and west: Wymondham, Hethersett, Attleborough, Dereham and Watton
- Coast and east: Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft, Caister, Aylsham, North Walsham and Cromer
- Wider area: King’s Lynn, Thetford, Diss, Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich
We also move machinery right across the UK.
Why Norwich firms choose Synergy Lifting for machine movement
- Checked before we commit. We look at the floors and the way out before quoting, so the price on paper matches the job on the day.
- Workshops to farm sites. The same team moves a lathe between units on Broadland Business Park and a packing line on a farm out in the county.
- One firm from start to finish. The crane, skates, jacks, gantries and transport are ours, and our own people run them from the first lift to the final 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
Norwich machine moves often call for one of these services too:
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 get a machine out of a building in the old city centre?
Yes. We look at where a vehicle can stop and what the doorway allows, then decide whether the machine leaves whole on skates or in sections, and whether a small city crane is needed. Photos of the frontage and the machine let us answer before you book a date.
Do you move equipment at the harbours in Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft?
Yes. Quayside and yard moves are timed around vessels and the tide, and the wind limits for any crane lift are set in the lift plan. Send us the location and the load and we will fit the move to the port.
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 Norwich
- Phone: 01603 385 877
- Email: norwich@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 Ipswich, Cambridge, Peterborough and Grimsby. See all the machine movement locations.