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Machine movement in Cambridge and across Cambridgeshire
We provide machine movement in Cambridge for laboratories, technology firms, healthcare buildings, food producers and engineering businesses across Cambridgeshire. The job can be one instrument or a whole production line: new installations, relocations to another site, moves within a building, and removals of plant for resale or scrap. In the historic centre the streets are narrow and busy with cyclists, so where the lorry stands gets decided early.
We work across Cambridge, Cherry Hinton, Trumpington, Milton, Histon and Sawston, and out to Ely, St Ives, Huntingdon, Newmarket and Saffron Walden. 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. A crane and a low loader handle some moves. Others stay inside the building and run on jacks, skates, air skates and gantries. The weight, the route out and the time you can spare decide which.
What we move in Cambridge
| Equipment | Where it usually is | How it moves |
|---|---|---|
| Laboratory and analytical equipment | Research buildings on the business and technology parks | Air skates over protected floors, set down on a measured mark |
| Scanners and clinical equipment | Healthcare and teaching buildings around the city | Brought in through a planned opening, then skated to the plinth |
| CNC machines and precision tooling | Engineering and technology units on the edge of the city and in Huntingdon | Jacked and skated to the door, then loaded with a gantry |
| Grading, processing and packing lines | Food and agricultural sites in the Fens and around Ely | Split into modules and reinstalled during a planned shutdown |
| Chillers, air handling units and generators | Rooftops and plant rooms in new and older buildings | Lifted by crane to roof level, then moved on skates to the plinth |
| Transformers and switchgear | Substations, rail sites and energy centres | Delivered to hardstanding, jacked off the trailer and skated into place |
Tell us the weight, size and destination and we will come back with the method. Our machine movement service page sets out how we work.
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 Cambridge
Our Cambridge machine movement work spreads across these sectors.
Laboratories and life sciences
Research, biotech and pharmaceutical work makes up a large part of what we do in Cambridge. Instruments, freezers and process equipment go in at fit-out and come out when a team moves on. The kit is lighter than factory plant, and it has to arrive clean and sit exactly where the drawings put it. See our healthcare and pharma page.
Business parks and technology firms
The business parks north and west of the city, and the units around Cherry Hinton and Milton, hold electronics and engineering companies. When one expands, we move test rigs and machine tools into the new space and clear the old unit. See our industrial sector page.
Colleges and the historic centre
Kitchens, workshops, boilers and plant rooms in college and listed buildings wear out like anywhere else, only the way in is a narrow lane or a doorway sized for people. We protect the fabric along the route and agree it with the building’s managers first. See our education sector page.
Food processing and agriculture
Processing and packing sites in the Fens and around Ely handle grain and vegetables. A new line goes in during a short shutdown, and the old one leaves whole or in sections for sale. See our food and beverages page.
New buildings and plant rooms
New residential and commercial schemes on the edge of the city need rooftop plant and switchgear set in place during the fit-out. In older buildings the same equipment gets swapped out at the end of its life. See our HVAC sector page.
Rail and infrastructure
At the stations and on the lines towards Ely and Newmarket, signalling cabinets and substation equipment move inside a booked possession, with start and finish times agreed in advance. See our rail sector page.
Access and planning for a machine move in Cambridge
Points we check on most Cambridge jobs:
- Getting loads in and out. Heavy loads reach the edge of the city on the A14 and M11, then come in on the A10, A428 or A1303. We time loads around A14 congestion and check low bridges and weight limits before we quote.
- Central streets. Streets in the historic centre are narrow and partly pedestrianised, with heavy cycle traffic. We fix the vehicle position and the exclusion zone before the day, and central load-outs can be booked for an early morning or a Sunday.
- Floors and ground. Suspended lab floors, old timber floors and soft Fen ground all need checking before a skate route or crane position is fixed. We spread the load with plates or mats.
- Occupied buildings. Labs and healthcare buildings keep running while we work, so access times and routes are agreed with the estates team, and some moves happen in the evening.
- Road closures. Where a load-out needs part of a road or pavement, we arrange the traffic management and road closure with Cambridgeshire 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 Cambridge, heavy loads pick up the A14 or M11 within a few miles.
Postcodes and areas we cover
We cover every CB postcode and the districts around it:
- Cambridge: city centre, Chesterton, Newnham, Cherry Hinton and Trumpington
- Around the city: Milton, Histon, Waterbeach, Cottenham, Great Shelford, Sawston and Linton
- North and east: Ely, Soham, Newmarket and Haverhill
- Wider area: St Ives, Huntingdon, St Neots, Royston, Saffron Walden and Bury St Edmunds
We also move machinery right across the UK.
Why Cambridge firms choose Synergy Lifting for machine movement
- Careful with sensitive equipment. Lab and clinical kit travels on air skates along protected routes and is set down to a measured position, ready for the manufacturer.
- At home in live buildings. Labs and healthcare sites carry on around us, and we plan each move so they can.
- One firm from start to finish. We run the crane, skates, jacks, gantries and transport with our own people, 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
Machine moves in Cambridge often come with other work, and we cover that 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 move laboratory equipment while the rest of the lab keeps working?
Yes. We agree the route, timing and floor protection with your lab manager, screen off our working area and move the equipment on air skates. It is set down on the marked position, ready to reconnect.
Can you get a machine out of an old building in the city centre?
Yes, once the route is planned. We measure the doors and stairs, check the floors, and decide whether the machine goes out in sections or is lifted through an opening by crane.
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 Cambridge
- Phone: 01223 790 068
- Email: cambridge@synergy-lifting.co.uk
Tell us what the machine is, where it stands now and where it needs to go, and add photos if you have them.
We also provide machine movement in Peterborough, Luton, Milton Keynes and Northampton. See all the machine movement locations.