Machine Movement Aberdeen

Machine movement in Aberdeen and across Aberdeenshire

We provide machine movement in Aberdeen for energy and subsea firms, engineering and fabrication yards, food processors and commercial buildings across the city and Aberdeenshire. We move single machines and full production lines: new installations, relocations between sites, internal re-layouts and removal of old plant for resale or scrap. Energy and harbour sites add their own inductions and permits, and we build those into the plan from the first call.

We work across Aberdeen, Dyce, Bridge of Don, Altens, Tullos and Westhill, and out to Inverurie, Stonehaven, Ellon and the rest of the shire. Send us the details and photos and we can usually give you a price the same day, worked out from a desktop survey.

What a machine move involves

First we isolate and make the machine safe. Then it is rigged and extracted, and at the other end it is set in place and levelled on its mounts. Heavier loads bring in a crane and a low loader. Plenty of moves stay inside one building, on jacks and skates with a gantry where the machine has to come up. The weight and the route out decide which kit we bring.

What we move in Aberdeen

Equipment	Where it usually is	How it moves
Skids, subsea packages and pressure test equipment	Energy and subsea workshops in Altens and Tullos	Jacked out of the bay on skates, then craned onto a trailer
CNC machines, lathes and fabrication plant	Engineering yards at Dyce, Kirkhill and Bridge of Don	Skated to the door and loaded by crane or gantry
Processing and packing lines	Fish processors in the city and food plants across the shire	Split into sections and rebuilt in running order during a shutdown
Tanks, silos and process vessels	Agricultural processing sites in Aberdeenshire	Lifted out whole and carried to the new site on a low loader
Pumps, compressors and generators	Energy centres, yards and process plant	Moved in one piece where access allows, stripped down where it is tight
Chillers, air handling units and switchgear	Offices and workshops at Dyce and Westhill	Crane to the roof or yard, then skated into the plant room

Give us the machine’s weight and size and the address it is going to. 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 Aberdeen

Our Aberdeen machine movement work falls into six main areas.

Oil, gas and subsea

Most of the heavy equipment we handle in Aberdeen comes from the energy industry. Skids and subsea packages go from workshops in Altens and Tullos out to the quayside, and come back for strip-down after a campaign. See our industrial sector page.

Quaysides and project cargo

Equipment heading offshore passes through the harbour-side yards in Torry and along the quays. We bring it in by road, set it down where the vessel’s crane can reach it and time the delivery to the sailing. See our maritime sector page.

Offshore wind and decommissioning

Offshore wind brings component handling and load-out, while decommissioning brings redundant equipment back ashore to be broken down and sent on for reuse or recycling. See our power and renewables page.

Dyce, Kirkhill and the business parks

North of the city, Kirkhill Industrial Estate, ABZ Business Park and Aberdeen International Business Park hold offices and workshops. Here we swap out plant room equipment and move firms and their machinery between units when a lease ends. See our HVAC page.

Fish, food and farm processing

Fish processing in the city and agricultural processing across Aberdeenshire both run lines that can only stop for a short shutdown. We take a line apart in sections, keep to the site’s hygiene rules and rebuild it in the order production wants it back. See our food and beverages page.

Commercial buildings and construction

In the granite-built centre, plant goes in and out of offices and hotels, working from a street with very little room to set up. See our construction sector page.

Access and planning for a machine move in Aberdeen

Points we check on most Aberdeen jobs:

Getting loads in and out. The Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route takes heavy loads around the city, with the A90 north and south, the A96 towards Inverurie and the A956 serving Altens and Tullos. Low bridges and weight restrictions along the way are checked at quote stage.
Energy and harbour sites. Permit-controlled sites have their own inductions and permits to work. We arrange crew inductions and send our documents in the site’s format before the date.
Floors and ground. Reclaimed ground near the harbour and older workshop floors both need checking. We confirm what they will carry before a skate route or crane position is fixed.
Dates and weather. Test slots, sailings, shutdowns and outages set the day. Anything lifted outdoors is also checked against the forecast, since wind off the North Sea can stop a crane on the coast.
Road closures. If the vehicle or crane has to stand on a road or footway, we apply to Aberdeen City Council or Aberdeenshire Council and put the traffic management in place ourselves.

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 Aberdeen, heavy loads join the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route and then head south on the A90 or west on the A96.

Postcodes and areas we cover

Every AB postcode is covered, along with the districts around the city:

Aberdeen: city centre, Ferryhill, Mannofield, Torry, Northfield, Bridge of Don and Dyce
Industrial and harbour areas: Altens, Tullos, Kirkhill and the streets around the harbour
Aberdeenshire: Westhill, Kintore, Inverurie, Stonehaven, Banchory and Ellon
Wider area: Peterhead, Fraserburgh, Elgin and Montrose

We also move machinery right across the UK.

Why Aberdeen firms choose Synergy Lifting for machine movement

Checked before it is priced. The machine’s weight, the route out, the floors and the lifting points are all looked at before we give a figure.
Planned around your programme. Shutdowns and test dates go into the plan at the start, so you know when the machine will be back in use.
One firm from start to finish. Crane, skates, jacks, gantries and transport are all operated by our own crews, with one contact for the whole job.
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

Aberdeen machine moves often need one of these as well:

How a machine move works

You send the machine details, both addresses, your dates and a few photos.
We come back with a price the same working day from a desktop survey, or arrange a site visit if the move is complex.
We write the method statement, risk assessment and lift plan and send them to you before the date.
Our crew rigs and extracts the machine, transports it and puts it in position.
We set it down and level it so your engineers can reconnect and commission it.

Common questions

Can you work to our own site rules and lifting procedures?

Yes. Many energy clients have their own lifting and documentation standards on top of BS 7121. We write our RAMS and lift plans in your format and sort out inductions and permits with your site team. Send the standard with your enquiry.

Can you get a skid out of a test bay with little headroom?

Yes. Where an overhead crane or mobile crane cannot reach, we jack the skid onto skates, move it to the bay door and lift it with a low-headroom gantry or a crane positioned outside. Photos of the bay and the door help us plan it.

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 Aberdeen

Phone: 01224 003 165
Email: aberdeen@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 Edinburgh, Grangemouth, Glasgow and Newcastle. See all the machine movement locations.