Contents
Machine movement in Exeter and across Devon
We provide machine movement in Exeter for manufacturers, food producers, engineering firms and the healthcare and research buildings around the city. The work covers single machines and full production lines: new installations, relocations from one site to another, internal moves and re-layouts, removals and disposal, loading and transport, storage, and breakdown and replacement.
Most of what we move here sits either on the estates beside the M5 or inside the city’s large institutional buildings. We cover Exeter, Marsh Barton, Sowton, Pinhoe, Topsham, Exmouth, Cullompton, Tiverton and Crediton, and out towards Newton Abbot and Honiton. You 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 brought out of its position, then transported, placed, levelled and set down on its mounts. A crane and low loader handle some jobs. Others never leave the building and need only jacks, skates and a gantry. The kit we bring comes down to the machine’s weight, the size of the way out and how long your production can stop.
What we move in Exeter
| Equipment | Where it usually is | How it moves |
|---|---|---|
| CNC machines, presses and fabrication plant | Workshops on Marsh Barton and Sowton | Lifted on jacks, skated to the door and loaded onto a trailer |
| Processing and packing lines | Food and drink plants around Devon | Split into labelled sections and rebuilt in order during a shutdown |
| Conveyors and handling equipment | Distribution and trade units at Greendale and Skypark | Taken out bay by bay and reinstalled at the new unit |
| Scientific and laboratory equipment | Research, teaching and healthcare buildings in the city | Carried on air skates and placed to marked-out positions |
| Chillers, generators and air handling units | Roofs, plant rooms and service yards | Craned to or from the roof, then skated along a protected route |
| Pumps, transformers and switchgear | Water, waste and substation sites across the county | Delivered to hardstanding, jacked off the trailer and slid onto plinths |
Our machine movement service page explains the process in more detail.
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 Exeter
Our machine movement work in Exeter spreads across these sectors.
Marsh Barton
Marsh Barton is the largest trading estate in the city, with hundreds of businesses sharing its roads and yards. New machining centres go into workshops here, and worn-out presses come out for resale or scrap. See our industrial sector page.
Sowton and the motorway junctions
On the other side of the city, Sowton sits beside junction 30. Engineering and trade firms on the estate move between units as they grow, and warehouse roofs need plant swapped out when it reaches the end of its life. See our HVAC sector page.
Greendale, Skypark and the eastern business parks
Further east, Greendale and Skypark are still being built out. Here we set new production and handling equipment into freshly finished units, working alongside the other trades on the programme. See our construction sector page.
Healthcare, education and research
Exeter’s healthcare, teaching and research buildings hold scanners, laboratory kit and plant room machinery. Staff, patients and students are still around when we move it, so the route and the dates are agreed with the estates team before anything is booked. See our healthcare and pharma and education pages.
Food and drink across Devon
Devon’s food and drink producers run processing and packing lines that stop only for a short shutdown. We take a line apart in the order it will go back together and work to the site’s hygiene rules. Tanks and silos come in and out as well. See our food and beverages page.
Water, waste and energy
Pumps, motors, transformers and switchgear at treatment works, waste sites and substations are changed inside outages booked well ahead. We plan to the outage date. See our waste water treatment and power and renewables pages.
Access and planning for a machine move in Exeter
Points we check on most Exeter jobs:
- Getting loads in and out. The M5 runs past the east of the city and ends at junction 31 to the south west. Junctions 29, 30 and 31 serve the main industrial areas. The A30, A38 and A377 carry loads further into Devon, and we check each route for low bridges and weight limits before we quote.
- The historic centre. Streets inside the old city core are narrow and partly pedestrian. A load-out there calls for a compact crane or a smaller vehicle, booked for an early start or a Sunday.
- Floors and ground. Marsh Barton and the land along the Exe are low-lying, with made ground in places. We find out what a slab or yard will carry, then spread the load with steel plates or crane mats.
- Shutdowns and term dates. A weekend shutdown loses a few hours at each end to setting up and clearing away, and we plan for that. On hospital and campus jobs we fit the move to dates the estates team can give us.
- Road closures. Where a load-out needs part of a road or pavement, we can arrange the traffic management and road closure with Devon 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. Heavy loads leaving Exeter join the M5 at junction 29, 30 or 31, or head west along the A30 and A38.
Postcodes and areas we cover
We cover every EX postcode and the parts of Devon around the city:
- Exeter: city centre, Heavitree, Wonford, Pinhoe, Whipton, Marsh Barton and Sowton
- Around the city: Topsham, Exminster, Exton, Crediton and Cullompton
- East Devon and the coast: Exmouth, Budleigh Salterton, Sidmouth, Seaton, Honiton and Dawlish
- Wider area: Tiverton, Newton Abbot, Okehampton, Barnstaple and Taunton
We also move machinery right across the UK.
Why Exeter firms choose Synergy Lifting for machine movement
- At home on estates and campuses. We move machines in trade units and in hospitals and research buildings, with the people still working around us.
- Checked before it is priced. The way out, the floor loading and the lifting points are looked at first, so the plan still works when we arrive.
- One firm from start to finish. Our own people run the crane, skates, jacks, gantries and transport, so you deal with one contractor 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 machine move in Exeter often brings other work with it, 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 machine out of a unit on Marsh Barton?
Yes. Yards vary in size, so we check the door opening, the floor and the space outside first. Where a yard is too tight for a crane, the machine is skated out and loaded from the estate road.
Can you move equipment in a hospital or laboratory that is in use?
Yes. The route through the building, floor protection, lift capacities and the timing are agreed with your estates or facilities team in advance. The equipment goes on air skates and is set to its measured position.
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 Exeter
- Phone: 01392 328 740
- Email: exeter@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 Plymouth, Cardiff, Newport and Swansea. See all the machine movement locations.