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Machine movement in London and the home counties
We provide machine movement in London for manufacturers, food producers, data centres, hospitals, universities and commercial buildings across the capital and out to the M25. We move single machines and complete lines: new installations, factory and workshop relocations, moves within a building, plant room replacements and removals of old equipment.
We work across the City, Westminster, Camden, Islington, Southwark, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Newham, Brent, Ealing and Croydon, and out into Essex, Kent, Surrey and Hertfordshire. Most enquiries get a price the same working day from a desktop survey.
What a machine move involves
A move usually runs from disconnection and making safe, through rigging and extraction, to transport, positioning, levelling and setting down on mounts. Some jobs need a crane and a low loader, others are done inside the building with jacks, skates and gantries. What we use depends on the weight, the way out and when the building can take the disruption.
What we move in London
| Equipment | Where it usually is | How it moves |
|---|---|---|
| CNC machines, presses and fabrication plant | Industrial estates in the Lea Valley, Park Royal and the outer boroughs | Jacked onto skates and moved to transport or a new position |
| Food production and packing lines | Food manufacturing and distribution sites around the M25 | Taken apart in sections and rebuilt inside a shutdown |
| Generators, UPS and switchgear | Data centres and critical sites | Skated through the building on a planned route and set to a fixed position |
| Chillers and air handling units | Roofs and basement plant rooms in occupied buildings | Crane to the roof, or skates and gantry through the building |
| Laboratory and imaging equipment | Hospitals, universities and research buildings | Air skates or a low-headroom gantry, set to a measured position |
| Printing presses and finishing lines | Print and packaging works across the capital | Moved whole if the route allows, otherwise in sections |
Send us the weight, the dimensions and both locations and we will tell you what the job needs. 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 London
Most of our machine movement work in London falls into a handful of sectors.
Industrial estates and the Lea Valley
The estates through the Lea Valley, Park Royal, the east and the outer boroughs hold engineering, fabrication, food and trade businesses. We install new machines, move firms between units and out of London altogether, and take out plant that is no longer needed. See our industrial sector page.
Data centres and critical infrastructure
Data centres around the capital and along the M25 need generators, UPS, switchgear and cooling plant moved into live buildings, inside a short, fixed window. See our data centre infrastructure page.
Commercial buildings and plant rooms
Replacing chillers, air handling units and generators in occupied offices and hotels is a large part of what we do in London, from the roof or through a basement plant room, often overnight or at the weekend. See our HVAC sector page.
Hospitals, universities and laboratories
London’s hospital, university and research estates have scanners, lab equipment and plant to move while the buildings are in use. We agree the route around wards, entrances and walkways first. See our healthcare and pharma and education pages.
Food and drink production
Food manufacturers and distributors in east and west London and around the M25 run lines that stop for short shutdowns. Lines are taken apart and rebuilt in the order you need them back, to the site’s hygiene rules. See our food and beverages page.
Rail, utilities and telecoms
Rail, substation and telecoms equipment is moved inside booked possessions and outages, and those dates do not move. See our rail and telecoms pages.
Access and planning for a machine move in London
Points we check on most London jobs:
- Vehicle compliance. Low emission zones, the direct vision standard and site requirements such as CLOCS and FORS apply to every vehicle on the job. We confirm them before the date.
- Permissions and closures. A load-out from the street usually needs a highway licence or closure from the borough, sometimes Transport for London, and an oversail agreement if a crane lifts over a neighbour. We can arrange the traffic management and road closure as part of the job.
- Space to work. Many central sites have no yard or laydown area, so transport and the crane are timed to arrive in order.
- Floors and basements. Basements, vaults and suspended floors are common. We confirm what the floor or pavement will carry before fixing a skate route or crane position.
- Hours and noise. Night and weekend work is often the practical option, with noise conditions and marshalling planned in.
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. In London the route to the M25 often crosses several highway authorities, and we plan it with each of them.
Postcodes and areas we cover
We cover every London postcode and the home counties around the M25:
- Central: the City, Clerkenwell, Holborn, Westminster and Covent Garden
- East and south east: Hackney, Stratford, Canary Wharf, Southwark, Greenwich and Lewisham
- North and west: Islington, Camden, Wood Green, Park Royal, Chiswick and Ealing
- Outer London and beyond: Croydon, Bromley, Kingston, Harrow, Wembley, Enfield, Romford, Uxbridge and out into Essex, Kent, Surrey and Hertfordshire
We also move machinery right across the UK.
Why London firms choose Synergy Lifting for machine movement
- Surveyed before it is priced. Access, floors, permissions and the route out are checked first, so the plan holds on the day.
- Working around occupied buildings. We regularly move plant in offices, hospitals and data centres that stay in use while we work.
- One firm from start to finish. Crane, skates, jacks, gantries and transport all come from us and are run by our own people.
- 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
Many London machine moves need something extra, 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 plant in or out of a basement plant room?
Usually, yes. We look at the access routes, any lifting beams or hatches and what the floors will carry, then choose between skating the unit out whole, taking it apart in sections, or lifting it through an opening with a crane.
Can you move equipment inside a live data centre?
Yes. Floor loadings, protection, the route through the building and the timing are agreed with your facilities team first, and the equipment is set to its final position ready for your engineers to connect.
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 London
- Phone: 020 8068 9512
- Email: london@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 Luton, Reading, Milton Keynes and Brighton. See all the machine movement locations.