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Machine movement in Wigan and across Greater Manchester
We provide machine movement in Wigan for food and drink producers, engineering firms, construction product makers and the distribution sites along the M6. That means single machines and whole lines: new installations, factory relocations, re-layouts, transport, storage and removal of old plant. Much of the borough sits on old mine workings, so we check what a yard or floor will carry before anything heavy stands on it.
We work across Wigan, Standish, Pemberton, Hindley, Ashton-in-Makerfield and Leigh, and out to Skelmersdale, St Helens and Bolton. 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, transported, then positioned, levelled and set down on its mounts. A crane and a low loader handle some jobs. Others stay inside the building on jacks and skates, with a gantry where it needs lifting. The weight and the way out decide which, along with how long production can stop.
What we move in Wigan
| Equipment | Where it usually is | How it moves |
|---|---|---|
| Food processing, filling and packing lines | Food and drink factories across the borough | Broken down by section and reassembled in the order the site needs it |
| CNC machines, lathes and machine tools | Engineering units on Martland Park and South Lancashire Industrial Estate | Lifted on jacks, run out on skates and loaded by gantry or crane |
| Presses and fabrication equipment | Component and construction product makers in Wigan and Leigh | Jacked and skated to the door, then craned onto a low loader |
| Conveyors, sortation and handling equipment | Distribution sheds around M6 junction 25 and Skelmersdale | Stripped out and refitted in stages between shifts |
| Air handling units, chillers and boilers | Rooftops and plant rooms in commercial buildings | Craned from the street or yard, then skated to the plinth |
| Transformers, switchgear and standby generators | Substations and switchrooms on the estates | Low loader to hardstanding, then jacked and skated through the doorway |
Give us the weight, the size and both addresses and we will come back with a method and a price. The machine movement service page covers the process in full.
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 Wigan
Our Wigan machine moves come from six kinds of site.
Food and drink manufacturing
Food production in the borough is one of the larger concentrations in the North West. Lines come out and go in during cleaning breaks and weekend stops, and our crews follow the site’s hygiene rules from the gatehouse onwards. See our food and beverages page.
Martland Park and South Lancashire Industrial Estate
These two estates mix manufacturers of every size with warehousing. A firm that outgrows a starter unit will often move its machines a few hundred metres to a bigger one, and we plan that as one job from the old floor to the new. See our industrial sector page.
Distribution along the M6 and M58
New contracts in the sheds around junction 25 and out towards Skelmersdale mean conveyors and handling equipment coming out and different layouts going in. We work between shifts while the building carries on trading. See our construction sector page.
Engineering and component manufacturing
Aerospace and automotive component makers both work in the borough. Machine tools and presses in these works have to land exactly where the foundation was cast for them, and we level them ready for the manufacturer’s engineer. See our aerospace and automotive pages.
Rail and the West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line runs through Wigan. Rail maintenance equipment and lineside plant are moved inside a booked possession, with the start and finish fixed and the track clear at handback. See our rail sector page.
Building services in Wigan and Leigh
Commercial buildings in both town centres keep chillers and air handling units on roofs and in plant rooms. We swap old units for new, with a crane in the street where there is no yard. See our HVAC sector page.
Access and planning for a machine move in Wigan
Points we check on most Wigan jobs:
- Getting loads in and out. The M6 passes to the west and the M61 to the east, with no motorway through the middle, so heavy loads come in on the A49 or the A577. We plan the route before quoting, including which canal and rail bridges a load can cross.
- Old mine workings. Parts of the borough are built on former colliery land and made ground. Where a crane or a loaded trailer has to stand in a yard, we check the ground first and spread the load with mats or plates.
- Floors inside the unit. Jacks and skates put a heavy machine onto a few small points. We look at the slab and any pits or trenches on the route, and plate over whatever needs it.
- Working around production. Food sites stop for cleaning and engineering firms stop at weekends. We agree the stop with you and allow for setting up and clearing away inside it.
- Road closures. If a load-out needs part of a road or footway, we arrange the traffic management and road closure with Wigan 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 Wigan, heavy loads reach the M6 or the M61 along the A49 and A577, and the M58 runs west from junction 26 towards Skelmersdale.
Postcodes and areas we cover
We cover every WN postcode and the towns around the borough:
- Wigan: town centre, Pemberton, Ince, Hindley, Haigh, Swinley and Worsley Mesnes
- Estates: Martland Park, South Lancashire Industrial Estate and the sheds around junction 25
- North and west: Standish, Shevington, Appley Bridge and Skelmersdale
- South and east: Ashton-in-Makerfield, Bryn, Leigh and Atherton
- Wider area: Bolton, St Helens, Warrington, Chorley and Ormskirk
We also move machinery right across the UK.
Why Wigan firms choose Synergy Lifting for machine movement
- Used to working inside a shutdown. Cleaning breaks and weekend stops are planned back from the time you need the line running again.
- Ground and route checked first. The yard and the way out are looked at before we price, so the date we agree holds.
- One firm from start to finish. Our own crews run the crane, skates, jacks, gantries and transport, 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
A Wigan machine move can call for one of these alongside it:
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 line on a food site during a weekend stop?
Yes, for a single machine or a section of line. Our equipment comes onto site before production stops, and the line is taken apart in the order you want it back, to your hygiene rules.
We are moving to a bigger unit on the same estate. Can you keep us producing?
Yes. We move the machines in batches, so part of the works keeps running while the rest is on the move, and each batch is levelled and ready for reconnection before the next one goes. Moves between units on Martland Park or South Lancashire Industrial Estate go across on our own transport.
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 Wigan
- Phone: 01942 943 023
- Email: wigan@synergy-lifting.co.uk
Tell us what the machine is, where it stands and where it needs to go, and add photos of the route out if you can.
We also provide machine movement in Warrington, Preston, Manchester and Liverpool. See all the machine movement locations.