Transportation for 21st century commercial and industrial needs is far more than just moving items from point A to point B. Large distances may be involved, cargo has special needs to preserve its condition, and deadlines matter more than ever. Reliable transport requires the right equipment, an in-depth understanding of logistics, contacts, and coordination to organize large-scale moves without any delays, interruptions, or failure to administrate properly.
At SMB Machinery, we have been providing freight, logistics and relocation services for over two decades, for a wide range of industries that include dairy, breweries, pharmaceutical, water, nutriceutical, food and drink, consumer products and chemicals. The task of relocating your plant and its equipment to a new location is one that takes a high level of experience and expertise, and our proven process will always provide the results you need.
Freight
Private moves are typically quite simple. In most cases, your belongings are packed in boxes, and those boxes are then carried out and transported to a new location. None of this is so simple when it comes to proper freight for plant equipment. Plant equipment comes in all shapes and sizes, but the one thing that applies to most of it is that it was never designed for easy portability or the durability required for moving to another location.
Equipment of this nature needs to be prepared for the journey. This is especially true in the case where large-scale equipment must be moved. “Over-dimensional transportation,” for example, is the very specific practice of loading freight onto trucks where the freight is so large that it won’t fit into conventional shipping containers and is thus “out of bounds” on the truck.
The SMB Machinery team knows how to load your freight safely, according to industry standards and best practices. You can have peace of mind knowing that all of your equipment will remain in pristine condition from the moment we arrive until it’s delivered and ready to set up at the new location.
Logistics
In addition to knowing how to move large pieces of plant equipment, it’s important to know how to do this legally and coordinate with all the groups involved. SMB will arrange for permits and other legal administrative approvals that are required when transporting oversized freight on American roads. We will also coordinate any transfers and handoffs that are needed if freight is traveling by different modes of transportation to reach its final destination. Loading, unloading and temporary storage during transport are other aspects that will be handled by the SMB team.
All of this falls under careful, thorough logistics. Scheduling, permits, legal requirements, and other bureaucracy can be time-consuming to get for someone doing it all for the first time. Our experienced team can process logistics requirements and administrate them efficiently, so everything goes smoothly and there are no delays in the process.
Relocation
SMB Machinery exercises great care during disassembly, rigging and relocation of your equipment. Production equipment can be sprawling, unwieldy, but delicate. That means that care has to be exercised in the disassembly of such equipment—if disassembly is even possible—and that extra precautions have to be taken, such as rigging, to safely moves these pieces of equipment offsite.
Once the equipment has been moved, however, this requires an equally intensive process of reassembly. We will ensure electrical power demands are satisfied, equipment is properly recalibrated and new equipment is integrated with existing equipment during the move.
SMB has the experience, expertise, and the right tools to relocate your operation from start to finish. An assembly line being rebuilt at a newer, bigger facility isn’t going to have an identical layout as the previous smaller facility. To truly take advantage of a plant relocation, the equipment must be adapted to fit the new operational parameters of the new facility.
Get The Job Done Right
Freight, logistics, and relocation require different teams, all working together in a coordinated effort to do the right thing, at the right time, in the most efficient way. There is nothing simple about a plant relocation, and the best moves occur with contingencies in place to deal with the unexpected, something that invariably happens even with the most tightly planned relocation.
If you want a relocation that protects your equipment and ensures that your investments are ready to work for you with minimal downtime, we can help. Contact SMB Machinery today, so we can meet with you, see the scope of your project, and outline what needs to happen so your project can be managed efficiently and successfully.