A machine is not a heavy pallet. It has a centre of gravity that is rarely where it looks, mounting points that may or may not be rated for lifting, and a tolerance for vibration that decides whether it still holds spec after 1,500 km. Transport that treats it as generic freight is where the damage claims come from.
What we move
Machine tools, packaged production equipment, industrial plant being relocated between sites, laboratory and workshop equipment, and complete lines moved in sections. We work with loads that travel on standard and dedicated trailers within our 1 to 24 tonne fleet range. Genuinely oversized or abnormal loads needing permits and escorts are quoted case by case, and we will tell you plainly when a job falls outside what we can do well.
How the job is built
We start from the machine, not the truck. Dimensions, real weight, lifting points, whether it travels upright, whether spindles or axes need locking, and whether the crate is designed to be forklifted or slung. That determines the vehicle, not the other way round.
Securing is planned, not improvised. Lashing arrangement, load distribution across the axles and protection of machined surfaces are decided before the vehicle is dispatched, because a driver improvising at the loading bay is how equipment arrives out of alignment.
Access is checked at both ends. Yard entrance, ramp height, floor loading, available lifting equipment and who provides it. Most delays on machinery jobs are access problems that were foreseeable.
Paperwork travels with the load. CMR consignment note, and where the movement leaves or enters the customs territory, the transit and import documentation. Value declarations matter here more than on ordinary freight, because the CMR liability limit is calculated by weight and a machine is worth far more per kilo than its weight suggests.
Insurance worth reading
Standard carrier liability under the CMR Convention is capped per kilogram, which for a dense, valuable machine is usually far below its replacement cost. For equipment of real value we arrange cover based on declared value instead, and we will show you the difference in writing before you decide. Guessing at this is expensive precisely once.
What we need from you to quote
Collection and delivery addresses, dimensions and weight per item, whether it is crated, whether a crane or forklift is available at each end, and the date window. With that we can usually come back within 15 to 30 minutes during working hours.
If you are not sure of some of it, send what you have. Half the job of a good quote is asking the questions you have not thought of yet.