What an industrial relocation actually involves
Moving production equipment out of, into or within Germany breaks into six phases. Most cost overruns come from treating phases 1 and 6 as afterthoughts.
Survey and planning
Machine weights, centres of gravity, lifting points, dimensions against every door, corridor and floor loading on the route. Services to be disconnected. Permits required. This phase costs little and prevents almost every expensive surprise.
Disconnection
Electrical isolation, hydraulic and pneumatic draining, coolant removal, safe disposal of fluids, and mechanical preparation - transport locks, axis clamping, spindle protection. Machine tools have specific transport-securing requirements; ignoring them causes damage that is invisible until the geometry check fails.
Rigging and loading
Skates, air bearings, gantries, forklifts or mobile cranes depending on weight and access. Where a machine cannot leave through a door, roof removal or wall opening becomes part of the project - a substantial cost that must be identified during the survey.
Transport
Standard road freight for machines within legal dimensions. Above that, abnormal-load permits, route surveys and sometimes police escort. In Germany, permits for oversize transport can take several weeks and are route-specific.
Installation and levelling
Foundation preparation, positioning, precision levelling, reconnection of services. Precision machine tools require levelling to within a few micrometres per metre, verified with a precision level, and often a settling period before final alignment.
Recommissioning and re-qualification
Geometry verification against the original acceptance report, test cuts, process capability re-validation. In regulated industries - pharmaceutical, aerospace, medical - this phase can take longer than the physical move and requires documented qualification.
Realistic costs
| Scope | Indicative cost | Typical downtime |
|---|---|---|
| Single machine tool, within Germany | €3,000 - €15,000 | 1 - 3 weeks |
| Single large press or heavy machine | €15,000 - €60,000 | 2 - 6 weeks |
| Production cell (5 - 10 machines), within Europe | €40,000 - €150,000 | 3 - 8 weeks |
| Full production line, international | €80,000 - €600,000 | 4 - 12 weeks + ramp-up |
| Abnormal-load permit & escort (Germany) | €800 - €6,000 per movement | Permit lead time 2 - 6 weeks |
| Roof removal / wall opening | €8,000 - €40,000 | Adds 1 - 2 weeks |
| OEM recommissioning engineer | €900 - €1,800 per day plus travel | 2 - 10 days typical |
Choosing a relocation contractor
| Criterion | What to ask for |
|---|---|
| Machine-specific experience | References for the same machine type and weight class, contactable |
| OEM relationship | Whether they work with your machine's manufacturer, or will co-ordinate with them |
| Insurance | Certificate showing all-risks cover at replacement value, covering lifting operations specifically |
| Lifting competence | Documented lift plans, appointed person, current LOLER-equivalent equipment certification |
| Permits | Whether abnormal-load permits are included in scope or excluded |
| Method statement | A written, machine-specific method statement and risk assessment before work begins |
| Contingency | What happens if a machine will not fit, or is damaged - who pays, who decides |
International relocation: additional considerations
- Customs. Moving your own machinery between countries is still an import. Establish whether temporary admission, returned-goods relief or standard import applies, and prepare a full equipment schedule with values and HS codes.
- Export control. Certain machine tools - particularly multi-axis machining centres above defined capability thresholds - are dual-use controlled goods. Moving your own machine to a controlled destination can require a licence. Check before shipping.
- Voltage and frequency. A German 400 V/50 Hz machine moved to a 60 Hz country needs assessment of motors, drives and spindle speeds. Frequency conversion or drive replacement is sometimes unavoidable.
- Documentation. Take the manuals, electrical drawings, PLC and CNC backups, parameter lists and licence keys. Recreating a lost parameter set from the OEM is expensive and slow, and occasionally impossible for older controls.
- Environmental conditions. A machine that ran in a temperate German hall may need conditioning in a hotter, more humid destination. See the ambient discussion in our India sourcing guide.
Related reading
- Buying used German industrial machinery
- German machine tool service providers
- CE marking requirements for German industrial equipment
- German factory equipment price guide
Frequently asked questions
What does an industrial machinery relocation from Germany cost?
For a single machine tool moved within Germany, budget EUR 3,000 to EUR 15,000 including disconnection, rigging, transport and recommissioning. A full production line moved internationally typically runs EUR 80,000 to EUR 600,000. The dominant variables are machine weight and dimensions, whether roof removal or crane lifts are needed, and how much re-qualification the machine requires at the destination.
How long does a factory relocation take?
A single machine is normally out of production for one to three weeks. A production line typically takes four to twelve weeks from disconnection to full output, with a further two to six weeks before quality and yield return to the previous level. Plan the ramp-up explicitly - production is rarely restored the day the machine is bolted down.
Who should disconnect and recommission the machine?
Wherever possible, the original manufacturer or their authorised service partner. Many German machine makers void remaining warranty if a third party disconnects and re-levels the machine, and geometry realignment after transport requires the manufacturer's acceptance procedure to be meaningful. Where the OEM is unavailable, use a specialist machine-moving contractor with documented experience of that machine type.
What insurance do I need for an industrial relocation?
Standard freight insurance is usually inadequate. You need all-risks cover for the machine at replacement rather than book value, explicitly covering loading, lifting, transit and unloading, plus the rigger's own liability cover. Consider business interruption cover if the machine is production-critical - the consequential loss from a dropped machine dwarfs the machine's value.