When a factory goes on a trip — Dismantling

When an entire industrial plant changes location, a logistical project begins that goes far beyond traditional transport. That is exactly what a current project by FR8 Logistik GmbH is about: the dismantling and international shipment of a large industrial plant from Germany. A project that is exceptional even for logistics professionals

Transporting individual machines or production lines is part of everyday life in the logistics industry — but relocating an entire factory is another dimension “We have never had a project like this before,” says Jan Kristian Langfeldt, owner and managing director of FR8 Logistik GmbH. “That is precisely why it is an exciting task for the entire team. ”

Because a project like this isn't just about transportation. Logistics starts long before the first container is loaded. First, the entire plant must be analyzed:

- Which machines can be transported as a complete unit?
- Which components need to be disassembled?
- Which parts fit into standard containers?
- Where is special equipment needed?

Only when these questions have been answered can the actual planning of the international transport chain begin.

Shipment planning

In international shipping, there are various options for shipping such projects. Large systems can be transported, for example, as “one lot” (a closed project shipment) or in so-called “partial shipments” (several partial deliveries). Documents and international requirements In addition to technical planning, documentation also plays a decisive role.

Typical elements of international industrial projects include:
- EUR.1 certificates of preference
- Letter of Credit (letter of credit)
- export and origin documents
- Project-related transport contracts

Container planning

Container planning is a central part of project logistics. Around 40 containers were initially organized for this project. These are so-called SOC containers (Shipper Owned Containers).
These containers do not belong to a shipping company, but are purchased specifically for the project.

Depending on the size of the machines, different types of containers and equipment are used:

- standard container (e.g. 40' high cube)
- Open-top container for loading from above
- Flat racks for oversized machines
- OOG (out of gauge) transport for particularly large components

The start of dismantling

While the containers are being organized, the dismantling of the first plant areas is already beginning at the plant. Machines are documented, dismantled and prepared for transport. At the same time, a transport chain is being created step by step between plant, interim storage areas and port.

Continuation follows

In the next parts of this blog series, we'll show:

- How container logistics is organized
- How machines are loaded
- and how an entire industrial plant finally finds its way across several continents.