Another successful operation achieved with heavy industrial equipment being moved from Lithuania to Canada. MachinePoint sells over 200 machines each year.
Quality is paramount and costs need to be kept competitive to keep customers happy. When dismantling, moving and organizing international transport for large processing machines, experience and a well-trained team are key to success to minimize risk.
On this occasion, MachinePoint’s team was led by Gianni Olivo, Area Business Manager for the Food & Beverage Division. A Husky GL 300 system for producing preforms had to be dismantled and packed for road and sea transport.
4 large containers were hired and MachinePoint´s logistics team coordinated on site all the different teams needed to carry out the job, the transport company and 10 technicians. At the same time at MachinePoint´s head office, the logistic and legal teams work hand in hand to ensure a smooth operation.
In some cases and when possible, engineers from the purchasing company where the machine has to be assembled assist the dismantling and loading so they can learn about the machine. This makes assembling at the destination factory much easier. In this case, technicians from Canada were present and could check in real-time how wiring was disconnected and correctly labelled.
Let´s take a look into MachinePoint´s typical working day when developing the important task of supervising transport and loadings.
Day 1 MachinePoint´s team arrived at Riga international airport late Sunday night.
Day 2 Early Monday morning they drove two hours to the site where the equipment was located. Dismantling started with the clamping and injection units, hydraulic oil drainage, disconnecting of air, water and hydraulic hoses, electrical power and signal cables. Eight intensive hours of work.
Day 3 The following day the drying equipment had to be disconnected and packed – cables, suction pipes, water, etc. Parallel to this the clamping and injection units dismantled the previous day needed to be moved from the factory to the warehouse.
Lithuanian workers were highly skilled and used skates to make moving the machines easier. Unfortunately, the first container arrived late and loading had to be postponed until the following day.
The key for a successful loading is a professional and can-do-attitude team, as unexpected circumstances often occur. MachinePoint would like to thank the Lithuanian workers for their performance during this project as they were not only professional but always ready to help and try and solves the many challenges that arise during the process.
Day 4 On Wednesday part of the team supervised the dismantling, packing and loading of the mezzanine dryer, hopper and dehumidification units, while the rest supervised the packaging and the loading of the injection unit in the warehouse.
Day 5 On Thursday a second container was loaded with the mold HR, EOAT and Cool Jet.
Loading and fixation of the hopper and the rest of the parts inside the container were easier than the day before, however, the teams finished working late at night. When fixing and lashing the different parts into the containers, forces that can occur during shipment are taken into consideration. This part is critical to guarantee the machine arrives safely to its destination.
Day 6 Finally, on Friday the packing and loading to the container was finished. MachinePoint´s team supervised and signed all transport documents after checking that everything was correct.
The legal team at MachinePoint HQ was there to assess him on this task. It is very important to fully follow the correct process and insure the equipment in case of an accident during transport. There has to be no mistakes also in any of the export documentation to avoid that the equipment is retained at the port.
