Preparing a machine for shipment to our warehouse

The work that decides what a machine sells for mostly happens before it moves. Once it is on a truck, the people who knew that machine have gone back to their jobs and the tooling that belongs to it is wherever somebody put it. Here is the sequence, in the order it should actually be done.

1. Run it, and record it

If the machine still has power, run it before anything is disconnected. Record it on a phone: the machine running, the control screen, the output if there is any. 2 minutes is plenty. That recording is worth more to a buyer than a page of description, and it can never be made again once the cables are cut.

2. Photograph it where it stands

Photograph the machine in position before it is broken down: the whole machine from a corner so its size reads, both ends, the control panel, the drive side, the working section, the nameplate, and anything worn or damaged. Photograph the faults deliberately. A buyer who has seen the faults does not renegotiate at collection. We photograph it again properly at our warehouse, but in-position photographs show context and scale that a warehouse shot cannot.

3. Gather everything that belongs to it

Tooling, dies, change parts, formats, rolls, fixtures, spare screens, the second set of anything. Manuals, wiring diagrams, parts books, PLC programs, license keys, backup files, calibration records and test certificates. The nameplate stays on the machine. Everything else goes into 1 labeled crate or box that travels with the machine. On many machines the tooling is a large share of the value, and it is always the first thing to end up on an unlabeled pallet in a corner.

If tooling has to stay behind for any reason, say so up front. A machine described as complete that arrives without its change parts is a problem for everybody.

4. Drain it and clean it

Coolant, oil, resin, adhesive, fiber, product residue, dust. Drain the fluids, wipe it down, and clear out whatever the last run left behind. Residue causes corrosion in transit, makes an inspection unpleasant, and raises questions about what the machine was processing that nobody wants to answer 3 months later. Machines must arrive drained, cleaned and safe to handle. Doing it at the end of the last shift, while there are still people who know the machine, is one of the highest-return hours in the whole project.

Where a machine has processed anything hazardous, say so in writing before it ships. There is no version of this where surprises help.

5. Disconnect and break it down deliberately

Photograph the connections before you break them: power in, air, water, drains, data. Label the cables and the hoses. If the machine comes apart into sections, mark the mating faces so it goes back together the way it came apart. Keep every bolt, guard, cover and platform, and bag the fasteners with the part they belong to. Small missing parts cost far more to replace than they ever cost to keep.

Lock or secure anything that moves in transit: carriages, heads, gantries, doors, hinged guards. Protect the control panel and the screens.

6. Crate, pack and mark it

How the machine is packed for the trip to Roebuck depends on the machine, and it is one of the things we talk through with you before it ships. In general: the machine sits on a base a forklift or a crane can take, delicate parts are boxed separately and marked, the tooling crate is marked with the machine it belongs to, and every piece carries the same identifier so a machine that arrives on 3 trucks can be reassembled into 1 listing.

Weights and dimensions matter here. A carrier cannot quote without them, and a wrong weight is the most common reason a collection fails on the day.

7. Get the paperwork straight before it leaves

Before the truck arrives you should have the signed consignment agreement, a packing list of what is actually on the truck, the manuals and diagrams, and clear evidence that the machine is yours to consign. If there is a lien, a lease or a co-owner, resolve it first. Nobody wants to discover a title question after a machine has been listed.

8. Tell us what is coming, and when

Send the final list, the weights and dimensions, the number of pieces, and the expected arrival. We check the machine in against that list, and anything that does not match gets sorted out while it is still easy to sort out.

What happens when it lands

We receive it, check it against your list, inspect it, photograph it properly, and write the specification the way a buyer needs to read it. Then it goes into the catalog on americanplantandequipment.com among roughly 97,000 machines, in the right industry, and out to our buyer network. From that point the inquiries, the questions, the inspections and the negotiation are ours to handle.

Who pays for inbound freight and rigging, how the machine is insured while it is in our care, what preparation and cleaning we do at our end, and how long it stays with us are all agreed in writing before the machine ships. If anything in this guide raises a question about your machine specifically, ask it before the truck is booked, not after.