When Dunlop purchased the Idler Manufacturing plant in Anderbolt, Boksburg, to complement its premium conveyor belting business, the company needed to relocate the entire 190-tonne facility to Dunlop Howick in KwaZulu-Natal. Reef Rigging was assigned to mechanically dismantle the plant, prepare it for road transport, and manage the complete logistics of moving the manufacturing operation across provinces. Here is how one of Reef Rigging’s most substantial factory relocation projects was executed.
Project Overview: Idler Manufacturing Plant Relocation
The Idler Manufacturing plant had operated in Boksburg for many decades and contained a comprehensive range of heavy manufacturing equipment. Dunlop’s acquisition of the plant was part of a strategic diversification into conveyor idler production and steel roller structures — equipment used extensively in both surface and underground mining applications. To make the acquisition commercially viable, the entire plant had to be relocated to Dunlop’s Howick facility in KwaZulu-Natal, over 500 kilometres away.
Scope of Work: 190 Tonnes of Manufacturing Equipment
The total plant weight was 190 tonnes, comprising a wide range of manufacturing equipment including lathes, mills, presses, welding equipment, steel fabrication machinery, and associated tooling. Each item had to be mechanically stripped to transportable sizes — removing protruding components, securing moving parts, and reducing overall dimensions where necessary to comply with road transport limits. The plant included oversized items that required abnormal load permits for their road transport leg.
Equipment Used for the Relocation
The project required a substantial mobilisation of rigging and transport resources. Crane trucks were used for the lifting and loading of equipment at the source facility. Riggers and fitters worked together on the mechanical disconnection and preparation of each machine. Forklifts handled horizontal movement and loading of smaller items. Boom trucks provided additional lifting capability for awkward-shaped equipment. Low-bed trailers with oversize abnormal load permits transported the heavier and wider items, while standard flatbed vehicles carried the smaller machines and components. Abnormal load permits were obtained for the required oversize loads on the journey from Gauteng to KwaZulu-Natal.
Challenges and How They Were Managed
The primary challenges of this project were the volume and variety of equipment — requiring careful sequencing to ensure machines were prepared, loaded, transported, and unloaded in a logical order — the inter-provincial transport logistics including abnormal load permits and route planning, and the coordination with Dunlop’s Howick facility to ensure that receiving conditions were ready for each load arrival. Reef Rigging’s experience in large-scale factory relocations meant these challenges were anticipated and managed within the project plan.
Project Outcome
The complete Idler Manufacturing plant was successfully dismantled, transported, and delivered to Dunlop Howick, enabling Dunlop to integrate the manufacturing operation and begin producing conveyor idlers and steel roller structures at its KwaZulu-Natal facility. The project stands as a strong example of Reef Rigging’s capability for large-scale, multi-machine factory relocations involving inter-provincial abnormal load transport.
For factory relocation projects of any scale, explore Reef Rigging’s factory relocation services or contact the team for a project consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions: Large-Scale Factory Relocations
How do you relocate a manufacturing plant between provinces in South Africa?
A cross-provincial manufacturing plant relocation involves mechanical dismantlement and preparation of all equipment for road transport, abnormal load permit applications for oversize items, route surveys for abnormal loads on the provincial road network, coordination of multiple transport vehicles to sequence the move efficiently, and reception and installation management at the destination facility. The process typically takes weeks or months depending on the scale of the plant, and requires close coordination between the rigging contractor, transport providers, and both the source and destination site management teams.
What does mechanically dismantling equipment to transportable size involve?
Preparing industrial equipment for road transport involves removing or securing any components that protrude beyond the machine’s main envelope — motors and drives in exposed positions, control panels, pipework connections, guarding, and ancillary equipment. For machines with large base frames, these may need to remain intact, but overhanging components must be removed and packed separately. Internal mechanisms such as spindles, slides, and tool holders are secured against movement during transport. The machine is then documented (photographed and labelled) before loading, so that it can be correctly reinstalled at the destination.