Relocating a Factory or Workshop Between Lagos, Ibadan and Abuja

The lease in Lagos ends this month. The new space in Ibadan is cheaper and bigger, but it has no three-phase power connected yet, the welding machine weighs more than anyone guessed, and there are orders due next week. Nobody wants to tell customers that production has stopped.

A small factory or workshop move between cities is different from an office or a house. The items are heavy, oily and awkward, the raw materials and finished goods have value, and every day the machines are off costs you. The work is in the planning, long before a truck shows up.

Start with the new site, not the old one

The most expensive mistake is moving machines into a building that cannot run them. Before you plan a single trip, confirm at the new site:

• Power supply and capacity for your machines, including any three-phase connection
• Floor strength and level ground for heavy equipment
• Door and gate widths, and whether a truck can reach the entrance
• Water, drainage and ventilation if your process needs them
• Space laid out for each machine, with room to work around it

Walk the new site with the electrician or technician who will connect the machines. If something needs installing, get it done before the move. Machines sitting idle in a new building for two weeks is the same downtime as machines sitting idle in the old one.

Split the move into three loads

Most workshops have three kinds of things to move, and they should not all go on the same day.

Raw materials can usually go first. Sheets, rods, fabric rolls, timber, drums of chemicals or bags of ingredients can be moved to the new site a week or two early, as long as it is secure and dry. This also shows you whether the new store room works.

Finished stock should be run down before the move. Push moves to customers in the weeks before, so there is less to transport. Whatever is left travels on its own trip, counted and sealed.

Machines and tools move last, once the new site is ready. This is the trip that decides how long you are shut.

Preparing heavy machines

Heavy machines need preparation before anyone tries to lift them.

1. Read the manufacturer's guidance on moving the machine. Some machines have transport locks, lifting points or parts that must be removed.
2. Get a qualified technician to disconnect power, compressed air and any fluid lines.
3. Drain oils, coolants and fuel where the manufacturer says to. Do not carry leaking machines.
4. Remove loose parts such as belts, guards, blades and trays, and pack them in labelled boxes with the machine's name.
5. Photograph wiring and connections before disconnecting.
6. Find out the weight of each machine from its plate or manual.

Machines too heavy to lift safely by hand need lifting equipment, such as a forklift or a crane, at both ends. Arrange it before the day. Asking a group of men to "just carry it" is how people get hurt and machines get dropped. Our guide to lifting heavy items safely explains where manual lifting stops being sensible.

Ready to move?

Request a truck or van on Sphere

Choose your vehicle, propose your price, and verified drivers in Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan accept or send a counter-offer.

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Plan the road trip

Lagos to Ibadan is a short intercity run that many trucks can do in a day. Lagos or Ibadan to Abuja is a much longer trip, and drivers usually plan it with an early start and proper stops. Our guide to planning a Lagos to Ibadan truck trip covers timing on that route.

For any intercity move:

• Strap every machine to the vehicle's tie-down points and block it so it cannot slide.
• Cover the load with a tarpaulin in case of rain.
• Keep the heaviest machines low, forward and balanced side to side.
• Send someone you trust with the load, or keep in regular phone contact with the driver.
• Have someone at the new site ready to receive the truck, with the lifting equipment there.

Our guide to securing a load goes into straps and tarpaulins in detail.

Keep downtime short

A realistic timeline for a small workshop looks like this. Two weeks out, move raw materials. One week out, finish and deliver most stock. On closing day, disconnect and load the machines. The next day, they arrive and get placed. Reconnection and test runs follow as soon as the technician is on site.

Tell your regular customers the dates in advance. Most people accept a short pause if they hear about it early and get a clear reopening date.

For businesses that print, see our separate guide to moving a printing press.

How to do this on Sphere

1. Open the Sphere app and request a truck. Heavy machines need a truck, while raw materials or cartons of stock may fit a pickup van.
2. Add the old and new addresses, and note access, gate width and the lifting equipment at each end.
3. Describe each machine with its weight, plus the number of bags, drums or cartons.
4. Agree loading and offloading help with the driver before you accept an offer.
5. Propose your price. Verified drivers accept it or counter, and you choose.

Create separate requests for each stage. Sphere works in Lagos, Ibadan and Abuja, and you can find trucks on our Lagos truck hire page.