Plastics and injection molding manufacturers planning to expand or relocate production across the border often need more than standard transportation services. A US to Mexico manufacturing relocation company can help coordinate the turnkey process of preparing, rigging, transporting, and re-positioning injection molding machines, molds, auxiliary equipment, and production systems. Because these facilities rely on heavy interconnected equipment, manufacturers must evaluate how each asset will be moved, how safety can be managed, and what preparation is required before equipment arrives at the new facility.
What Types of Equipment Does it Make Sense to Relocate to Mexico?
Depending on whether you will be retaining facilities in the U.S., it may or may not make sense to move all of your equipment to Mexico. Instead, it may help to categorize the equipment in order of importance.
Tier 1: These are your largest assets and the bones of your production line.
- Injection molding machines
- Extrusion and blow molding equipment
- Material dryers and loaders
- Chillers and temperature-control equipment
- Laser, water jet and CNC cutting and routing machines.
Tier 2: These give you your competitive advantage and provide consistency to your end products.
- Molds, dies, and tooling.
- Conveyors and other material-handling systems
- Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC) and inventory systems
Tier 3: These are still essential but general-purpose machines that are easier to procure and have little direct impact on production.
- Granulators and recycling equipment
- Compressors and supporting production equipment.
What Makes Injection Molding Equipment Relocation a Complex Process?
Industrial machinery like injection molding machines are not really designed to be moved around on a whim. Although they typically come with rigging and lifting points for the initial installation, it takes a certified rigger to understand the load dynamics as well as the facility and rigging equipment constraints that need to be factored in for relocation.
With injection molding equipment in particular, there are sophisticated electrical, hydraulic, and pneumatic components as well as water connections that need to be considered and their configuration documented before disassembly.
Relocation planning should include precision components during handling and transportation as well as coordinating the sequence in which related and interconnected equipment is removed and later reinstalled.
What Makes Cutting and CNC Relocation a Complex Process?
These larger machines can run for thousands of hours with minimal preventive maintenance if installation is done properly. However, improper installation may be hard to initially identify and can lead to significant reductions in useful life down the road.
CO2 lasers in particular are nearly impossible to move without a certified installer due to the use of fragile glass tubes and mirrors. Luckily, most modern lasers are fiber optic and can be moved as long as the laser head remains intact with the power source.
Waterjet systems, on the other hand, come with delicate high-pressure plumbing that withstand up to 90,000 PSI and must be protected from contamination and kinking.
With all CNC machinery, alignment and leveling is key before re-commissioning.
Although all this can seem daunting, a successful relocation is possible. Careful planning will result in a more organized transition from the existing U.S.-based plant to operations across the border in Mexico. Visit AKIC.us or call 501-268-7827 to partner with a US to Mexico Manufacturing Relocation Company.