Rigging-Busters moves CNC machines and other machine tools for machine shops and plants in Windsor, Ontario, Essex County and Chatham-Kent. Our CNC machine movers and riggers lock each machine down, skid it out, haul it and set it on its new footprint, then re-level it so it is ready for your electricians and the machine builder’s technician.
If you own or run a machine shop, a mould shop or a tool and die shop, we take on the heavy part of the move so your team can stay on production. Jobs range from one machining centre moved across the floor for a new cell to a whole shop moving from one industrial unit to a bigger building in the surrounding area. We move machines; we do not do CNC machining.
- Industrial only: we are machine tool and equipment movers for shops and plants, with no household, office or gym moves.
- One crew from rig-out to re-levelling: rigging, skidding, transport, set-in-place, levelling and millwright installation.
- Quotes in 2–4 business hours, and estimates are free.
- Service area: Windsor, Essex County and Chatham-Kent, with cross-border transport to Michigan quoted case by case.
Want a ballpark first? Our Heavy Lifting & Moving Calculator gives a rough price range for your machine.
or give a call +1-519-800-5124
CNC Machine Moving Services in Windsor-Essex
Each CNC job we quote in Windsor-Essex is one of these, and each is planned from the machine’s weight, its footprint and the way out of your building:
- In-shop moves: a machine shifted to another bay or turned to suit a new cell layout.
- CNC machine relocation between buildings, for example from a unit off Walker Road to a larger plant in Tecumseh or Lakeshore.
- CNC machine transport on a trailer that suits the machine, with permits when the load is oversize.
- CNC machine installation for dealers and buyers: unloading, skidding in, setting on the footprint and levelling.
- Shop and line moves: several machines, with their chip conveyors, bar feeders and control cabinets, moved in the order they will be rebuilt.
- Used-machine and auction pick-ups within the removal window the seller sets.
How We Move a CNC Machine in Windsor: 7 Steps
The order of the work matters as much as the lifting gear. Here is how a CNC move runs, and who does what at each step:
- Machine details (you): make, model, a photo of the serial plate, weight, both addresses, door sizes and the date the machine must be running again.
- Site check (our crew): floor condition, trenches and pits, door and ceiling clearances, and the turning room between the machine and the dock.
- Shop prep (your team or the OEM): the control is backed up, the coolant is drained and the tooling is pulled.
- Power down (your licensed electricians): power is disconnected and locked out; air and coolant lines are disconnected and capped.
- Lock and skid (our crew): we lock the axes and secure the spindle, then lift the machine onto skates, a hydraulic gantry or a heavy-capacity forklift.
- Load and haul (our crew): CNC transport on a trailer chosen for the machine, chained and blocked, with a City of Windsor, County of Essex or MTO permit when the load is oversize.
- Set in place and re-level (our crew), then recommission (OEM): the machine lands on its marks, we level it, and the builder’s technician restores the backup and checks accuracy.
Shop Prep Before the Riggers Arrive
Preparation is shared work, and most delays on a CNC move start here. Before moving day, your maintenance lead or the machine builder backs up the control: parameters, offsets, macro variables and part programs. Your team drains the coolant tank, empties the chip conveyor and removes tooling, vises and loose parts. On a wire or sinker EDM the dielectric fluid is drained the same way, and a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) is secured by your metrology provider before the lift and recalibrated after it. Book the OEM technician for start-up at the new address when you fix the moving date.
Locking the Axes and Skidding the Machine
On the day, our crew locks the axes, using the builder’s shipping brackets when the machine still has them, secures the spindle head and the doors, and ties down anything that can swing. Then we choose the method:
- Toe jacks and machinery skates to raise the base slightly and roll it across the floor
- A hydraulic gantry where there is no overhead crane and the machine has to come straight up
- A heavy-capacity forklift for loading at the dock or in the yard
- Jack-and-roll for very heavy bases, raised in stages on cribbing
- A crane lift, by our crane or a licensed partner crane, only when the building or the site calls for one
Windsor and Essex County Permits for Oversize Loads
Many machine tools fit within normal load limits on the right trailer. When a machine and its trailer are oversize under the Highway Traffic Act, the route needs approval first. In the City of Windsor, the route approval application goes to Traffic Operations at least 72 hours before the move, and the moving permit then comes from the Engineering Department (see City of Windsor moving permits). The E.C. Row Expressway is a City road, so it falls under that approval too.
On County of Essex roads, a load wider than 2.6 m or higher than 4.15 m, or over the County’s length or weight limits, needs a County moving permit, and the County asks for at least 10 business days of notice (County of Essex moving permits). Highway 401 and Highway 3 are provincial, so an oversize load there needs an MTO oversize permit, applied for at least 5 business days ahead. We apply for the permits and arrange any escorts their conditions require.
Re-Levelling and OEM Recommissioning
At the new site we set the machine on its marks, adjust the levelling screws or pads until a precision level reads true, and leave it ready for reconnection. Your licensed electricians reconnect power, then your team or the OEM restores the backup, checks the geometry and runs the machine in. A large machining centre or boring mill on its own pad is worth re-checking for level after the first weeks of running, once the base has settled, and our millwrights can come back to do it.
Need rigging only, a dock unload or a whole plant moved? See industrial rigging services in Windsor, heavy equipment loading and unloading in Windsor or factory and plant relocation in Windsor.
or give a call +1-519-800-5124
Machine Tools We Move for Windsor-Essex Shops
Our Windsor CNC movers handle the machines found in local tool, die and mould shops, automotive suppliers and job shops, for example:
- Vertical and horizontal machining centres, including 5-axis machines
- CNC lathes, turning centres and Swiss-type lathes
- Bridge and gantry mills, and horizontal boring mills for mould bases
- Wire and sinker EDM machines
- Surface, cylindrical and tool-and-cutter grinders
- Coordinate measuring machines (CMMs)
- Die spotting presses, press brakes and other presses
- CNC routers and plasma or laser cutting tables
- Robot cells, bar feeders, chip conveyors and control cabinets
For production lines and other plant equipment, see our machinery movers in Windsor.
Tool, Die and Mould Shops and Auto Suppliers
Windsor-Essex has 250-plus machine, tool, die and mold manufacturers and more than 500 automation firms, which Invest WindsorEssex calls the largest cluster of tool and mold and automation companies in North America. The region also hosts Stellantis’ Canadian headquarters, and metro Detroit is less than a mile away. In a mould shop the heaviest pieces are usually the big machining centres, the boring mill and the spotting press, so we plan the route and the trailer around those first.
Cross-Border Moves Between Windsor and Michigan
Buying a used machining centre from a Michigan seller, or sending a machine to a plant in Detroit? Cross-border transport is quoted case by case. The Gordie Howe International Bridge opened to traffic on 27 July 2026, beside the long-standing Ambassador Bridge. The importer clears the machine through customs, usually with a customs broker, and we time the pickup and the crossing to that paperwork. Tell us early if the machine must be set in place on the US side.
Small Machinery and Single-Machine Moves
Looking for small machinery movers? We take single machines too: a toolroom mill, a surface grinder or a compact turning centre gets the same locked axes, blocking and slow set-down as a large machine. If yours is light enough to roll through a standard door on a pallet jack, a general mover may cost less, so send the weight and size and we will tell you which suits it.
or give a call +1-519-800-5124
CNC Machine Moving Cost in Windsor: What Affects the Price
There is no flat rate for moving a CNC machine. Each job is quoted after we know the machine and both sites, and these are the main cost drivers:
- Weight, footprint and centre of gravity, plus loose parts such as the chip conveyor and coolant tank
- Access at both ends: door width and height, floor trenches, ramps, docks and the distance from the machine to the truck
- Method: skates, gantry, jack-and-roll or a crane lift (crane time is included in your quote)
- Distance and route: a move within Windsor, a haul across Essex County or cross-border transport
- Permits and escorts when the load is oversize
- Extras: crating, short-term storage, millwright installation and a return visit to re-check level
- Timing: weekend or shutdown-week work so your spindles keep running during the week
To keep the bill down, have the machine prepped and disconnected before we arrive, group several machines into one trip, and ask for rigging, transport and set-in-place in one quote so offers compare like with like. The OEM quotes its own prep and start-up. Quotes are in Canadian dollars (CAD), and we accept cash or cashless payment.
Why Windsor Machine Shops Hire Us for CNC Machine Moving
- Industrial only: machine tools and plant equipment, nothing else.
- One crew from rig-out to re-levelling, so nothing falls between a rigger, a trucker and an installer.
- Methods that suit tight shops: skates, gantries and jack-and-roll, with a crane only when the site needs one.
- Permits handled: City of Windsor route approval, County of Essex and MTO permits for oversize loads.
- Planned around production: weekends and shutdown weeks are booked ahead.
- Quick answers: quote replies within 2–4 business hours.
A good fit: single machine tools, shop relocations, new machine deliveries and installs, auction pick-ups, and machines bought or sold across the border.
Not a fit: CNC machining, programming or repair; used-machine sales; household or office moves; gym and fitness equipment such as treadmills; pianos and safes; crane rental; and equipment rental.
Comparing CNC Movers? Check These Points
Put the quotes side by side and check that each one names the lifting method and equipment, who locks the axes and who drains the coolant, the trailer and any permits, and whether set-in-place and levelling are included. Ask every mover how the machine is insured while it is on the truck, and ask for proof.
Have These Ready for an Exact Quote
Send these with your quote request and we can price the move without guesswork:
- The machine: make, model and a photo of the serial plate
- Weight and footprint, plus loose parts such as the chip conveyor, coolant tank or bar feeder
- Both addresses, with door sizes, docks and any steps or floor trenches
- Dates: when the machine can stop and when it must run again
- Prep status: backed up, drained and disconnected, or still to do
- Photos of the machine and the route out to the truck
or give a call +1-519-800-5124
Service Area: Windsor, Essex County and Chatham-Kent
Our Windsor CNC machine movers work across the city’s industrial areas: the Walker Road corridor south past the minivan plant and Windsor Airport, the industrial areas and business parks along the E.C. Row Expressway, and the east end around Lauzon Parkway. In Essex County we cover LaSalle, Tecumseh and Oldcastle, Lakeshore, Amherstburg, Essex, Kingsville and Leamington, and we also take jobs in Chatham-Kent.
Further along Highway 401, see CNC machine movers in London, or machinery movers across Ontario.
Key Cities We Serve Around Windsor
| City/Town | Province | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Windsor | Ontario | Canada |
| LaSalle | Ontario | Canada |
| Tecumseh | Ontario | Canada |
| Amherstburg | Ontario | Canada |
| Essex | Ontario | Canada |
| Lakeshore | Ontario | Canada |
| Leamington | Ontario | Canada |
| Kingsville | Ontario | Canada |
| Chatham-Kent | Ontario | Canada |
or give a call +1-519-800-5124
Other Services in Windsor
Related services from our crew in Windsor-Essex, or browse all our services in Windsor:
- Heavy Equipment & Machinery Movers in Windsor, ON
- Heavy & Industrial Rigging Services in Windsor, ON
- Factory & Plant Relocation Services in Windsor, ON
- Lab & Medical Equipment Movers in Windsor, ON
- Forklift Moving Service in Windsor, ON
- Printing Press Movers in Windsor, ON
- Electrical Transformer Moving Services in Windsor, ON
- Heavy Equipment Loading & Unloading in Windsor, ON
Location of our sales office:
3270 Electricity Dr, Windsor, ON N8W 5J1, Canada 👇
CNC Machine Moving in Windsor: FAQ
Every CNC move is quoted per job, because the price depends on the machine and both sites. The main drivers are weight and footprint, access at each end, the lifting method, distance, permits for an oversize load and extras such as crating, storage or millwright work. Our Heavy Lifting and Moving Calculator gives a rough range, and estimates are free.
The usual risks are damaged axes or ball screws on a machine that was not locked, a top-heavy machine tipping, a cracked floor or trench cover, coolant spills and lost accuracy after a hard set-down. We lock the axes, secure the spindle, check the floor and the route, block the load on the trailer and re-level the machine before it is recommissioned.
You get the right gear and a plan: skates, gantries, jack-and-roll and trailers suited to machine tools, with permits handled. One crew rigs, hauls, sets and levels the machine, so nothing falls between a rigger, a trucker and an installer, and the move is scheduled around your production so spindle downtime stays short.
We take the machine details and check the site. Your team or the OEM backs up the control and drains the coolant, and your licensed electricians disconnect power. We lock the axes, secure the spindle, skid the machine out and haul it with any City of Windsor, County of Essex or MTO permit it needs, then set it in place and re-level it for recommissioning.
Only when the load is oversize. In the City of Windsor, route approval from Traffic Operations is needed at least 72 hours before the move, followed by a moving permit from the Engineering Department. County of Essex roads need a County moving permit with at least 10 business days of notice, and Highway 401 or Highway 3 need an MTO permit. We apply for them.
Back up the parameters, offsets and programs, or have the OEM do it. Drain the coolant, empty the chip conveyor and remove tooling and loose parts. Book your licensed electricians to disconnect power and the OEM technician for start-up at the new address, and clear a path to the door or dock. On the day, we lock the axes, secure the spindle and skid the machine.
Often, yes. Cross-border transport between Windsor-Essex and Detroit or the rest of Michigan is quoted case by case. The importer clears the machine through customs, usually with a customs broker, and we time the pickup and crossing to that paperwork. If the machine must also be set in place on the United States side, tell us early so we can confirm it in the quote.
Yes. Wire and sinker EDM machines travel with the dielectric fluid drained, and a coordinate measuring machine is secured by your metrology provider or the OEM before we lift it, then recalibrated after the move. We also move boring mills, grinders, spotting presses and press brakes, the machines that fill many Windsor-Essex tool, die and mould shops.
All of Windsor, including the Walker Road and E.C. Row industrial areas, and Essex County: LaSalle, Tecumseh and Oldcastle, Lakeshore, Amherstburg, Essex, Kingsville and Leamington, plus Chatham-Kent. For shops further along Highway 401, see our CNC machine movers in London. Send the site address with your quote request and we will confirm the route.
No. We move CNC machines and other industrial equipment; we do not cut parts, write programs or repair machines, so for CNC machining call a Windsor machine shop. We are not gym equipment movers or fitness equipment movers either: treadmills, home gyms, furniture and office moves belong with a residential or commercial moving company.
