Anyone who has ever moved house knows how much work it involves: everything has to be carefully dismantled, packed and then transported in one place and then, of course, unpacked and - ideally complete and undamaged - reassembled. Once you have had the benefit of a professional removal company, you will never want to do without them again. Perlon has also had this experience. The global group of companies, which specializes in the production of synthetic filaments, manufactures filaments for applications in the paper machine industry, the brush industry, for technical textiles as well as for cosmetics and dental applications at its plants in Germany, the USA and China. When the production plant in South Korea was closed, the company commissioned the Wisag Industrie Service Group, one of Germany's largest industrial service providers, to relocate machine and plant components to Munderkingen in Baden-Württemberg, Wald-Michelbach in Hesse and the USA.

What applies to any average move is all the more true in these dimensions: preparation is everything! "If you organize properly, you save time and therefore money," says Jörg Gollasch, Head of Maintenance, Plant Engineering and Industrial Assembly at Wisag Produktionsservice GmbH in Donaueschingen. "The duration of the preparation phase for such a move cannot be generalized - it varies depending on the machine type, location, user industry and plant size. For Perlon, we spent a total of six weeks planning the move. One thing that should not be underestimated is the time it takes to obtain an entry and work permit. Fortunately, this is much less of a problem in South Korea than in other Asian countries such as Indonesia or India."

Other countries, other regulations

Three employees from the Donaueschingen branch, including two lead fitters, were on site in Sejong, South Korea, to manage the project and coordinate the local packaging team. "When transporting goods across borders, it is essential to familiarize yourself with the country in question, its laws and regulations, as well as the people living there and their culture," emphasizes Gollasch. "For example, there are country-specific differences in customs clearance, work permits, transport regulations and insurance - and, of course, occupational health and safety." Depending on the user industry and installation project, many Wisag assignments are therefore preceded by a briefing by a trainer who takes part in a meeting with the customer beforehand, during which possible risks relating to the installation and location are identified and measures to minimize them are defined.

Stowing the sea containers. © Wisag

Wisag relocated a total of ten containers, each with a floor area of around 28 square meters, from Sejong to Germany and the USA within around two months. The experts spent a good three weeks dismantling and packing the systems. After the long sea voyage, it took four Wisag employees just under two weeks to reassemble the machines at their destination. The service provider took care of all steps of the industrial assembly: starting with the preparation of the dismantling, the dismantling itself, the packaging, the transportation of the system to the new location and the preparation of the reassembly, with the subsequent final work for commissioning being carried out by Hahl Filaments, based in Munderkingen. "Wisag Produktionsservice was the general contractor for this order," explains Gollasch. "However, dismantling the machines was our main task. For sea packaging, sea transportation and customs clearance, we worked with Leschaco/Lexau from Bremen, a reliable partner with many years of experience in the Asian region."