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Export Packing Guide

How to Pack a Machine for Export

Packing an industrial machine for ocean export is not crating plus a desiccant bag — it is a sequence of decisions about preservation, anchoring, moisture control and documentation that together decide whether the machine arrives ready to run. This guide walks the full method BENZ uses on every export consignment, from cleaning the bare metal to stencilling the case.

ISPM-15·DIN 55473·ASTM D6251·Seaworthy / Export-Worthy·VCI / Anti-Corrosion
The Principle

A Machine Fails in Transit for Three Reasons, and Packing Answers All Three.

Across thousands of marine-cargo claims the same three failure modes recur: corrosion from trapped humidity, mechanical damage from movement and shock, and handling damage from poor marking and weak lift points. A machine can leave the factory in perfect order and still arrive seized, mis-aligned or dropped, because the container is a hostile environment — sealed, humid, and swung between cranes. Good export packing is simply the disciplined defeat of those three forces, in that order of likelihood.

That is why the method below is a sequence, not a checklist of parts. You preserve the metal first, because no amount of strong timber saves a machine that rusts. You then immobilise and cushion it against the voyage. You then control the air inside the barrier. And finally you mark and document the package so the people who never see the contents still handle and clear it correctly. Skip a step and the others cannot compensate.

The Export Packing Sequence

StepWhat it covers
1. Clean & dry the machineRemove coolant, swarf, oil film and condensation. Any moisture or salt left on bare metal becomes a corrosion site the moment the case is sealed.
2. Apply corrosion protectionCoat or wrap bright metal — VCI film, VCI paper or a rust-preventive — so vapour-phase inhibitor protects machined faces, spindles and rams. See VCI film and VCI paper.
3. Immobilise moving partsLock slides, gantries, rams and rotating assemblies; back off spring tension; secure loose tooling. Movement in transit is what mis-aligns a machine.
4. Anchor to the base / skidBolt the machine to a load-rated timber or steel skid through its own mounting holes, so the lashing path runs into the structure, not the sheet metal.
5. Seal in a moisture barrierEnclose the machine in an aluminium-barrier or poly barrier bag and add the right desiccant quantity for the enclosed volume and route.
6. Build the case around itCrate or box to the cargo's weight and the voyage — closed box, crate or skid-and-frame — on ISPM-15 heat-treated timber.
7. Mark, document & certifyStencil weight, lift and sling points and handling symbols; issue the packing list, ISPM-15 mark and a packing certificate.

Match the Method to Your Machine

The same sequence, specified to the machine type. Each links to its dedicated page.

CNC & Machining Centres
Servo axes, spindles and controls locked and vapour-protected. CNC packing ›
Lathes & Milling Machines
Beds, ways and lead-screws preserved against rust on long sailings. Lathe packing ›
Presses & Heavy Tooling
High point-loads anchored and cushioned for shock. Press packing ›
Transformers & Electricals
Bushings protected, breathing and oil handled for export. Transformer packing ›
Injection Moulding Machines
Tie-bars, platens and hydraulics secured against movement. IMM packing ›
Full Production Lines
Sequenced, mapped and crated for reinstallation. Line relocation ›

Have a Machine to Ship? We’ll Engineer the Pack

Send the machine, the destination and the route. BENZ returns a packing method, the corrosion and desiccant specification, an ISPM-15-compliant case design and a quote — as the manufacturer of the protection, not a reseller.

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BENZ Packaging consistently provides reliable and efficacious Corrosion Prevention & Protective Packaging Solutions to clients worldwide.

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