What Happens to the Machinery When a Plant Closes?
By Igor Chudov, owner, Chicago Machinery Movers, Berkeley, Illinois. Moving and removing industrial machinery since 1998. Published August 2026.
There are four avenues to dispose of machinery when the plant closes: an auction, a dealer, a demolition contractor who takes the building with it, or a scrap-value removal where the scrap value pays for its own removal. The optimal approach depends on what the machines are worth and how hard your deadline is. This page explains how each one goes, what each one pays, and the hidden pitfalls of these approaches, as we have worked during all the corporate liquidation actions described below.
The date rules everything
Typically, plant closings are followed by real estate closings, and usually meeting the date of real estate transaction closing is more important than realizing the top value from every old machine. So, we are often called to work to tight deadlines. Based on my experience, I decline truly insane deadlines, like cleaning out a full 10,000 square foot plant "by the end of Friday" - but we are able to mobilize, subcontract trucking for expediency, and move out large plants rapidly. Just as one cannot "speed up" a pregnancy, it is hard to "speed up" cleanout of a plant where the machinery needs to be removed in sequence. However, sometimes meeting a deadline requires certain compromises from us, such as paying my workers overtime salary, trucking everything straight to the scrap yard on their trucks, forgoing taking motors out of large machines, and so on.
Avenue one: the auction
An industrial auction house catalogs the plant, markets it for several weeks, and sells everything to the highest bidders. The whole cycle typically runs 60 to 120 days from decision to empty floor, so it only fits a generous deadline. Two things about auctions that surprise people:
- The auctioneer does not remove anything. Every buyer must hire their own insured rigger and get their machine out within a short window, usually ten to fifteen business days, with storage penalties after. For weeks, your plant fills with strangers' crews working lot by lot.
- Not everything sells. The obsolete iron, the built-in equipment, the odd lots: they stay. The seller still owes the landlord a broom-clean floor, so after the auction there is always another job: getting the leftovers out. They often call us to do this, but if not enough paying metal remains, we will charge them for this.
- Not everything that sells, is removed, and then a property of a buyer sits on the floor, with the buyer unable to remove but threatening to "put a lien on the building" to drag the process out.
Avenue two: the dealer who buys sellable machinery
Used-machinery dealers buy machinery in bulk outright: a walk-through, a cash offer in a day or three, removal within a week or two. As a result of obsolescence, wear, transaction costs such as rigging and trucking, and information asymmetries (buyers suspecting the seller is hiding something), a forced sale recovers a tiny fraction of what the machines cost new, and a small fraction of what the dealer would receive after reselling. Machinery dealers have no interest in performing general factory cleanout such as removing ducts or railings, removing scrap machinery not worth sending to their warehouse, and so on. So, after a deal with a dealer, you may end up having to pay us to haul away the detritus, unwanted machines not worth removing for free, and so on.
Just as old people have all kinds of "unexpected" health issues, so do old machines. So, frequently, a month post-sale buyers start calling and complaining that the machines do not work as perfectly as they wrongly inspected, and demand all kinds of refunds, adjustments, and returns. That's the unexpected consequence of selling to dealers, or other buyers, with eBay having its own rules about returns and refunds that can make a sale of an old machine a disaster.
NOTE: When Chicago Machinery Movers removes machinery, we do it with complete knowledge that they are typically good for parts only, and write our agreements correspondingly. We scrap several CNCs every week, taking out valuable parts for sale; it has been years since we sold a machine as a whole, because the risk is too high.
Avenue three: the building goes too
When the structure itself is coming down, demolition contractors strip and sell the machinery and scrap first, and credit that recovery against the demolition price. The machinery is a line item in a bigger contract. The problem that people run into here, usually is environmental: unexpected requirements for "inspections" and "pit cleanouts" with machinery blocking said pits. When that happens, owners wish they had someone remove their machinery first.
Avenue four: Hire Us and Scrap Everything Outright
Older machines, dead machines, and obsolete lines often are not worth an auction or a dealer's truck. They are worth their weight. Chicago Machinery Movers removes most obsolete machinery free, because the scrap value pays for the work: our crews, our forklifts, torch cutting where needed, and the trucking. You get a "AS-IS, FOR SCRAP" liability waiver on machinery, our insurance, and the machines are gone in days or weeks, not months. Nobody will call you a month later demanding their money back and complaining that the machines they bought to not work, and accusing you of all sorts of moral failings.
When the building stays, but structures inside need to be demolished, we do it with a torch. Torching requires a very thorough approach to firefighting, where I make no compromises when it comes to having water supply for quick firefighting, such as a garden hose with good pressure. In some cases, having a fire hose is a necessity (printing plants).
A typical 20,000 square foot plant, full of heavy machinery, usually takes us four weeks to clean out completely. That includes metal accumulations near the walls, pallet racks with rusted metal parts, etc. We have a skid steer with a scrap grapple that can also help clean up accumulations of garbage and bring trash to dumpsters effectively.
When needed, we can make quick work of various inside structures such as shop offices, and so on:
If the closing is yours to manage
- Decide about the machinery while the power is still on. Machines that can be shown running sell for real money; when the buyer cannot see them running, he or she will never believe your assurances about their conditions. Waiting until production stops before starting to market your equipment will cost you dearly.
- Count backward from the surrender date. An auction needs three or four months of runway. A dealer needs weeks. We get straight to work within days with nobody to wait for - no buyers, third party riggers, etc. (liquid removal can proceed simultaneously with our work). The decision is yours.
- Ask every contractor about the fluids. Coolant, oil, and refrigerant have rules attached. We do not remove refrigerant - you hire a EPA-licensed HVAC contractor. We do not pump out lakes of coolant - you need to hire a proper vacuum truck company for this. We move machines but not tons of liquids. Be wary of shady people telling you "we will take care of your coolant" while planning to dump it down the drain.
- Prefer one accountable contractor over five subcontractors you coordinate yourself, unless coordinating trades is your day job.
- Call early, even just to ask questions. The call costs nothing, and I answer it myself. If your situation needs an auctioneer or a dealer instead of us, I will say so and point you to the right kind of company in the same call.
Are you anxious about how to clear out your closed down plant? Call me and perhaps we can work out a plan that fits your schedule. See also: how to judge any machinery mover, including us.
Call or text Igor: (630) 235-6603.