How do you remove a two-tonne machine from a building when the equipment has been a fixture for so long no-one even remembers how it got there in the first place?
With a careful planning - and a surprising amount of ease - was the answer at the Blue Mountains Gazette's Springwood office on Friday, December 4 when a five-person team from Dixons Cranes transported an old printer's guillotine to a new home in North Richmond.
Dixons general manager Alex Boland said removing the two-tonne machine from the second story of the building, with no roof access, definitely proved a challenge.
But it was a challenge that went off without a hitch in under two hours on Friday morning.
The guillotine was lifted out by a crane via a long disused roller door from the back of the Gazette's office in Springwood Avenue.
"We were hoping this was going to be the easiest way to do it - and it worked, which was great," said Mr Boland.
After the successful extraction, the job of moving a second piece of old printing equipment - a 250kg stitcher - took no time at all.
Both machines have found a new home at Australian Community Media's print site at North Richmond.
While the guillotine still worked, it hadn't been used in years, and no-one can remember how it was moved into the building decades ago.
"Credit to whoever got it in here (in the first place) because that would have been awesome. Hopefully someone reads this and we can find out," said Mr Boland.
In his 11 years with Dixons Trees and Crane Service, the job definitely stood out.
"Ninety five per cent of our work is tree removals but because we own the cranes we do get unusual jobs as well, like moving water tanks or spiral staircases. But this was definitely one of the most unusual I've been involved in," he said.
The two machines were relocated as the Gazette prepares to move into a new office next door in Macquarie Road, Springwood in early 2021.
