Medical equipment and laboratory moves require expertise, equipment, and accountability that most moving companies can't credibly provide. DeHaven's Transfer & Storage has been handling specialized equipment moves across North Carolina for more than seventy years, including extensive work for Duke University, UNC, and NC State. Our fleet includes air-ride suspension trucks with lift gates, climate-controlled trailers, flat-bed trailers, and the specialty rigging and crating capabilities required for moving sensitive, high-value, or oversized equipment. Whether you're relocating an MRI machine, a research laboratory, a hospital floor, a pharmaceutical facility, or a single piece of specialty equipment, we have the experience, infrastructure, and references to handle the project safely and on schedule.
Trusted by Major Research and Healthcare Institutions
Over more than seven decades in business, DeHaven's has been entrusted with sensitive equipment moves for some of the most demanding clients in North Carolina. We've handled extensive work for Duke University, UNC, and NC State across decades of academic, research, and laboratory relocations. Beyond the universities, we've moved equipment for hospitals, medical practices, dental offices, pharmaceutical facilities, biotech companies, and specialty healthcare providers across the state. These credentials reflect what we bring to every specialty move: technical capability, careful planning, full insurance and documentation, and accountability from the first walkthrough to the final calibration.
Equipment We Move
Our team is trained and equipped to handle a wide range of medical, laboratory, and research equipment, including:
Medical and Imaging Equipment:
- MRI machines
- CT and CAT scanners
- X-ray and fluoroscopy equipment
- Ultrasound machines
- Mammography units
- PET scanners
- Linear accelerators
- Hospital beds and ICU equipment
- Surgical and operating room equipment
- Sterilizers and autoclaves
- Anesthesia and patient monitoring systems
Laboratory and Research Equipment:
- Research and analytical microscopes
- Centrifuges and ultracentrifuges
- Mass spectrometers
- Gas and liquid chromatography systems (GC, HPLC)
- PCR machines and thermocyclers
- Biosafety cabinets and fume hoods
- Incubators and tissue culture equipment
- Ultra-low freezers and cryogenic storage
- Lab benches, fume hoods, and casework
- Glove boxes and isolators
- Spectrophotometers and analyzers
Pharmaceutical and Biotech Equipment:
- Bioreactors and fermenters
- Filling, capping, and packaging equipment
- Tablet presses and coating equipment
- Cleanroom equipment and modular cleanrooms
- GMP manufacturing equipment
Dental and Specialty Medical:
- Dental chairs and operatory equipment
- Dental imaging systems
- Specialty examination equipment
- Veterinary medical equipment
Industries We Serve
Hospitals and Health Systems
We handle moves for hospitals, ambulatory care centers, surgery centers, urgent care facilities, and outpatient clinics, including full floor relocations, department moves, and single-equipment transitions during renovations.
Universities and Research Institutions
Our work for Duke University, UNC, and NC State includes academic laboratory moves, research equipment relocations, departmental transitions, and the careful logistics that come with moving research projects between buildings or campuses.
Medical Practices and Specialty Clinics
We handle relocations for primary care, specialty practices, dental offices, dermatology, ophthalmology, urgent care, and other medical practice transitions, coordinating around patient schedules and minimizing disruption to care.
Pharmaceutical and Biotech Companies
North Carolina's growing life sciences sector has driven steady demand for specialty pharma and biotech moves. Our team handles GMP equipment relocations, cleanroom moves, manufacturing line transitions, and lab-to-lab transitions for pharmaceutical and biotech clients.
Veterinary and Animal Research
We handle equipment moves for veterinary practices, animal research facilities, and laboratory animal care operations, including the specialized equipment and protocols these settings require.
Our Specialized Fleet and Equipment
Specialty equipment requires specialty transport. DeHaven's operates a fleet built for sensitive moves:
- Air-ride suspension trucks for vibration-sensitive equipment
- Climate-controlled trailers for temperature-sensitive items
- Flat-bed trailers for oversized or non-standard equipment
- Lift gate trucks for safe loading and unloading of heavy items
- Specialty rigging equipment for heavy machinery and unusual configurations
- Custom crating capabilities for fragile and high-value items
- Padded blankets, shrink wrap, and shock-absorbing materials for in-transit protection
As a North American Van Lines agent since 1960, we also have access to NAVL's specialized equipment network for moves that require additional capacity or specialty resources beyond our local fleet.
Climate-Controlled Storage and Staging
Many medical and laboratory moves involve a phase where equipment needs to be stored, staged, or held during a renovation or transition. Our Durham warehouse offers climate-controlled, monitored, alarmed, and surveilled storage with fire suppression, custom-built crating capabilities, and the staging space to support large multi-phase projects. Whether you need short-term storage during a facility renovation or longer-term warehousing during a multi-year project, our team can build a storage solution to match. Learn more about our Storage services.
How We Handle Medical Equipment and Laboratory Moves
Specialty moves start with understanding the equipment, the timeline, and the constraints of your facility. After your initial inquiry, we schedule a walkthrough to scope the project, identify equipment that requires specialty handling, and understand your operational needs.
From there, we develop a detailed move plan covering disconnection and decommissioning coordination, packing and crating specifications, equipment-specific handling protocols, transport requirements (air-ride, climate-controlled, or specialty), site protection at both origin and destination, and reinstallation or placement at the new location. For equipment requiring vendor decommissioning or recommissioning, we coordinate with your manufacturer service representatives so the move integrates with their schedule.
Once you approve the plan, you're assigned a dedicated move coordinator who manages the project from planning through final placement. Our crews handle the move with the protocols and care your equipment requires, your coordinator stays in contact throughout, and we follow up after the move to confirm everything is in order.
Insurance, Documentation, and Compliance
Specialty equipment moves require documentation that most residential moves don't. We carry full commercial moving insurance with valuation coverage available at multiple levels, and we routinely provide certificates of insurance, project insurance documentation, and any other paperwork your facility, hospital system, university, or building management may require. For projects involving regulated equipment or environments, we work with your facility's compliance team to ensure handling protocols meet your requirements.
Service Area
DeHaven's provides medical equipment and laboratory moving services throughout North Carolina, including the Triangle (Durham, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Cary, Apex, Morrisville, and the surrounding communities), the Piedmont Triad (Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point, Burlington, and the surrounding area), the Charlotte Metro, the Wilmington area, and points across eastern and western North Carolina. Through our North American Van Lines partnership, we handle interstate medical equipment and laboratory moves to and from any location in the United States, and we coordinate international moves of medical and research equipment through NAVL's worldwide network.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you provide certificates of insurance for medical and laboratory moves?
Yes. We carry full commercial moving insurance and routinely provide certificates of insurance, valuation coverage documentation, project insurance, and any other paperwork your facility, hospital system, university, or building management may require. We can typically issue COIs within one business day of request.
Can you coordinate with our equipment manufacturers and service vendors?
Yes. Many medical and laboratory equipment moves require coordination with manufacturer service representatives for decommissioning at the origin and recommissioning at the destination. We work with your vendor schedules to ensure the move integrates cleanly with their service appointments.
How far in advance should we book a medical equipment or laboratory move?
For most projects, we recommend booking 6 to 12 weeks in advance. Larger projects (full hospital floors, multi-laboratory relocations, pharmaceutical manufacturing moves) often require 3 to 6 months of lead time, especially when manufacturer coordination is involved. Smaller single-equipment moves can sometimes be scheduled with shorter notice.
Do you handle decontamination, calibration, or vendor-specific commissioning?
We don't perform decontamination, calibration, or vendor-specific recommissioning ourselves. Those services are typically handled by the equipment manufacturer's service team or a specialty vendor. We coordinate with your decontamination and commissioning vendors to ensure the move schedule aligns with their work.
Do your trucks have climate control for temperature-sensitive equipment?
Yes. Our fleet includes climate-controlled trailers for moves involving temperature-sensitive equipment. We also have access to NAVL's specialized equipment network for moves that require additional capacity or specialty climate-controlled transport.
Can you store equipment between phases of a renovation or relocation?
Yes. Our Durham warehouse offers climate-controlled, monitored, alarmed, and surveilled storage with fire suppression. We can store medical equipment, laboratory instruments, or research materials for short-term project storage or longer-term warehousing as your project requires.
Do you handle interstate or international medical equipment moves?
Yes. As a North American Van Lines agent, we handle interstate moves of medical and laboratory equipment to and from any location in the United States, and we coordinate international moves through NAVL's worldwide network of specialty equipment partners.
Request a Medical Equipment or Laboratory Moving Quote
Every specialty equipment project is different, and we build custom quotes based on the equipment involved, the scope of the move, the timeline, and any vendor coordination, storage, or specialty transport requirements. To request a quote, fill out our project quote form or call our commercial team directly. We'll schedule a walkthrough, review the equipment list and project details, and put together a detailed proposal so you know exactly what to expect from a team that's been handling specialty equipment moves since 1951.
