It only takes a quick look back at Beckwood’s history to find that our legacy is one built on a foundation of pushing limits. As we continue to expand across a multitude of sectors, including our servo-electric tonnage capabilities and our manufacturing shop floor capacity, it’s clear to see that we’re not one to shy away from relentlessly working toward the next big thing. It’s not just prevalent in our approach to business—you can see it in our custom builds, too.
There are many ways to define what makes a press build “big”—the machine height, forming area, footprint, or tonnage. Today, we’re taking a look back at 5 of our larger press builds over the past year, including high-tonnage models, large footprint work cells, and even one record-breaking deep draw.
#5 – 1,500 Ton 4-Post Press for Marine Vessels
At number five we have a 1,500 Ton 4-post press that is currently in the works at Beckwood HQ. This press was awarded in 2025 by a leading manufacturer of defense and commercial sea vessels, with the final product of their process kept largely under wraps. If you’ve been keeping a close eye on Beckwood News, you may have already caught wind of the press release for this particular unit.
This press is characterized by its massive forming area of 142″x183″. This larger press bed will give the customer the flexibility to handle parts in the present and plan for the future.. While this press may be one of the lower tonnage machines on this list, it actually stands the tallest of the bunch at 365”.
#4 – 2,000 Ton Tank Head Forming Press
At number four we have a press that boasts a 500-Ton difference over its predecessor. This 2,000 Ton forming press was commissioned by a custom metal fabrication shop to form tank heads.
When this customer first approached Beckwood, they didn’t know exactly where to start. They just knew that they wanted to bring their tank head capabilities in house as a result of rising frustrations from working with a 3rd party supplier; and they wanted to work with a domestic press manufacturer to get the job done. By analyzing their existing parts, our team was able to design a press that perfectly fit their forming needs to seamlessly bring their manufacturing in house and put the power of production into their own hands.
Unlike the previous press, this model features a gib-guided frame construction. A gib-guided frame provides additional frame rigidity and support to maintain bed-to-ram parallelism, even when parts are loaded unevenly onto the press bed.
#3 – 42” Deep Draw Hydroforming Machine For Aerospace R&D
At number three we have our largest standard-configuration deep draw machine, the TRIFORM 42-10-12. As far as standard models go, this one offers the largest forming area for a deep draw machine available on today’s market with a max blank diameter of 42”. This machine is also capable of exerting up to 10,000 PSI of uniform force across the entire part forming area, and can achieve a depth of draw up to 12”.
One significant deviation from the standard on this particular unit is that it’s equipped with an increased lower punch force of 4,337 Tons—over double the standard punch force of 2,023 Tons. Our expertise in deep draw technology paired with our customization capabilities have ultimately helped our customer better handle their high-strength alloys of choice at high forming pressures.
The finishing touch on this machine is the ability to adapt and utilize all of the customer’s existing tooling. This customer was initially looking to not only increase their capabilities, but also modernize their shop as they had been working with legacy Cincinnati hydroforming equipment. We were able to work with their existing tooling to customize a quick die change system and controls setup that streamlined the transition to the new TRIFORM machine.
#2 – Full Automation Cell For Construction Manufacturing
Although relatively small in terms of tonnage, we chose to place this 250 Ton automation system at #2 on our list for its turnkey nature. While most of the presses on this list cover a single operation on a manufacturing line, this cell accepts raw construction materials and returns fully finished concrete trench boxes and lids with every cycle. The complete cell features a 250 Ton press with an 88” x 131” work area, mixer, spreader cart, and retrieval cart, which are all fully automated to create parts efficiently and safely.
This workcell was created for a longtime Beckwood customer of nearly 2 decades. The magnitude and scope of this project were unprecedented at the time, but we worked diligently to understand the process from end to end and see the project through to fruition. The final outcome cemented our team’s confidence that the possibilities of our custom engineering and manufacturing are truly limitless, and proved that Beckwood can be far more beyond a simple press partner.
#1 – The World’s Largest Circular Fluid Cell Hydroform
There’s only one machine that could be reserved for the number one spot, claiming the title as not just our biggest circular fluid cell hydroform machine, but also the world’s largest circular fluid cell hydroform machine ever. Featured in The Fabricator, this custom TRIFORM 68-10FC boasts a massive max blank diameter of 68” and forming pressure up to 10,000 PSI.
The idea of the 68-10FC was conceived in response to a request from a leading space launch vehicle manufacturer. This manufacturer wanted to create a part in one piece, but every time they approached a press company with the vision they suggested dividing the piece to be formed in two parts which would need to be welded together. This just didn’t align with the customer’s specifications, as keeping the part in one piece was critical to its integrity. Then, they turned to Beckwood. Where other press companies said there was no way it could be done, Beckwood said there was no way we could pass up this challenge. Our team successfully brought their idea to life, cementing Beckwood as the nation’s leading hydroform specialist.
Beckwood’s Ready to Build Bigger
Those examples are just a peek behind the curtain over the last year, and our team remains committed to driving innovation and delivering on challenges to support US manufacturing. Whatever a large press looks like to you, Beckwood’s engineering team has the capabilities to design and build custom machinery to your exact forming application and precise part specifications. And following our facility expansion completed in 2025, Beckwood is now poised to expertly handle even more massive press builds than before with a 40% greater manufacturing capacity. When we say there’s no press engineering challenge too large for us, we mean it—so next time you have a huge build on your hands, you know exactly who to call to make it happen.