Sheffield Forgemasters has appointed Swiss forging specialist Presstrade Technologies GmbH to install the UK’s largest open-die forging press.
Presstrade will oversee installation of a 13,000 tonne press and 450mt manipulator, built by Mitsubishi Nagasaki Machinery Mfg. Co. Ltd. (MNM), into a brand-new new Forge Building on Sheffield Forgemasters’ site on Brightside Lane in Sheffield.
The complex assembly requires a team of engineers from Presstrade to provide all material specifications for the project, delivery of logistics and lifting plans, and installation of the press, manipulator, and tool-change manipulator.
Craig Fisher, programmes director at Sheffield Forgemasters, said: “There are very few forge engineering specialists with the experience to install a press of this size, so we are delighted that Presstrade has secured the contract to build our new Heavy Forging Press.
“The project will require Presstrade to move more than 8,500 tonnes of components from a secure storage facility and manage the whole assembly of the press, prior to it being commissioned by MNM.”
The press itself will be installed on a deep-piled concrete base and is serviced by a 450mt rail-bound manipulator to handle the large ingots, with an adjacent tool manipulator to automate tool changes.
Peter Bierhalter – owner and managing director of Presstrade, said: “Sheffield Forgemasters is installing a highly capable 13,000 tonne forging press, which is a complex construction.
“Presstrade has more than 30 years of experience in the installation of similar forging equipment and we look forward to delivering on this key project.”
The forging press is part of a £1.3 billion recapitalisation programme to underpin the MOD-owned company’s manufacture for UK and Allied defence programmes and will be complemented by a brand-new 30,000 sq m machining hall.
The press installation is scheduled to begin in July 2027 and is estimated to take 12 months to complete.
