Lenape Completes Rebuilding of 5,000-Ton Press

Lenape Forged Products Inc. reports it has completed the rebuilding of its 5,000-ton forging press, a machine it calls “the heart and soul” of its West Chester, PA, forging plant. The press has produced forgings such as ball valves for the U.S. Navy’s nuclear-powered submarine fleet and critical components for the NASA space station.

“This is a key to our rebuilding program at Lenape,” stated vice president and general manager Kevin Shaw, “and it demonstrates our commitment to this business.”

Lenape produces complex forgings used in chemical/petroleum refining, oilfield, pipeline, nuclear and fossil power, aerospace, defense, commercial space launch, and other applications. The operation was certified to the ISO9001:2000 / QS9001:2000 standard late last year. It says its 5,000-ton press makes it one of just a few forging plants in the world with the ability to produce specialized forgings used in critical military and industrial applications.

The six-week-long rebuilding project represents a “significant investment” of time and money, Shaw added, “but now that we have the press operating as essentially a new piece of equipment, we feel that our customers will benefit through our enhanced ability to deliver a quality product.”

Dave Hershbell, Lenape sales and marketing manager, explained that rehabilitation and renovation of the press was handled as a routine maintenance shutdown. “We were able to do most of the rebuilding with our in-house staff,” he reports. “I’m very proud of them and proud to be able to say that.”

“That press has not been overhauled in any way for at least 20 years,” Hershbell elaborated. “The 5,000-ton is the core of our business — it lets us create forgings that are very unique to this industry. This rebuilding should allow us to operate trouble-free for the foreseeable future. It is a significant step in revitalizing our operations for the future and it was certainly a significant investment from a monetary standpoint.”

Lenape Forged Products Inc. has produced custom forgings for a wide variety of critical applications for over 85 years. Located in West Chester, PA, a far suburb of Philadelphia, the Lenape name has been associated with the manufacturing of complex forgings for a wide variety of customers.