Above: An operator processes a heavy shaped part at Churchill Steel Plate, using a Dake press.
February, 2026- Making decisions on what to invest in next is never easy for most companies. Churchill Steel Plate has long held a desire to add to its processing capabilities internally by providing a flatter product.
In July 2025, Churchill installed two flattening presses, 200 and 500 tons, respectively. The investment is aimed at differentiating the company in the steel plate processing arena.
“Plate product, especially thermally treated product, can be unpredictable at times,” explains Andrew Sberna, vice president of sales for the Twinsburg, Ohio-based service center. “There are situations where you’ve done a job nine times, and the tenth time you struggle to duplicate what you’ve provided for a customer before.”
Churchill co-owners Jim Fleming and Kirk Mooney say the two new presses “allow us to offer a capability many other service centers cannot provide in house, while giving our customers the peace of mind that they will receive the flattest product possible.”
Juan Palacios, sales manager for Dake Co. (a division of Laguna Tools), which built the presses, says, “these cutting-edge machines aren’t just powerful; they’re smart, efficient and purpose-built to handle the toughest flattening job with pinpoint accuracy.”
Churchill Steel Plate creates many different shapes for customers from steel up to 24 inches thick.
MOTION SYSTEM
“At the heart of these presses,” he says, “is an innovative motion system that eliminates one of the industry’s biggest headaches: the need to reposition heavy plates during processing. Thanks to a combination of gantry travel along the table’s length and lateral movement of the press cylinder, the operator can reach any spot on the plate without ever moving the workpiece,” Palacios explains.
“What’s more, all movements are controlled wirelessly using a radio remote. That means operators can move freely around the machine, stay close to the material and keep a watchful eye on every step of the process,” he says.
“These presses not only offer a way for us to provide a better product to our customers but allow our operators to be more efficient,” says Steve Fleming, vice president of operations for Churchill. “Precision takes center stage with an integrated laser system that provides live distance readings from the press head to the plate surface. In real time, operators can confirm flatness without slowing down the workflow. This feedback—along with pressure and stroke data—is displayed on a large, easy-toread screen mounted to the gantry, ensuring critical information is always within view,” says Dake’s Palacios.
“Being a plate processing service center is not an easy business to be in,” Mooney says.
“While there is still a lot of competition in our sector, many service centers have opted to narrow their inventory and not stock as heavy in terms of thickness. Others have exited the [heavy gauge] product entirely,” Mooney and Fleming report.
“Having these two pieces of equipment in house, as opposed to subcontracting the service, allows us to control the process and service our customers in a more timely manner,” Steve Fleming adds.
CAPABILITIES
Churchill Steel Plate operates from a 160,000-square-foot warehouse. Plate inventory ranges from ¼ to 24 inches thick, and processed plate can measure up to 120 by 480 inches, allowing the company to sell into a wide range of end use applications and requirements. Services include annealing and stress relieving, quench and tempering; flame cutting, using seven CNC-controlled multi-torch oxy-fuel machines; 360-degree beveling capability; plasma cutting, using two CNC-controlled high-definition plasma cutting machines; sawing, grinding, milling and, now, flattening.
Churchill Steel Plate, 330/425-9000, churchillsteelplate.com.
Dake, 800/234-1976, lagunatools.com/metal-machinery.
