French Oil has been a hydraulic press manufacturer in Piqua, Ohio since 1900. Four generations of family ownership. One location. Over a century of engineering knowledge that never left the building.
We started with oilseed processing equipment, and by 1908 we had introduced one of the first steel hydraulic presses for oil extraction, replacing the cast-iron designs that the rest of the industry was still using. That instinct to rethink what everyone else accepts has defined the company ever since.
Today, French designs and manufactures custom hydraulic presses ranging from 20 tons to over 2,000 tons in both sideplate and column construction. Our presses run in more than a dozen industries across six continents, from rubber molding and composite manufacturing to PCB lamination, aerospace and defense, fuel cell production, automotive, medical device manufacturing, and laboratory research.
A Hydraulic Press Manufacturer Built To Last
The phrase “built to last” gets used a lot in manufacturing marketing. We would rather let the track record speak: French hydraulic presses installed in the 1940s and 1950s are still in production today. That is not a talking point. It is a verifiable fact.
That kind of longevity comes from engineering decisions, not slogans. Our presses are typically designed to 0.001″ deflection per linear foot, with the ability to meet tighter tolerances when the application demands it. Heavy-duty construction, highly dependable hydraulic and electrical systems, and patented taper key designs all contribute to machines that hold up under decades of demanding production cycles.
We back every press with an industry-leading three-year limited warranty, three times the standard. And when a press does need attention after years of service, our rebuild, repair, and retrofit programs extend the working life even further.
Custom Engineering, Not Catalog Shopping
Every operation is different. We engineer hydraulic presses around specific customer requirements, not the other way around. That includes compression, transfer, vacuum molding, compaction, and lamination configurations, as well as fully automated turnkey systems with shuttle loaders, light curtains, and advanced electrical controls.
Our TMP Division adds additional capability in injection molding and die casting press systems, broadening the range of solutions we can deliver from a single source.
French also manufactures Isoplaten heated platen systems with Isobar heat pipe technology, providing uniform temperature control that reduces cure times, lowers scrap rates, and improves finished part quality.
125 Years. Still Family-Owned. Still Manufacturing in Ohio.
In 2023, Tayte French Lutz became Chairman of the Board and CEO, the fourth generation of French family leadership. In 2025, the company commemorated 125 years of continuous operation with the opening of a company history museum at our Piqua headquarters.
We are ISO 9001 certified. We are a two-time recipient of the President’s “E” Award for Exports, the highest recognition the U.S. government gives for contributions to American export growth. And we are still doing what we have done since 1900: designing, machining, assembling, and supporting hydraulic press systems under one roof, with our own people, in a facility we have occupied for over a century.
If your operation needs a hydraulic press manufacturer building equipment that performs for decades, not just years, let’s talk.