PLANT AND PROCESS FOR EFFICIENTLY PRODUCING A STRUCTURED CROSS-CHANNEL PACKING ELEMENT

Plant for producing a structured cross-channel packing element for a column for mass transfer and/or heat exchange, wherein the structured cross-channel packing element comprises at least two adjacent layers made of expanded metal sheets each comprising openings, which are surrounded and separated from each other by separating elements, and comprising periodic deformations, wherein the plant comprises:-a stretching machine for cutting and stretching a metal sheet to an expanded metal sheet,- a sheet storage unit,- a forming machine for forming the expanded metal sheet produced in the stretching machine to an expanded metal sheet and- a stacking machine for stacking expanded metal sheets,wherein the sheet storage unit is embodied so that it directly receives the expanded metal sheet produced in the stretching machine and releases the expanded metal sheet directly to the forming machine.