Versabend

Versabend, built by Cold Spring Enterprises in Abbeville, SC

Versabend is a hydraulic square tube bender made by Cold Spring Enterprises, Inc., a family steel company at 2139 Hwy 20 in Abbeville, South Carolina. The machine is sold through the company's equipment store, CSE Carport Supply, and it is built for the shops that turn square and rectangular tube into bows for carports and light steel frame buildings. Cold Spring's own site says it builds and delivers its patented Versabend tube bending machines alongside its carport, fabrication and steel distribution work.

What the machine bends

According to the Versabend product page, the bender handles 2", 2 1/4" and 2 1/2" square tube plus 2"x3" rectangular tube, in both 12-gauge and 14-gauge wall. Size changes are tool-free. Cold Spring describes a single die with quick-change shims covering those tube sizes, so a crew can switch frame specs on the same die.

Versabend makes a full radius bend, and a complete bow takes three bends. End-stops and adjustable rear stops handle the setup so each bow in a run matches the one before it.

The published specs

• Motor: 5 HP, 1725 RPM, 220V single phase, 22 amps. Three-phase power is listed as an option.
• Bending force: 9.9 tons, from a 3 in. cylinder bore with a 2 in. rod and a 20 in. stroke.
• Footprint: 61 in. long, 43 in. wide, 43 in. high.
• Machine weight: 1,000 lbs.
• Warranty: a full 3-year limited warranty covering the frame, hydraulics, motor, die and controls.
• Made in the USA, manufactured in South Carolina.

On throughput, Cold Spring states that two people building a traditional bent-style carport with Versabend can bend a bundle of 25 tubes in less than 30 minutes. The company also says many units have been in the field for over 20 years with minimal maintenance. In a 2023 Rollforming Magazine feature, Wendell Hochstetler said some shops have had the machine for 18 to 20 years with little to no issues. He said keeping it lubricated is the main factor in maintenance, and that new operators should run every tube with the seam facing the same direction.

Pricing and shipping change, so check the current figure on the product page before you budget. At the time of writing the store lists the machine with roughly $600 shipping and financing available through American Capital Group.

Three generations of the Hochstetler family

Cold Spring Enterprises was established and incorporated in 1977 by Ernest Hochstetler, who started the business in an old chicken house on the family property. Wendell Hochstetler joined in 1987 and is now the company's president. After 1987 the company moved to its current Abbeville site and went into the carport and light steel frame building industry, which is the work Versabend was built to serve. Wendell's two sons and a nephew are the third generation in the business today.

On the Shed Geek network

Wendell sat down on STEEL KINGS, the metal building show that runs on the Shed Geek podcast feed, for Season 5, Episode 52, "Building Legacy: The Story Behind Cold Spring Enterprises," published June 16, 2025. STEEL KINGS host Jared Ledford talks with Wendell about the family's history in Abbeville and how Versabend works on a shop floor. The show notes put Versabend in roughly 130 metal building shops nationwide. Listen to the Cold Spring Enterprises episode, or browse the rest of the catalog on the Shed Geek Podcast page.

Versabend is one of several equipment makers we've featured. If your shop builds wood-frame portable buildings too, iFAB's component saw and truss press cover the lumber side of production, and the Challenger shed mover handles the buildings once they're finished.

Where Shed Geek fits in

Shed Geek's marketing arm works with businesses across the shed and portable building industry. If you want more buyers calling, Shed Geek Marketing handles ad accounts, local search and lead funnels, and one-on-one consulting is there for the operational questions. Manufacturers and suppliers who want to reach the industry can advertise on the Shed Geek podcast.

Curious what finished buildings look like on a retail lot? Shed Geek Structures lists its prebuilt carports, garages and sheds on the structures page.

Specs, pricing and company history on this page come from Cold Spring Enterprises' published pages at csecarport.supply and coldspringmetal.com, Rollforming Magazine (Feb/Mar 2023) and the STEEL KINGS episode notes. Confirm current specs and pricing with Cold Spring before you buy.