A continuously operating press for the production of particle boards, fiber boards and similar wood boards and plastic boards comprises the combination of the following features: a) the press beams comprise individual beams of different lengths which can be connected to one another and are made up of web plates and ribs connecting the latter, the upper individual modules being suspended on two I-section girders which represent the length of the press and which take the pretensioning forces of the steel belts, while the lower press beam rests on two I-section girders anchored in the foundation; b) the two press beams are connected positively by tiebars that can be pivoted out and/or replaced quickly; and c) the cylinder-piston arrangements of one row are arranged between the tiebars and the heating platens together with their supporting crossmembers and supporting bodies or supporting strips in such a way that they can be introduced into and removed from the pressing zone after the release of some of the tiebars.