A production plant for producing workpieces made from sheet metal, in particular by means of forming, comprising - a bending machine having a machine frame that is fixed in place, a lower clamping beam having at least one lower clamping jaw held on it, as well as an upper clamping beam having at least one upper clamping jaw held on it, wherein one of the clamping beams (13, 16) is adjustable relative and with respect to the machine frame, so as to hold the workpiece to be produced in a clamping manner between the two clamping jaws (5, 6), at least during the bending procedure, - a support table, which support table defines, with its support surface, a support plane for the sheet metal or the workpiece to be produced, - a manipulation apparatus having a carrier arrangement and having a holding arrangement, wherein the holding arrangement comprises an upper holding unit and a lower holding unit that interacts with the former, and wherein the manipulation apparatus located in the front region of the bending machine is adjustable for the manipulation of the sheet metal or of the workpiece to be produced, from an open insertion position into a clamping position that clamps the sheet metal or the workpiece, characterized in - that the carrier arrangement has an individual upper carrier unit and an individual lower carrier unit, - that the upper carrier unit is disposed above the support plane, - that the lower carrier unit is disposed below the support plane, - that the upper holding unit is guided on the upper carrier unit and can be adjusted by means of a first drive unit, - the lower holding unit is guided on the lower carrier unit and can be adjusted by means of a second drive unit, - that the upper carrier unit is disposed on the machine frame and/or on the upper clamping beam, - that the lower carrier unit is disposed on the machine frame and/or on the lower clamping beam, and - that in an insertion position of the manipulation apparatus, which position is open to receive the sheet metal to be manipulated or the workpiece to be produced, as well as in a charging region in front of the bending machine, the upper carrier unit, together with the upper holding unit, is disposed completely above the support plane, and the lower carrier unit, together with the lower holding unit, is disposed completely below the support plane, - so that an uninterrupted free manipulation space for receiving and manipulating the workpiece to be processed is present in the front region of the bending machine. - a bending machine having a machine frame that is fixed in place, a lower clamping beam having at least one lower clamping jaw held on it, as well as an upper clamping beam having at least one upper clamping jaw held on it, wherein one of the clamping beams (13, 16) is adjustable relative and with respect to the machine frame, so as to hold the workpiece to be produced in a clamping manner between the two clamping jaws (5, 6), at least during the bending procedure, - a support table, which support table defines, with its support surface, a support plane for the sheet metal or the workpiece to be produced, - a manipulation apparatus having a carrier arrangement and having a holding arrangement, wherein the holding arrangement comprises an upper holding unit and a lower holding unit that interacts with the former, and wherein the manipulation apparatus located in the front region of the bending machine is adjustable for the manipulation of the sheet metal or of the workpiece to be produced, from an open insertion position into a clamping position that clamps the sheet metal or the workpiece, characterized in - that the carrier arrangement has an individual upper carrier unit and an individual lower carrier unit, - that the upper carrier unit is disposed above the support plane, - that the lower carrier unit is disposed below the support plane, - that the upper holding unit is guided on the upper carrier unit and can be adjusted by means of a first drive unit, - the lower holding unit is guided on the lower carrier unit and can be adjusted by means of a second drive unit, - that the upper carrier unit is disposed on the machine frame and/or on the upper clamping beam, - that the lower carrier unit is disposed on the machine frame and/or on the lower clamping beam, and - that in an insertion position of the manipulation apparatus, which position is open to receive the sheet metal to be manipulated or the workpiece to be produced, as well as in a charging region in front of the bending machine, the upper carrier unit, together with the upper holding unit, is disposed completely above the support plane, and the lower carrier unit, together with the lower holding unit, is disposed completely below the support plane, - so that an uninterrupted free manipulation space for receiving and manipulating the workpiece to be processed is present in the front region of the bending machine.