In the present work innovative built-up cold-formed steel beams are presented. These are obtained by combining the pressing and cold-rolling forming techniques of steel sheets, along with the use of suitable connecting systems. Firstly, the beam shape features and the possible application fields, as well as the research project devoted to the assessment of their structural behaviour, are discussed. Then, experimental results concerning the characterization of both sheet material properties and connecting system performances are shown. In particular, the study of the sheet material is carried out by using an appropriate methodology of analysis, aiming at evaluating both mechanical and geometrical imperfections arising from the whole manufacturing process. At the same time, the mechanical behaviour of different connecting systems is investigated by means of several lap shear tests. The obtained results have provided useful design information and will be subsequently used to calibrate the numerical and theoretical models, addressing the prediction of the structural response of these innovative cold-formed beams
