A process for producing a structure in a smooth sheet-metal strip includes multiple process steps. In a first step, a first section of a smooth sheet-metal strip is fed to a first tool and a second section of the sheet-metal strip is fed to a second tool in a direction of advance. Then the sheet-metal strip is stopped. A sheet-metal machining of the first section of the sheet-metal strip is carried out using the first tool. A sheet-metal machining of the second section of the sheet-metal strip is carried out using the second tool, with the first feeding step being carried out simultaneously. An apparatus is provided for producing a sheet-metal strip of such a complex structure, which produces the structure with a very high degree of accuracy even when the materials properties differ.