In the year of its four decades of existence, FREZITE joined its staff at a memorable Christmas dinner. It happened on December 14, 2018, in a fraternization atmosphere, in a night with special moments and surprises, especially the delivery of the Award Ideas 2018 and the EPICS Award. The employees who completed 20 years of service at FREZITE during the year received watches, a recognition prize for the work and dedication to the company. And the evening did not end without the speech of the Founder and Chairman of the FREZITE Group, José Manuel Fernandes, followed by the offerings of Christmas packs to the guests.

In the Christmas season, the company promoted another solidarity initiative, this time to help the Association “Mundos de Vida” (Worlds of Life), an institution that welcomes children and teenagers aged 0 to 21 years, from at-risk families. Thanks to the solidarity of FREZITE employees, it was possible to offer this institution clothes and shoes, personal hygiene products and school material to support its activity.

For the fourth time, FREZITE has teamed up with FEUP (Engineering Faculty from Porto University), sponsoring the award J. F. Silva Gomes / FREZITE, created to award the best master's thesis based on experimentation. The ceremony took place in FEUP's auditorium on 24th November and was attended by the Director of Human Resources of FREZITE Group to give recognition to Mariana Vale da Silva, who received a monetary prize for her work.

FREZITE was once again present at “Gala do Associado” (a gala for members) and in the Business Meeting held within the 18th Anniversary of AEBA - Business Association of Baixo Ave region. This initiative took place on November 16th and had the presence of Teixeira dos Santos, Portuguese former Minister of State and Finance as guest of honor.

FREZITE Group is exhibiting at AMB 2018 that is taking place this week in Stuttgart, Germany. This is an important trade fair specially directed to automobile industry. The Group is represented by the brands FMT and SERI, through two stands located in Hall 3. Find us until Saturday at booths 3A60 e 3E36!

On October 13, 2018, the Porto City Park was the venue for a meeting of the FREZITE Group employees, who joined together in the great challenge of Orienteering Team building. The athletes found different goals, promoting relational skills, teamwork and fostering decision making, time management, as well as other equally real concepts in the work context. The initiative, which proved to be an ideal moment of reinforcement of motivation and of knowledge among colleagues, ended with a well-deserved picnic lunch, to re-energize and live together. Congratulations to all who lived with us this adventure!

Supporting actions that promote close relations with the academic community, FREZITE was one of the sponsors of the 6th edition of ENEM - National Meeting of Students of Materials, held at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP) between the 11th and 13th from November. This meeting, which brought together students from areas related to the study of materials from all over the country, was attended by renowned speakers and topics such as: biomaterials and rapid prototyping and the new approach to parts design were other presented and discussed matters. An initiative that counted on FREZITE as "Gold Partner", to stimulate company / university cooperation, a very important topic for the FREZITE Group.

40 years of existence in a path based on sustainable growth. The event was celebrated on August 3 in a meeting that brought together collaborators and partners of FREZITE in a friendly environment. "A simple event, but representative of the recognition and appreciation to all those who made this responsible and value-creating journey for People, the Region and the Country" referred the invitation text for the anniversary. The Group officially celebrated 40 years of activity in an action held at the FREZITE facilities, taking advantage of the circumstance to honor some of the workers that contributed, in a decisive way, to company's success. In addition to the Fernandes family, the event was attended by, among others, Trofa's Mayor, Sérgio Humberto, the Chairman of AIMMAP – Portuguese Association of Metallurgical and Mechanical Engineering Industry and Similar industries of Portugal, Aníbal Campos, as well as employees and former employees of the Group. Congratulations to all!

In the year in which FREZITE celebrated 40 years of existence, was also launched the company's new Corporate brochure, which was officially presented at the company's fortieth anniversary ceremony. This edition, which has received an excellent feedback from different stakeholders, shows the FREZITE Group's increasingly broad areas of expertise. A support developed considering the presentation of the company to the market, especially to new partners and potential clients.

Between 4th and 5th June it took place the 1st Festival of Dynamics of Mechanisms, organized by the Department of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minho. The event was held at the Azurém Campus in Guimarães and counted on about 200 participants (students and professors) representing the courses of Mechanical Engineering, Product Engineering and Polymer Engineering, who used the scientific and technological principles of Mechanical Engineering to develop projects for the racing cars "Speed up only", "Go down only" and "Projectile launcher". This challenge was sponsored by FREZITE with financial support for the acquisition of a 3D printer for student projects.

On April 20, the Management of the Frezite Group completed the acquisition of the participation of Germany's HPS GmbH in the company "High Performance Structures Gestão e Engenharia Lda" (HPS Lda).

With facilities in Porto, HPS Lda is the Portuguese leader in technology. Through this acquisition, the FREZITE Group continues its strategy of sustained growth, based on the diversification of its offer in technologies with high added value.

After a promising period of negotiations, the FREZITE Group formalized a joint venture with SERI, its customer company. In the last years, SERI has been affirmed his position in the market by the excellence of the engineering that puts to the service of its customers.

Through the association of these partner companies, synergies are optimized, allowing the expansion of Frezite Group's products and services portfolio, which allows to FREZITE an integrated offer of solution to its customers.

This union marks a historic milestone for both companies and highlights a promising future for its employees.

Last year, FREZITE Group was one of the sponsors of the long-distance triathlete Pedro Brandão. This triathlete established as main objective for 2018 the participation in the IronMan event held in Vitoria-Gasteiz, in the Basque Country (Spain). The race included a 3.8 km swimming course, 180 km cycling and a 42 km race.

The UNIRAID solidarity project gathers young people between the ages of 18 and 28, in a human, supportive and sporting challenge. In 2018, the adventure brought together two mechanical engineering students from FEUP (Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto) and a Fiat Panda 750 CL from 1989 in a race that took place between 24th February and 4th March in Morocco with a solidarity purpose. This initiative forced the students to prepare the car for a year, encouraging the acquisition of mechanical knowledge and the creation of partnerships with entities and people. Each team carried at least 30 kg of material (school materials, toys, hygiene goods, etc.) to distribute between the most deprived Moroccan population throughout the desert. FREZITE supported the initiative by sharing expenses and offering merchandising.