On 15 December, the employees of the Frezite Group companies got together in different countries. The traditional Christmas Dinner was held in Portugal, Brazil, Mexico, and the Czech Republic. In Portugal, it was the occasion to bring together the employees of the companies FREZITE - Ferramentas de Corte, SA, SERI, Lda. and FHP - Frezite High Performance, Lda. These events are a reference point for socializing and distinguishing employees who, with their ideas, have contributed to organizational improvement. Awards were also given to employees who stood out for their work and example near their colleagues, and to those who had completed 20 years of service to the Group's companies. Joy and good humor were a constant.

The initiative came about as an opportunity to help children learn under better conditions in a Central African country that was a former Portuguese colony. To this end, Frezite Portugal used the furniture available in its Trofa facilities, which is still in good condition, to help the organization "Na Rota dos Povos" that for more than 10 years works in southern Guinea-Bissau. Under the slogan "A Educação é o Único Caminho" (Education is the Only Way), they are improving the development of people in the most deprived areas, outside the major population centers. Close to half a hundred chairs, tables, desks, and cabinets have been delivered to this Non-Governmental Development Organisation (NGDO) and will be sent later this year (along with five other containers of material) to equip three schools. They are expected to arrive at their destination in February 2024.

The ceremony took place on 25 November at FEUP - Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto). Vasco Daniel Castro Pires was the winner of this eighth edition of the award for the best master's dissertation in mechanical engineering with a significant experimental component. The student presented a dissertation entitled "Study of a novel curved single lap joint concept with non-uniform adhesive thickness". Pedro Pacheco, member of the Executive Committee and a former student of the institution, represented Frezite at this annual event.

The incredible landscape of the Douro wine region was the chosen location for a team building activity, in another initiative to mark SERI's 35th anniversary. On 10 November, the day began with an 11-kilometre hike through World Heritage-listed territory, filled with hills and valleys that have been worked by man since ancient times. After lunch, there was a guided tour of the mills, ageing cellars and tasting room at Quinta da Pacheca, in a programme full of conviviality. Congratulations SERI!

To celebrate 45 years of existence, the FREZITE Group gathered its team for a team building event that took place at its facilities in Trofa, Portugal. On 20 October, the afternoon was dedicated to the team. It was a time for fun and sharing values: customer focus, innovation, fair play, and passion for winning; living the “Your Cutting Edge Partner” spirit. It's great to be part of this world, Happy Birthday Frezite! See the video here.

The annual event for Machine Tooling Solutions (MTS) at Walter, previously known as OEM - Original Equipped Machines, took place between 9 and 13 October at Frezite in Portugal. The essence of MTS is providing cutting-edge solutions for new machine tools that empower clients to achieve their manufacturing goals efficiently and effectively. The focus for MTS rhymes well with the values of FMT, the Frezite Metal Division. Another event to fine-tune synergies between the Walter and Frezite teams, following their acquisition, last year.

Frezite, once again, joined the event that helps companies promote actions related to employment, recruitment, and networking, in an initiative that took place between 12 and 14 October. Frezite's human resources department took part in this recruitment & career development program of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, seeking to identify the students and recent graduates of the institution best suited to joining its teams. A fruitful connection, based on knowledge and ingenius!

One year after integration and joining forces with FMT - Frezite Metal Tooling GmbH, Tübingen-based tool specialist Walter is strengthening its sales offer for PCD (polycrystalline diamond) special tools in Germany. The newly founded business unit kicked off on 1 September with the creation of a strong sales team. The purpose is to expand the range of special PCD tools for machining light materials such as aluminium, one of the most important materials in the automotive and aerospace industries. The partnership aims to expand the German market, "with the goal of being one of the most important suppliers of PCD tools in Germany," says Tiago Fernandes, CEO of Frezite.

One year after integration, and joining forces with FMT - Frezite Metal Tooling GmbH, Tuebingen-based tool specialist Walter is strengthening its sales offer for PCD (polycrystalline diamond) special tools in Germany. The newly founded business unit goes live on 1 September 2023 in Germany with the establishment of a strong sales team.

Read the press release here.

On the last day of August, Frezite received a visit from Walter Poland team at its premises in Trofa (Portugal). Besides meeting the people personally, it was also an opportunity to assess Frezite's installed capacity. The trip to Portugal included a tour of the company and made it possible to present Frezite's vast portfolio and success stories, as well as its work processes and methodology, mainly those relating to the partnership between the companies. This trip happens when it was one year since Frezite joining the Walter group.

A regular presence in the main competitions of the sport, Frezite is once again associated with the European Roller Hockey Championship that took place in Sant Sadurni d'Anoia, Catalunya (Spain), between 17 and 22 July 2023. The Madeira Division brand was highligthed on the pavement of the event that was broadcast on several televisions from different countries in southern Europe, where the sport is very popular. Frezite is a reference supplier of tools to produce hockey sticks and is committed to ensuring an agile and efficient service to its customers, also a requirement of this sport.

The Frezite branch in Brazil participated in an awareness-raising lecture on the care to be taken with tools, namely polycrystalline diamond tools, and their applications. The action was promoted this month with a customer that is considered a reference in the supply of bathroom furniture in the Brazilian market. It is Frezite, promoting its role as a cutting-edge partner.

The special solutions and automation team of SERI organised a training session with the leading automation brand on the global market, Fanuc. This training has enabled companies in the Frezite universe to update their knowledge in the field of industrial robotics and to meet customer requirements through complete and integrated projects from workpiece clamping and machining to final controls and assembly. The Frezite Group's special devices and machines company thus expands its offer in terms of robotic solutions that are essential for today's automated manufacturing processes.

To align the working methodologies of Frezite and Walter, Frezite's Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) team travelled to Germany. As well as meeting the same team at Walter, Fátima Santos, EHS Specialist and Ana Neves, Occupational Health, and Safety Specialist at Frezite visited the production facilities in Zell, Münsingen and Tübingen, deepening knowledge of the procedures implemented to standardise the adopted policy.

The Portuguese sardine was the motto to celebrate the festivities of S. João in Frezite companies. On the eve of São João, employees from Frezite in Trofa, FHP – Frezite High Performance in Porto and SERI in Vila do Conde were presented with a can of chocolate sardines to renew their energy for a night of party.

On Saturday 24 June, Frezite’s oldest branch held its traditional Festa Junina (June Festival) at a local country house. Annually celebrated at Frezite Brazil, it promotes socializing among employees and their families. The celebration is common in all regions of Brazil, especially in the Northeast.

The decision to get to know Frezite – the latest addition in Walter – brought the Nordic team to Portugal to find out how its products can support the business in the Nordic region, especially within the Aluminium area. With the team spread across three countries: Sweden, Denmark, and Finland, this trip was also to celebrate the great results achieved from the Nordic team in 2022 and an opportunity for team building spirit. They also learnt about the team and facilities of FREZITE, in Trofa. Step by step, the teams from Frezite and Walter are getting to know each other and develop group synergies.

Walter Management Team travelled to Portugal to meet the Frezite Group's team and facilities in Trofa, Vila do Conde and Porto. Since the summer of last year, Frezite has been part of Walter and both teams are working together to better promote the group's synergies. The visit, which also involved combined meetings of the Walter and Frezite teams, took place between June 12 and 15 and was considered "a big success" by the Walter President and CEO Christoph Geigges.

A working meeting to learn more about the potential of the FREZITE Group and the synergies resulting from the integration in the Walter universe. FREZITE Portugal welcomed the teams from Walter Iberica, Walter France, and Walter Italy. In addition, to getting to know the facilities and teams of the Metal Division of FREZITE and SERI, the working sessions served to share, discuss, and align methodologies, engineering solutions as well as commercial strategy.

As part of the strategy for safety and health at work, to promote and create a global culture of safety, FREZITE promoted an ideas contest throughout the month of April to mark the theme. Employees were challenged to propose ideas to improve safety and health conditions in the workplace, to prevent work accidents and occupational diseases. The best ones will be awarded. The commemoration of this day, on April 28, aims to raise awareness and alert companies and workers to the importance of this issue.

Last year it had already supported the M&Ms Motorsport team from Cenfim - Centro de Formação Profissional da Indústria Metalúrgica e Metalomecânica (Portuguese Professional Training Center of the Metallurgical and Metal-mechanical Industry) from Trofa in this inter-school challenge. In F1 in schools, trainees design and manufacture their own miniature Formula 1 racing cars, using 3D design software and manufacturing technologies such as laser cutters and 3D printers. This year the young quintet returned with a victory won in the regional championship, also picking up awards for best engineering design, fastest car and best portfolio and marketing. The team is now preparing for the national final that will take place on May 24th and 25th. Keep the good work!

The Shared Services of FREZITE Group in Portugal have moved from pavilion 1 to pavilion 3 at the Headquarters in Trofa. They are now located in the largest plant, until now exclusively allocated to the manufacture of circular saws blades unit. This change aims to allocate more space for the finished product warehouse of FREZITE's Wood Division. The now vacant offices in pavilion 1 are expected to be occupied by the commercial, product, process, and purchasing teams of the Wood Division.

The fixtures and special machines company of FREZITE Group, which already has sales in North America, has strengthened its commitment to the Mexican market by now having a dedicated person to work exclusively in that market. It also held technical training sessions last month for its growing customer base. In this way, the company has been asserting itself as a valuable partner, ensuring greater productivity and lower maintenance costs for its customers.

FREZITE sponsored the edition of the book "Design and selection of mechanical components" by Paulo Flores, Professor at the University of Minho. Presented on 15 February in the "Inaugural Class of Mechanical Engineering 2023", an event with the participation of the Founder of FREZITE, José Manuel Fernandes, who gave a lecture on "Sustainability on the economy growth by industry and services". With 742 pages, the book is the first compendium in this area in the Portuguese language. It presents the fundamentals for the design and selection of mechanical components, followed by solved application exercises covering traditional subjects of general mechanics, automotive, aeronautics, mechatronics, but also biomechanics and biomedicine. An initiative made within the scope of FREZITE corporate responsibility policy.

The employees gathered, once again, to participate in the S. Silvestre Porto race. The 28th edition of this event, held on January 8th, in the streets of the “Invicta” (Invictus city) as is known Porto, the Group was represented by employees from FREZITE, SERI and FHP. With some access difficulties to the race, in this event, FREZITE had 15 representatives in the 10-kilometer race and two employees who participated in the 5-kilometer walk. They promise to return.

Sent on Three Kings' Day in digital magazine format, FreziWorks reviews the news that marked the FREZITE Group in the past year. From organization to business, including partnerships with educational institutions, participation in fairs and events, as well as missions are some of the themes covered in the magazine. Read here.