MF Metal, a Frezite group company which is seeking positioning as a major industrial supplier, has launched a products newsletter. Presented to the market in October, this new means of communication demonstrates the variety of products provided by the company at competitive prices to companies and private individuals. Its own newsletter along with a dynamic, intuitive site were the supports chosen by MF Metal to communicate with its target public more directly.

FREZITE was the first winner of the BES Award for Best Internationalisation in the SME category. This award is intended to promote and recognise the efforts made by national companies to improves exports and internationalisation of their activities. Founded in 1978, FREZITE is a company that engineers solutions for cutting tools, with applications in industries processing wood, plastics, metals and composites in the furniture, automobile and aerospace sectors among others. FREZITE is present, along with its products and technology, in over 50 countries, across all the continents. Its international expansion plan includes new branches in Romania, Poland and Mexico. The prize was awarded as part of an initiative promoted by Banco Espírito Santo, together with Jornal de Negócios, COFACE and McKinsey & Co. consultants.

Leading SME Status is granted by IAPMEI and Turismo de Portugal together with the partner banks based on ratings and economic and financial criteria. It is an award that enhances reputation and improves conditions for finance for companies with a good risk profile pursuing strategies for growth and reinforcement of their competitive base. Renewal of Leading SME status confirms the performance and solidity of the Frezite Group.

The results of the participation of FREZITE at Ligna 2011, which is considered to be a meeting point for actors in the area of wood and associated industries, were very positive. As it is the largest meeting in the world for the sector, it was an opportunity for the company to establish close dialogue with its clients and agents. This year the Frezite team stood out at the company stand, where the focus was on the team and the service it provided.

Aware of the importance of communication and the brands that it owns, FREZITE invested in renewal of two of its brands. The Katil brand, which has recently been renewed, has adopted the organisation colours of the FREZITE Group:yellow and black. These colours are present, for example, on the metal band saws, a product which can currently be purchased through MF Metal.

The rebranding, which included the MF Metal logo, is intended to reflect the new positioning that will be adopted by the group company.

FMT have released a new catalogue of standard products, which includes innovative products that the company has been developing. Available in English and German, the catalogue stands out for its design and the way it presents information, which makes it easier to understand.

Motor sport returned to Rampa da Falperra for its 32nd event, with various competitions including the European Hill Climb Championship. This legendary Portuguese race took place on the 21st and 22nd of May and drew around 100,000 spectators over the entire weekend. In this exciting competition, the Fiat Punto, sponsored by MF Metal, was in second place on the podium, just 0.256 seconds behind first place. The next race will take place at the Boavista Circuit from the 1st-3rd of July.

FMT Germany opened new facilities in march, strengthening its already substantial activities in the German-speaking markets. The company also acquired new equipment to optimise its productive capacity. The investments carried out enabled the company to continue on its path of differentiation, offering its clients not just excellent service, but also innovative products that represent the state of the art in the cutting tools market.

FREZITE reaffirmed its dedication to international markets recently by founding FMT Romania. The company has already started trading in the Romanian market, which has received strong investment from the global automotive industry. With the founding of this new company, FMT now has nine branches around the world.

The IceWheels team, made up of students from Esmoriz Secondary School, was sponsored in the F1 in Schools competition by FREZITE, winning four medals out of a possible six in the regional phase of the competition, which took place on the 27th of April in the Espinho Multimedia Centre. It came first, winning the Innovation Prize, the Sponsorship and Marketing Prize, the Engineering Prize and the Fastest Car Prize, and ensuring a place in the national school final that will take place in Nave de Espinho. At this event on the 14th and 15th of June, ICEWHEELS will compete to represent Portugal in the world final of the F1 in Schools competition set to take place in Malaysia in September.

The Portuguese Prime Minister, José Sócrates, and the Secretary of State for Industry and Development, Fernando Medina, visited the premises of the FREZITE Group in Trofa. The visit allowed these members of the government to gain a better knowledge of FREZITE and the technological solutions that the company develops, and which have contributed greatly to the significant increase in national exports.

The visit, which took place on the 19th of April, came as part of the initiative for competitiveness and employment, highlighted the signing of the Inov Export agreement between AICEP and AIMMAP (the Portuguese Association of Metallurgic, Mechanical Engineering and Similar Industries).