One of Europe’s leading manufacturers of premium woodworking tooling, Freud, used Professional Woodworking Expo (PWE) to engage directly with manufacturers, distributors and end users from across the industry.
With a steady stream of visitors throughout the three-day event, the company’s stand became a hub for conversations around cutting performance, tooling optimisation and the wider challenges facing today’s woodworking sector.
Representing the company was Freud’s Area Sales Manager for Western Europe, Elisa Martina, whose enthusiasm for both the industry and the Freud brand was immediately apparent. During a wide-ranging conversation, she reflected on the company’s Italian heritage, its approach to manufacturing and why exhibitions such as PWE remain an invaluable opportunity not only to showcase new products, but to listen to customers and understand the challenges they face.
Italian roots with a global outlook
For many in the UK, the Freud name is often associated with Germany, particularly since the company became part of the Bosch Group in 2009. Elisa was keen to explain that its origins are firmly Italian. Founded in 1962 in Udine, north-east Italy, Freud takes its name from FREse UDinesi (“Udine cutters”), reflecting both its Italian roots and its long-standing expertise in cutting tools. The company was founded in the heart of one of Europe’s best-known furniture manufacturing regions.
That heritage remains central to the business today. Freud continues to manufacture within the Udine area, allowing the company to retain close control over production and maintain an exemplary technical expertise that has underpinned its reputation for more than six decades.
Unlike many tooling manufacturers, Freud also produces its own carbide in-house, giving its engineers complete control over material quality and enabling different carbide formulations to be developed for specific applications.
According to Elisa, that level of vertical integration allows the company to deliver consistent performance across an extensive range of industrial saw blades, cutterheads, router cutters and portable professional tooling.
“It’s the full process,” she explained. “We are able to offer the complete portfolio because we own the production.”
More than products
Recent developments, including new tooth geometries for panel-sizing blades and dedicated aluminium-cutting solutions, demonstrate Freud’s continued investment in improving finish quality, productivity and tool life. Yet Elisa was equally keen to stress that the company’s role extends well beyond supplying cutting tools.
“User-centricity is key for us,” she said. “It’s very important to discuss with the people who actually use the tools, understand their experience and exchange ideas.”
That philosophy was reflected throughout PWE, where conversations on the stand centred not simply on products but on helping customers optimise their machining processes and overcome production challenges.
The discussion naturally broadened to the future of manufacturing. Having previously worked within industrial robotics before joining Freud, Elisa sees automation and artificial intelligence as technologies that should support skilled operators rather than replace them. Removing repetitive and physically demanding tasks allows people to focus on the knowledge, judgement and craftsmanship that remain essential within woodworking.
The same long-term thinking shapes Freud’s approach to sustainability. Selected blades can be resharpened, while longer tool life and continuous improvements in manufacturing and packaging help reduce waste and deliver greater value to customers.
Despite ongoing concerns around skills shortages, Elisa also struck an optimistic note. She believes younger generations are beginning to rediscover an appreciation for craftsmanship, authenticity and quality materials, creating opportunities for manufacturers able to combine traditional skills with modern production techniques.
Investing in the UK
Freud’s commitment to the UK market is also being strengthened through investment in local expertise. Joining Elisa at PWE was newly appointed UK Business Developer, Melissa Walters, who will play a key role in supporting customers, developing new business opportunities, and further strengthening Freud’s presence across the UK.
“It has been brilliant joining the woodworking industry and having the opportunity to attend the exhibition here at the NEC, to meet so many fans of the Freud brand,” said Melissa. “It is special to feel you represent a brand that has such loyalty and its quality recognised by customers that are using the products daily in their work.
“It has been great to introduce other product lines to people that have maybe only been aware of the circular saw blades and not the routers or solid carbide spirals, for example. To see their excitement at these lines has been fantastic.”
Melissa’s appointment reflects Freud’s belief that close customer relationships, technical support and local knowledge remain just as important as product innovation. The quality of discussions throughout PWE reinforced that message, with the exhibition once again demonstrating the value of bringing machinery manufacturers, tooling specialists and end users together under one roof.
As our conversation drew to a close, I asked Elisa to summarise Freud in just three words. She paused for a moment before smiling and replying: “Competence. Reliability. Passion.” After spending time with the Freud team at PWE, it was difficult to think of a more fitting description.
