Klaus Freese has stepped down from Desma after 50 years with the Achim-based footwear machinery manufacturer. His career at the company began on 1 August 1976, when he started an apprenticeship as a machine fitter. Five decades later, he leaves as Managing Director.
Following his apprenticeship and military service with the German Navy, Freese moved into Desma’a footwear machinery business. Working as a service engineer, he travelled extensively to install machinery and production systems, train operators and advise customers. His assignments took him to numerous international markets, including China and Iran.
As automation and robotics became increasingly important in footwear production, Freese expanded his technical qualifications. He completed a master craftsman qualification before studying mechanical engineering in Bremen. He later added a part-time MBA at Bremen University of Applied Sciences. After graduating in mechanical engineering, Freese returned to DESMA as a sales engineer. In the mid-1990s, he helped establish a technical centre at the company’s headquarters to demonstrate Desma technologies to customers.
Freese briefly left the company in 2003, joining Uvex Arbeitsschutz as Head of Production before moving to filling and packaging technology manufacturer KHS. He returned to DESMA in 2007 to take responsibility in sales.
At the beginning of 2009, Freese was appointed Managing Director. During his years in management, one of Desma’s major investments was its “Factory of the Future” in Achim. Construction of the new complex began in 2019 and was completed in 2020, adding 12,000 square metres of production space and 4,500 square metres of offices.
Over the course of Freese’s career, Desma developed into a supplier of machinery, production systems, moulds and automation solutions for industrial footwear manufacturing. Freese himself worked across numerous areas of the business. “There isn’t an area at Desma that I haven’t been responsible for,” he said, looking back on his various roles.
Desma currently employs around 220 people at its Achim site. For Freese, retirement brings to an end a career that began at the same location half a century ago.
