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40+ years of timber expertise
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From humble roots to global growth
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Used by leading brands
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Craftsmanship meets innovation
A simple love of wood, and a passion for working with like-minded designers
We have over 40 years of hands-on experience and expertise. Our in-house knowledge and long-term passion allow us to drive ideas, innovation, and solutions.
1970s
Starting roots with veneers
Our founder, Laurence, started out as a management trainee for William Mallinson & Sons in East London in 1977. He then moved on to Gloucestershire, where he studied hardwood, softwood, sheet materials and spent two years at The Veneer Factory. Laurence received a qualification for The Institute of Wood Science from Bucks College, a four year programme, honing skills and expertise.
1980s
A growing love of wood veneers and supplying the marine industry.
Laurence became a sales manager for Wood Conversion Ltd in the early 1980s in Slough, specialising in African Veneers from their factors in Ghana, making regular visits to inspect the quality of the veneers. In the late 1980s, Laurence became the UK agent for Danish Overseas Trading, selling teak veneer to the UK and USA marine and furniture markets, continually building up knowledge and experience.
1990s
Working and collaborating with the automotive industry.
Laurence went on to be a Sales Director for Wilkinson Veneers in London a long established London veneer merchanting company. From here, Laurence started to get involved with selling exotic burl veneers to the automotive industry including Rolls Royce, Bentley. Jaguar, Rover and Mini.
2000s
An evolving family business in the wood veneer industry.
In 2000, Laurence started up his own company ‘Freed Veneers Ltd’, with decades of knowledge and experience in wood veneers, and off the back of selling into the automobile business. Laurence’s son then joined in 2008, overseeing the launch of the new online store, and worked together to diversify the business to more interior ‘out of the box’ products, such as wall panelling.
2010s
Diversifying the business with exciting growth.
With The Wood Veneer Hub rapidly growing, we moved to a larger warehouse in Leighton Buzzard, UK. We produced and launched our exciting new and quality slat wall panel range ‘Acupanel’, the first out-of-the-box acoustic slat wood wall panelling solution. With Covid-19 shifting people to try out DIY, we offered more DIY products and interior solutions.
2020s
Brand evolution and looking to the future.
With our new warehouse and showroom ready and in action in 2023, our next step is a brand evolution, looking at how our identity has changed in Leighton Buzzard. We’re also expanding globally, with a new warehouse in Arizona, Sydney and Christchurch, and looking to the future of product innovation.
