Early in history in Friesland - a province in the north of the Netherlands with lots of lakes and canals connected to each other - skating was only done in winter. It was used as an efficient manner of transportation. When all that water froze, people could reach far families or friends easier than in summer when they only had walking as transportation. 

In this period the region of Friesland counted over 80 small companies that manually manufactured skates. It was a well-known craftsmanship, usually performed by people who in warmer periods worked in wooden hand tool production. 

Nowadays, the world has changed. Skating has professionalized and so have the skates. The small companies in Friesland who were dedicated to the production of skates ceased to exist. Professional brands emerged to provide the professional market to their needs. Maplez acknowledges itself as the brand where craftsmanship and Frisian heritage is kept, as producer of speed skates in Heerenveen, the beating heart of speed skating.