Agurtzane Gerediaga, Oscar Barañano - EKIN

“The Basque language is our sign of identity”

The Ekin Cooperative was founded in 1963 in Amorebieta (Bizkaia) on the initiative of a dozen people. Six decades later, after diversification and internationalization processes, it is present not only in the Basque Country, but also in India and Mexico, with a total of more than 300 employees. Automotive, Aeronautics and Energy are the sectors in which the company operates.

Agurtzane Gerediaga, People Manager, and Oscar Barañano, Head of the Business Unit, opened the doors of the company for this interview. Regarding the company's activity, they explained that “almost one hundred percent of our activity was aimed at the automotive industry and we realized that it was the aeronautical product that would give us stability for the future. So we have started to make a lot of investments in aeronautics.”

Ekin turned 60 years old last year and they celebrated it in a special way: “we painted the main facade of the factory, we held a big party with colleagues from the factories here and abroad, and there was also an institutional act in which the Lehendakari participated”.

This year Ekin has become a member of the Basque Industry Platform, Indeus, because together we can be stronger in the commitment to the Basque language. “EKIN has both the desire and effort to champion Basque language in its DNA. Basque is our hallmark.”