Jose Mari Egaña, Agustín Artetxe, Jesús Beristain and Iñaki Alonso are much more than just workers at Astigarraga Kit Line. After decades of hard work and thanks to their relief contract, they have taken early retirement, leaving behind a legacy of dedication. Four colleagues and friends who helped build the Astigarraga Kit Line are now embracing their well-deserved golden years as they leave behind a forest of memories carved out by their effort and commitment over so many years. Jose Mari and Agustín in the trestle workshop and Jesús and Iñaki in the furniture workshop.
Jose Mari Egaña: “I’ve been a trestle fitter all my life”
Astigarraga Kit Line has been Jose Mari’s professional home for four decades. Its history began almost 40 years ago, with the company in its infancy and when trestles were more of an art than a science. Each piece was handmade. Hailing from the Basque town of Azpeitiarra, in the world of football he would be known as a “one-club man”, or of those who manage to weave a story of unwavering loyalty to the same company throughout their lives.
Back in 1985, Jose Mari witnessed the first steps taken by our founder, Juan José Astigarraga. At that time, the company was what it was, a modest workshop, but it was already imbued with Juan José’s vision of excellence, carried on later by his daughter, Itziar Astigarraga.
“We started out in small rented premises. That’s when we started making the first trestles for Juan José – at that time he was the owner of a logging company. He came across a large wooden stockyard, rented some machines and saw that there could be a business in creating trestles. In the beginning he told us we could be there a couple of months or whatever, and it’s now been 40 years”, Jose Mari tells us, as the one who clearly remembers how the first trestles “were sewn with a hammer, even the hinges were made with lag bolts”. “It was a craft job”, recalls Jose Mari, adding that “now everything is mechanised”. And just as well: technological advances and mechanisation are the order of the day. They are the engine.
Agustín Artetxe: “I have been around wood all my life”
It only took Agustín Artetxe four months to realise that the foundry was not for him. He soon replaced it with the mountain woodlands, where he started felling trees as a young boy. “ I then I worked in a sawmill that went bankrupt and in 2000 before coming to Astigarraga Kit Line. Juan José and Itziar interviewed me and still do today”, Agustín recalls. At first, he was manufacturing chests of drawers and wooden boards, and after four years, he moved on to machining trestles. In the same pavilion as Jose Mari. In total, 23 years of dedication to Astigarraga Kit Line.
“What shocked me most was that I was the oldest. They were all youngsters and I arrived at the age of 39. I looked like everybody’s dad,” says Agustín with a chuckle. “We have always got along very well. There was an exceptionally good vibe,” he adds. A native of Arroa Goikoa, Agustín’s motto is: “Burua erabili (‘Use your head’)“. “I have always made things easy for others. I can’t be with a person next to me without talking and sharing,” he explains. “I come from the mountains, I’ve been through almost the whole chain, I’ve only had to work in the office”, says Agustín, to which Jose Mari replies, laughing: “You’re on time, so get back on your feet, you’ve still got another four years.
Jesús Beristain: “Early retirement has taken me by surprise, but I’m delighted”
For Jesús Beristain, coming to work at Astigarraga Kit Line was a great success. He had been self-employed for a few years for a timber company in Bergara, until it closed down. Like Agustín, Jesús also undertook his professional adventure in the forests as a pine tree cutter. “In 1995 I met Juan José and he brought me here. What a difference! Working in the mountains was very hard; the wind, the rain, the cold, the snow… I went from being out in the open to working in front of a table. At first, it took some getting used to, because standing still in the same place wasn’t my thing, but my body got used to it and the work became much better and smoother“, admits this person from Mutriku (or mutrikuarra).
“In Astigarraga Kit Line I started in the furniture hall, in wood restoration for five years. This was done manually. The holes and cracks in the wood had to be filled with a spatula and then sanded. Afterwards, I was transferred to being a planer/moulder until my early retirement”, Jesús recalls. Of the four, he is the one who least expected an early retirement and has welcomed it with excitement and a sense of fortune.
Iñaki Alonso: “Since joining this company, I have always been happy to come to work”
For Iñaki Alonso, Astigarraga Kit Line has been his second home for 33 years. Easily said. A lifetime dedicated to the art of shaping wood. Iñaki, like Jesús, has always been in the furniture pavilion, and started at the same time as Jose Juan, another of Juan José’s sons and the current director of the forestry area of the company. This native of Azkoitiarra came from a company that sanded small parts by hand and settled in Astigarraga Kit Line, first in wood restoration and later in moulding.
Iñaki remembers those initial jobs that took “so much effort”, in which almost everything was manual and less mechanised. “I have always been happy to come to work”. For Astigarraga Kit Line, hearing this from a worker is like receiving a gift; a warm embrace that confirms we’ve been able to create an environment where well-being and satisfaction are intertwined, forming the basis of a united and committed team.
Eight skilled hands and eyes trained by years of experience. Iñaki, Jesús, Agustín and Jose Mari who, as the company has grown and withstood the onslaught of several economic crises and a pandemic, have continued on here with unrivalled dedication and tenacity. helping those who joined because their commitment has always been unwavering.
“What a lot of effort we’ve put in!”
People in a company are like the growth rings of a tree. Each represents a year of effort and development, and together they form the trunk that supports the structure of a company. Iñaki is clear: “Astigarraga Kit Line is what it is because of all of us who have worked here, contributing our efforts and hard work”. “When I started, we made one truckload of shelves a week, and now we make two or three a day. We have always given our all and worked hard. If we had not been good workers, none of this would have moved forward. Moreover, there are very few conflicts here. I don’t remember,” defends Iñaki. Jesus emphasises the same: “What a lot of effort we have put in!
The family
Is there any word that means as much as ‘family’? It evokes feelings of home, a sense of belonging, security and emotional connection. “We called our working group ‘The family’,” says Jose Mari. So how could there not be a good atmosphere? In the trestle pavilion and in the furniture pavilion. In both. “The trestle team has always been very supportive. Those of us who started at the very beginning still get together for meals”, says Jose Mari. Agustín confirms what his colleague says and recalls that he still maintains “a very special relationship with the first people who started working with me, as they treated me as if I were their father. I do not forget these people, nor do they forget me“
Everything was cause for celebration. On the eve of San Sebastián, the drums were brought out and played. On the eve of San Fermín, a small statue of the saint was brought out, a rocket was launched and “we put on the red scarf”. Then came the holidays, so more rockets singing! “Outside the workshop, we would launch 30 or 40 rockets”, emphasises Iñaki, for whom Astigarraga Kit Line has been “a way of life, my home and much more than just a job”. The atmosphere of camaraderie is also felt by Jesús, who says loudly and clearly that “I have never even thought of changing to another job. Never. I have been very comfortable”:
Agustín, who knows what it’s like to go through four different jobs, gives his assurance that, “the atmosphere here is not found in many places. This is what made you happy here. When someone new came along, I always taught him and no one was to touch him! New people have always been helped, facilitated and quickly integrated into the team”, says Jose Mari, to which Iñaki adds: “That’s right, I had to bring the box of pastries and, on birthdays, sandwiches. That was not negotiated”, says Jose Mari.
In the workshops there was an unwritten law, a kind of “sacred” commandment, when someone became a year older. Instead of blowing out candles, we ate sandwiches. They are very pragmatic. Are you a year older? Then bring sandwiches for everyone! It’s like a kind of ritual where age is measured in slices of ham and bread.
Well-deserved early retirements
Much has been celebrated, but more work has been done. The roar of the manufacturing machines has never ceased, and the smell of wood has always permeated the trestle and furniture workshops. But Jose Mari, Jesús and Iñaki will hear that sound or long for that pine scent in different ways. And Agustín also, who came within a hair’s breadth of missing out on early retirement by just 20 days: “At the end of the year, the delegate calls me and tells me that this type of contract will be continued. It was a prize, as if I had won the lottery,” remembers Agustín. So, when he is asked now if he is bored, he replies like like lightning: “Not at all.” “It’s been many years of getting up at 5am. Between the animals and the vegetable garden I won’t get bored, and I’m going to travel as much as I can. I went to Vienna recently and I’m going to Belgium soon.”
Jesus was not quite sure if he could take advantage of the relief contract. He was self-employed until the age of 34. “But Itziar came and offered it to me and I was amazed. I hadn’t expected it, and I was overjoyed,” he says. Now that he no longer needs his alarm clock his life, “is much calmer”, he also devotes his free time to his vegetable garden and sheep and, of course, “I have a much more tranquil life; I go to the mountains and I spend the weekends with friends.” Iñaki, his partner in crime, is taking advantage of the situation to “get more sleep; I’m making up for lost sleep time, because I’ve always been a late sleeper and an early riser, and I don’t have to worry about that any more. It makes you realise that there is life beyond work.”
Jose Mari, who is quick to respond, starts with, “terrific!”, when asked how he feels about his early retirement. In the mornings he looks after the house and, “the afternoons are for me, to go walking in the mountains, exploring nearby places. Once a month we also do a longer route and have lunch as well.” “I went to do the Camino de Santiago but had to turn back after four days, however I am determined to go back and try it again,” promises Jose Mari, for whom “the last five years have been harder, age is more of a burden and the early mornings were more difficult”.
Like trees that, after decades of firm roots and constant growth, say goodbye to a forest to make way for new trees, Jose Mari, Agustín, Jesús and Iñaki are doing the same thing in Astigarraga Kit Line. Beyond your years of service, you leave a legacy of loyalty and comradeship.
With your loyalty, you have been the roots upon which our company has grown and prospered. With your dedication and commitment, you have driven our success. You may be saying goodbye to these workshops that have been like your second home for so long, but you leave an indelible mark on Astigarraga Kit Line. Thank you so very much for being exceptionally hard workers! You are cut to be champions; cut to be pensioners.
