Irudia: eraikinaren argazki zaharra

• Jute Factory of Arbillaga:

No visible remains

Constructive features: the complex was composed of a central building, where the offices and an apartment were located, and, on the sides, two half-height blocks, large and bright, occupied by the textile machinery. The outstanding façade of the central building showed two iron columns supporting the upper floors. The first floor displayed Moresque elements, such as horseshoe arches and wooden pieces imitating coloured stones, while the second floor was inspired in mountain houses’ architecture.

The jute factory of Arbillaga was one of the most emblematic companies of Zumaia, as well as one of its best known industrial buildings and the first modern big factory built in the urban are, at the end of the 19th century. It was an initiative of the entrepreneur José Agustín Arbillaga, manufacturing diverse products made of jute.

Jute sacks, aimed at the flourishing cement factories of the area, were their main product; even so, they also manufactured fishing nets and espadrille soles. Apart from the textile plant, the complex included a foundry (the first in town) and a space conceived for storing electric material and housing an electrical substation.

Since 1921, when the company moved its factory to Mutriku, their premises were used by different companies from Zumaia, particularly by the shipbuilders Balenciaga, S.A.