The company is developing several R&D projects to address industrial challenges in digitalisation, AI, advanced automation, sustainability and high precision manufacturing.
Vicky López | Amorebieta
Ekin has made R&D one of the pillars of its business strategy. The Biscay based company, which specialises in high precision broaching and rolling solutions, remains committed to developing new technologies capable of meeting the increasingly demanding requirements of sectors such as automotive, aerospace and power generation.
R&D Director Guillermo Celaya told Empresa XXI that this strategy is an ongoing commitment. The evolution of the industry’s own manufacturing, control and verification processes requires technologies that improve productivity and quality while also supporting the transition towards more sustainable production models.
To this end, the Biscay based manufacturer’s research activities take shape in several R&D projects supported by the Basque Government’s Hazitek programme. These focus on addressing major industrial challenges such as digitalisation, artificial intelligence, advanced automation, sustainability and high precision manufacturing.
One notable example is the Aditu project, which aims to generate knowledge for the automation and digital manufacturing of turbine discs. Ekin plans to allocate a budget of close to one million euros to the project between 2026 and 2028. The initiative covers advanced automation, predictive modelling and the integration of metrology technologies into critical manufacturing processes. Ekin is participating in a consortium of seven Basque industrial companies, supported by EHU-CFAA, Ideko, Koniker, Tecnalia and Vicomtech.
This work is complemented by the Akats project, which aims to develop a tool for generating synthetic defects to train artificial intelligence models for broach inspection. Together with the Vicomtech technology centre, Ekin is seeking to apply AI to one of the most sensitive aspects of advanced manufacturing processes: quality assurance. According to Guillermo Celaya, improved defect detection capabilities and advanced digital traceability will help strengthen Ekin’s value proposition for automotive and aerospace customers. This will support the consolidation of existing projects and help secure new orders in which manufacturing process robustness and documented evidence of quality control are key factors.
In the field of sustainability, Ekin is working on the Brosuste project in collaboration with Ceit. The project aims to develop a broach manufacturing route based on a responsible production model for precision machining, in line with the need to move towards more circular production models with a lower environmental impact.
Meanwhile, in collaboration with ITP, Danobat ONA, Savvy, Metalúrgica Marina, Intenance, Metrología Sariki and EHU, the Eragin project focuses on research into enabling and sustainable manufacturing technologies for compressor modules and intermediate pressure (IP) modules. The development of these engine sections represents new business opportunities in new markets.
Finally, in collaboration with Danobat, Engine Power Components Group, Bilbao Electrónica and Ideko, Ekin continues to explore the application of artificial intelligence in the factory. Through the Lehiakor project, the company aims to optimise manufacturing processes in terms of sustainability, quality and productivity, using deep learning solutions and large industrial datasets.
Strategic review
The company is currently conducting its strategic review for the 2027–2029 period. It sees the aerospace industry as a focus for its work in cutting tools, particularly components for compressor modules, for which demand is expected to increase by 20%. Key areas of action include positioning itself as a leading manufacturer in this field, launching new tool grades for the aerospace sector and incorporating tool reconditioning processes.
Ekin exports 66% of its broach production, employs 325 people and has four manufacturing centres: two in Biscay, in Amorebieta and Lemoa, and two overseas, in Gurgaon, India, and Querétaro, Mexico. Increasing sales value, supported by the monitoring of new and upgraded machines, improving competitiveness in broach quality, and developing a new powder metallurgy process that can be scaled up for industrial use to recover raw materials from disused broaches will help the company maintain its influence nationally and internationally.
Source: Empresa XXI, 1 November 2026
