Elgoibar is an industrial town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Autonomous Community of Basque Country, northern Spain. Located in a valley, it is traversed by the Deba river. Elgoibar is nicknamed the "capital city of the Machine tool". Originally the town was called Villamayor de Marquina, but it had been founded in a place called before Elgoibar field. The town came to be known by this name a few centuries of its foundation. Until the mid-fifteenth century it appears in the documentation as Villamayor de Marquina, but in the statutes of the Brotherhood of Gipuzkoa of 1457 and 1463 years appears with the Elgoibar name and it has prevailed until today. Elgoibar name has been used in Spanish and in Basque in order to refer to the small town. The unique difference is that in Spanish the name Elgoibar has an accent mark in its "o". Elgoibar etymologically comes from the Basque language and is possibly composed ofthe word meaning elge field and safely by ibar word which means valley and plain. Therefore, "elge ibar" would be a similar term to vega or plain cultivated field and would have resulted in Elgoibar. The etymology would remain quite well with the mention of Elgoibar field that appears in the settlement charter of the town.
Economy
Since the very beginning of the establishment of the Ville, the industrial nature was very relevant. The king kept for himself the strip mining of the minerals such as gold or silver, and the ironworks production. As Tómas López described in 1800 " The industrialization transformed that protoindustry, on a machinery tools factories network; like this is how this village turned into being the "capital city of the Machine Tool". Main companies
The following list includes companies that are located in Elgoibar, and that have at least an staff of 50 people according to the Basque Industry catalog:
Alcorta Brockhaus, S.A.: Manufacturer of components of forged steel for the automotive industry.
AVS Added Value Solutions: Designing and manufacturing equipment for the industry of science and machine tool industry.
Bernardo Ecenarro, S.A.: Manufacturing paints and special covers for the automotive industry
Doimak: Manufacturing rectifier machines
Engranajes Grindel, S.A.: Manufacturer of gears.
Etxe-Tar, S.A.: Machine Tool Industry
Local Festivities
Elgoibar celebrates festivity in honor of its patron; San Bartolome and San Anton. The latter is the patron of the villa. In addition, there are a number of celebrations that are celebrated in unison of the region or the country such as San Blas, Carnivals or the Eve of St. Agatha. There is cattle fair the last Saturday of each month and specially the last Saturday of the year, Gabon Zahar Feria.
San Anton festivity, second landlord of the town, on 17 January.
San Bartolome, the patron of Elgoibar, on 23 August.
