The Gipuzkoa Ekin awards for entrepreneurs, organized by the innovation and industrial entrepreneurship sector of Gipuzkoa, were presented today at the facilities of BIC Gipuzkoa in the Miramón Technology Park. The event recognized the most outstanding technological proposals originating from vocational training classrooms, including the Kiski Pilotak project by Garikoitz Agirrezabal from Urretxu.
Agirrezabal, 30 years old, combines his experience playing pelota, making pelota balls by hand, and acting as a referee with his technical training as a Higher Technician in Industrial Automation and Robotics. His project addresses the critical issue of personnel shortage and material scarcity in the pelota sector, stemming from the physical limitations of the traditional manual process.
The Kiski Pilotak project has been awarded for its proposal of technified craftsmanship. The core of the work is the design and development of a hybrid machine capable of automating the most complex stages of pelota ball manufacturing, while continuing to use noble materials. "We were not born to compete destructively with traditional craftsmanship, but to modernize it, protect it, and fill the market gap that will be left by the imminent retirement of the last master pelota makers," he stated in his technical report.
The integration of mechatronic engineering into this traditional sport yields disruptive performance: the developed machinery is 15 times faster than the manual method, resulting in a 1,400% increase in production capacity. This ensures complete standardization of batches for clubs and federations, as well as significant innovation in occupational health by preventing chronic injuries caused by manual spinning.
The award includes a 1,000 euro grant from BIC Gipuzkoa, but its true value lies in the 6 months of support and mentoring that the Kiski Pilotak project will receive, coordinated collaboratively by specialized technicians from BIC Gipuzkoa and the UPTEK cluster.
