Some interviews begin long before the recorder is switched on.

This one started with stories about school, neighbours, siblings and a time when many people joined Ganain because they already knew someone working there. Begoña and José Luis have been connected to the company for so many years that, rather than answering questions, they seem to be revisiting an important part of their lives.

And it quickly becomes clear why they are both so highly regarded within Ganain.

Because when they talk about the company, they talk about people.

Begoña joined Ganain in March 1983.

José Luis arrived a few years later, at the age of 22, during one of the many ups and downs of the shipbuilding industry. She built her career in administration. He developed his on the shop floor and later as Chairman of the Works Council. Two different paths within the same company.

Throughout the conversation, they interrupt each other, correct each other, laugh and add details to each other’s stories. The result is something difficult to manufacture: authenticity.

 

“There were fifteen of us. Including me.”

 

The question was straightforward:

What was Ganain like when you first joined?

From that point onwards, memories began to emerge that are almost impossible to imagine today.

Begoña talks about typewriters that left her fingers sore, preparing payroll manually, the company’s first accounting systems, offices that had to be cleaned by the people working in them, and trips to the bank to collect cash for payroll.

José Luis remembers something much simpler:

“I used to get changed next to the owner of the company.”

That single sentence captures a great deal about what Ganain was like at the time.

There were fewer people, fewer barriers and a much closer relationship between the workshop, the offices and management. On Fridays, everyone would stop for a drink together. Football debates could go on for hours. Birthdays, family milestones and celebrations were shared. If someone brought food, everyone joined in. And when work needed to be done, people simply got on with it.

At one point, José Luis recalls turning up for work during the local village festivities, only for one of the managers to send him home.

“What are you doing here? Go home and enjoy the celebrations.”

Both agree on one thing: it would be impossible to experience a company in quite the same way today.

Not because everything was perfect then, or because everything is worse now. Simply because they were different times, with different ways of working and relating to one another.

 

“We Never Thought We’d Stay Here for Life”

 

When asked whether they ever imagined spending almost their entire working lives at Ganain, both answer immediately.

“Never.”

José Luis even left for another company for a few years. When it closed, he returned to Ganain and never left again.

Begoña reflects that when you are young, you do not think about retirement or farewells. You think about working, enjoying life, making ends meet and building your future.

Then she says something that changes the tone of the conversation completely:

“It feels like only yesterday we were thirty.”

They both laugh.

But behind the humour is a feeling that anyone who has spent decades in the same organisation will recognise: the sense that time accelerated without warning.

They talk about the 1990s as though they happened only recently. Spontaneous trips. Long weekends. A period when they would finish work and still have the energy for an entirely separate life outside it.

And then, one day, retirement arrives.

And it feels difficult to believe.

 

Office and Workshop: Two Worlds That Once Felt Much Closer

 

One of the most interesting parts of the conversation comes when they reflect on how differently the company was experienced from the office and from the workshop.

Begoña explains that despite working in administration, she always felt closely connected to the people on the shop floor.

“I handled payroll, contracts and paperwork. I watched people arrive at nineteen years old, and to me they were just children.”

José Luis repeatedly returns to something he considers fundamental: camaraderie.

He remembers changing rooms where everyone greeted one another. Shared coffee breaks. Sandwiches distributed among colleagues. People looking out for each other.

He also acknowledges how much that has changed.

They talk about mobile phones, busy schedules and how people today often seem more isolated within their own routines. Not from a position of criticism, but from the perspective of people who have witnessed significant changes in both working life and society.

One of José Luis’s observations sums it up particularly well:

“When you really need help, it’s your colleagues who are there for you.”

 

“Not Once Was a Salary Paid Late”

 

When the conversation turns to difficult periods, both speak with remarkable clarity.

They remember long strikes, challenging industrial disputes and periods when work was scarce. José Luis experienced strikes lasting more than twenty days. Begoña remembers the pressure of preparing payroll at the end of the month when everything seemed uncertain.

Yet there is one point they return to repeatedly and with obvious pride:

“Not once was a salary left unpaid.”

For both of them, that mattered enormously.

They describe owners who would do everything possible to retain employees before considering redundancies. During quieter periods, people would reorganise work, clean facilities, install shelving or simply find ways to keep the workforce active until conditions improved.

José Luis recalls a meeting in which one of the company’s founders made a principle absolutely clear to a newly appointed manager:

“People come first.”

Listening to them today, it is obvious that those words stayed with them.

 

“I Made Friends With Deep Roots”

 

There is one question neither of them hesitates to answer.

After all these years, what matters most: the work or the people?

The people.

José Luis speaks warmly about colleagues he helped train and who remain important in his life today. He is particularly proud of young apprentices who developed into highly skilled professionals.

Begoña remembers clients, colleagues and contacts she has spoken with almost daily for decades. Some of them she never even met in person, yet genuine relationships were formed nonetheless.

Then José Luis offers one of the most memorable reflections of the entire interview:

“I made friends with deep roots.”

Not passing acquaintances.

The kind of friendships that endure.

 

“The Crazy Lady on the Hill… But a Good Colleague”

 

The final part of the conversation is filled with warmth and humour.

They talk about the pressure they may actually miss. The habit of getting up early. Sunday evenings spent thinking about Monday morning. The strange prospect of having time without constantly checking the clock.

Begoña admits that retirement still feels a little like an extended holiday. José Luis says he always thought this moment would arrive much later.

When asked how they would like to be remembered, their personalities emerge immediately.

Begoña answers first:

“The crazy lady on the hill… but a good colleague.”

José Luis responds without hesitation:

“As a good colleague.”

And perhaps that is the perfect summary of their story.

Beyond job titles, years of service and organisational change, what they leave behind at Ganain is precisely that: the memory of two people who cared deeply about their work and the people around them.

 

Thank You for Everything

Some people work for a company.

Others become part of its history.

Begoña and José Luis belong firmly to the second group.

They leave behind stories, character, friendships, shared experiences and countless memories spread across workshops, offices and corridors.

They are people known throughout the company.

More importantly, they are people who will be genuinely missed.

From everyone at Ganain, there is only one thing left to say:

Thank you for all these years.

And every best wish for the next chapter.