“It happened naturally…at the end of the 1990s I found a machine in my parents' old workshop and I began to experiment. My wife wanted a shoe rack so I made her a piece with shelves; little by little family, friends and acquaintances began to place orders with me. I was learning more and more and before long, without realizing it, I was researching carpentry tools to set up a workshop.”
Today, Aventa is a partnership between Martín Gutiérrez, from San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico; Goerdt Abel from Amorbach, Bavaria, Germany and Godard Abel of Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. As of today, the company has more than 50 employees, 3 internal departments and a large and modern factory 10 minutes from the center of San Miguel de Allende. This is the story of the evolution of a friendship, a shared passion for wood, and a balance of compatible skills to develop Aventa into the company it is today
For founder Martín Gutiérrez, carpentry began as a personal project, became a part-time job, and as business grew it quickly became his full-time job. At the beginning of the year 2000, he established a workshop in an unoccupied animal pen. This was the beginning of his first business, "La Troje, carpentry projects".
Martín Gutiérrez learned carpentry the old fashioned way: seeking advice from experienced carpenters and testing out new ideas, always with a great attention to detail. Over the years, each project was an empirical lesson and honed his craft. Through experience and collaboration with new employees, Sr. Martín acquired an invaluable and extensive understanding of the material.
The old Aventa workshop
Sr. Martin and Dr. Abel were introduced through the recommendation of one of Sr. Martin’s former customers, architect Barbosa.
Goerdt Abel, a German doctor of business administration, had recently arrived in San Miguel de Allende looking to purchase a new home. In Germany, he ran his own manufacturing company of over 500 employees for more than 28 years. This gave him extensive knowledge and experience in business and manufacturing. In search of a relaxing place, he had found a house in San Miguel de Allende that he wanted to renovate. Sr. Martín made many pieces of furniture and windows for Dr. Abel’s new home, and over the years, the working relationship evolved into a good friendship as well.
The first double-paned window was proposed by a relative of Sr. Martín, suggesting that it would serve to insulate both temperature and noise. With great ingenuity and dedication, Mr. Martín learned the construction and they successfully installed the new windows.
Dr. Abel was so pleased with the craftsmanship, he wanted to make furniture for his residence in Vienna. However, the workshop space was insufficient to store the pieces before export, so he invested in roofing a stable. Thus began the efforts to grow the company hand in hand with Dr. Abel. The workplace grew exponentially with a new 300m2 warehouse, the project was successfully executed, and the two went to Vienna to install the furniture.
When they got back, they continued working together with increasingly larger brands and companies. They made furniture and displays for the Italian clothing franchise Paul & Shark, executed a remodeling of the Sierra Nevada Hotel, and a large-scale project for the Rosewood Hotel. The Sierra Nevada Hotel wanted hermetic wooden windows, but at the time, this was not a well developed product in Mexico. Instead, pieces were purchased from a European company, and Sr. Martín’s team carried out the installation.
As the business and ideas grew, expansion was on the horizon again. They obtained the new (and current) location in September 2011 and built a new workspace and warehouse. They also began to create hermetic wooden windows so as not to need to import them, with the first ones being made manually.
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| Martín Gutiérrez visiting the construction site of Aventa's new workshop | |
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| The first phase of the workshop in use | |
To create more detailed and elegant pieces, they would need more advanced tools. After extensive research in several countries, the pair made a trip to Germany to acquire high-tech machinery that would refine the profiles to obtain a high-end product. They were trained on the machines in Germany, then the machines were exported in 3 huge containers to Mexico where they were installed at the factory upon arrival. And thus began a new chapter in the development of high-end profiles on windows and doors.
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| Arrival of the German machinery to Aventa's workshop | |
Godard Abel was an occasional visitor to the factory, an engineer who studied at MIT and Stanford Business School. He was the founder of three technology companies and involved in many others. At the beginning of 2022, Godard joined the team, bringing his extensive knowledge of technology and business.
After more than 10 years of collaboration amongst expert entrepreneurs, the company Aventa Windows was officially founded. Its team is made up of Sr. Martín Gutiérrez, Dr. Goerdt Abel and Mr. Godard Abel.
From left to right: Martín Gutiérrez, Erik Markeset, Goerdt Abel y Godard Abel
The team forms a powerful unit, implementing software for faster and more effective processes, running regular reviews to stay aligned on the development of doors and windows, and to always ensure the manufacturing of goods of high standard.
After more than 20 years of experience, this company knows no limits or borders. The projects we’ve worked on span throughout many states in Mexico, and countries such as Austria, China and the United States. At Aventa, we are proud to combine the art of Mexican craftsmanship with the precision of German manufacturing.
The commitment to the craft has grown, as well as experience and infrastructure. Aventa stands out as one of the few companies in Mexico that makes hermetic pieces of solid wood. We seek to provide beautiful wooden windows and doors to our customers, while also reducing the use of plastic in the country.
With the support of satisfied customers, it has been possible to deliver high-end, environmentally conscious products that add a valuable element to the life of each user.
