Juan Esperanza Salvador (1860–1951) and Pedro Unceta (1854–1934), both from Eibar, founded the company in 1908 under the name P.Unceta y J.Esperanza for the purposes of the "sale of machinery and accessories of all types". At this stage there was no mention of the sale or manufacture of arms, although both partners were engaged in this field on their own account. In 1908 Juan Esperanza had six full-time staff, and in 1910, ten staff. In 1911 he formed a partnership with Isidro Gaztañaga - Gaztañaga y Esperanza. This new company had between 20 and 30 staff. From 1911 onwards patents for firearms began to be issued to P.Unceta y J.Esperanza, concerning improvements to self-loading pistols. In 1913, manufacture of pistols began at their new factory.