Emelba was founded in 1979 by Jaime Loureiro Benimeli (salesperson for SEAT and the “L” of Emelba), his friends Juan Carlos Madriñan Cristóbal (the “Eme”) and Jorge Bassols (the “ba” of Emelba). The company's headquarters and workshops were in Arbucias (Girona). Its main activity was to create vehicles based on SEAT models.