Zenten - plumbing magic

ZENTEN (ZBG) Tapping into sustainable magic

Creating tools that offer ‘plumbing magic’ has been a regular feature at ZBG, (Zenten Bernhard Groten) for some time now, and it is all down to an unassuming British plumber by the name of Darren Chalkly. Since 2018 Darren has been working with Zenten on their new range of innovative construction industry tools. Prior to Darren’s involvement in the company, Zenten had been successfully manufacturing high quality equivalents to traditional plumbing tools. Darren is the Business Development Director at Zenten. Since ZBG discovered his unique talent, Darren has been busy creating time-saving and super- efficient plumbing tools. The success of these products has resulted in him moving to the US where a new production and distribution facility is scheduled to open in 2022. Here his innovative touch will no doubt continue to proliferate, as will his passion for sustainable packaging! Philip Yorke reports.

Darren Chalkly

Having interviewed Darren Chalkly recently and been struck by his infectious enthusiasm, I was not only impressed by his ability to bring a great deal to the table, but also by his unabashed and self-effacing modesty, which was at no time diminished during our conversation!

As an experienced MD with demonstrable success in operations management and planning, Darren decided that ZBG’s products’ excellence and its commitment to sustainability, was an attractive proposition.

ZBG is recognised globally for its consistently high quality and innovative design capabilities. This skill has resulted in it being represented throughout the world’s most important markets. The company was founded in 1966 when a young German engineer by the name of Bernhard Groten established a small workshop in Irun, Spain where he manufactured manually operated drills and precision sharpening machines. Today that small workshop covers more than 5,000 square metres and produces over one million items every year.

“At Zenten we create customised tools that set the standards in the building trade for product excellence. Our on-going success has meant that in January 2022 I will be operating from a new state-of-the-art facility in California, USA, where a constant stream of new, innovative products for the plumbing trade will be designed and marketed” said Darren. He added, “Of course team work is an important factor in anyone’s success story and I owe much to Regina Valenciaga and Zigor Vazquez of Zenten, as well as the talents of the Morisketti design team in Irun, Spain”

“As for me, creating tools that outperform others on the market, comes as a natural thought process. Perhaps this is because I grew up in the building trade and worked for 25 years as a plumber before getting into product design. I also believe that sustainable packaging is key to our success and today we are using 3-4 layers of special cardboard to package each item. In addition, we have even adapted our products to fit our new recyclable packaging! I would say that recently we have had more exposure through our advanced packaging design than we have from our new tools! We will be the first of our kind in the USA, and I look forward to receiving a positive reception once the trade there see the many unique advantages offered by our high-quality range of tools”.

Here at SPN, we believe that the success of Zenten is well deserved and to be applauded. The company’s commitment to the use of sustainable materials throughout its manufacturing processes and packaging, sets a fine example of what can be achieved to others in the building trade. The Zenten philosophy is based upon ‘technological excellence and innovative management’. This would seem to us to be an unquestionably sound formula for their continuing global success.