Garden furniture, grow your own and decorative garden structure specialist, Zest, part of the P&A Group, is celebrating the success of its in house product development, design, and marketing facility – the Zest design.shed – on the first anniversary of its opening.
The state of the art building was officially opened in March 2022 by The Rt Hon. Lord Barry Jones, former local MP and under-secretary of state for Wales and now life peer, Baron Jones of Deeside in the County of Clwyd, accompanied by his wife, Lady Janet Jones.
The building, which is a characterful renovation of a 1950s original, includes research and concept development facilities, the latest CAD design technology, a prototyping build area, a production studio, and a marketing zone. Over the last year it has proved its worth in terms of producing award-winning timber garden products such as the Zest Garden Bar and 2 Stool set which took the honours at both Glee and Solex trade exhibitions.
Neil Sholes, Zest Head of Product Design, commented:
“Not only has the design.shed helped us to create on trend products commended by the trade and popular with consumers, having such a facility has also proved an invaluable resource in terms of the inspiration and collaboration needed to continue delivering the company’s vision for the Zest brand.
“The new light, airy and spacious building, situated on River Lane, in Saltney, was re-purposed and transformed, in a contemporary way, to provide an environment to engender creativity. It was inspired by company’s drive and commitment to be the consumer’s first choice in wooden outdoor furniture, decorative garden structures and grow your own products, and it reflects our passion for supporting our trade customers with the very latest products in the category. It has also helped us to continue the drive on reducing environmental impact and our progress towards the goal of net zero carbon.”
During the last year, thanks to manufacturing and logistical innovations, while the company sent out 22% more products by volume, the number of loads was reduced by 17%. Zest also harvests rainwater, uses biomass heating from woodchip waste to heat its offices and warehouses and has added more solar panels to flat roofs.
The P&A Group comprises Zest, a leading supplier of award winning timber garden products, The Woodworks Garden Centre and Café in Mold, where the full range of Zest products are available, P&A Pallets & Packaging and St Andrews Business Centre for leased and virtual offices.
