Zehnder and Confed focusing together on Total Cost of Ownership

Healthy indoor climate solutions

With around 3,500 employees worldwide, the company Zehnder (originated in Switzerland) develops and produces products and systems for heating and cooling, ventilation and air purification. Their products are characterised by outstanding design and high energy efficiency. Zehnder's site in Zwolle focuses on the development and production of ventilation systems. “Here we build heat recovery units and units for extraction ventilation,” Jan explains.

Thinking in terms of Total Cost of Ownership

“We want to purchase cost-effectively. After all, the market is becoming ever more competitive,” Jan continues. “At the same time, we would rather not be confronted with hidden costs and the risk of downtime. And we like to keep the pipeline manageable, with our flexibility in mind. If we change materials, we don't want to run into huge lead times and high scrap costs. In that respect, it's convenient that Confed has a lean production site in Slovakia.”

Making the most of expertise

When creating components for their equipment, Zehnder likes to make the most of its suppliers' knowledge. That is why it develops new cabling solutions side by side with Confed. “After all, everyone has their own expertise,” Jan says. “For the production of connection and internal cables, we work together with the Confed site in Komárno. For new products, they help us select the best type of connectivity, for example. That also gives us the certainty that we get connectors that will last for years. And if certain connectors are hard to obtain, unnecessarily expensive or insufficiently available, they come up with a good alternative.”

Strategic input

What Confed excels at above all is transparency, according to Jan. “They are open about what is going on and willing to share ideas. Not only when it comes to product development, but strategically too. Some of the components, for example, they purchase for us in China. Confed works there with a reliable partner, and we benefit from that too. Thanks to the contracts they have in place there, we also run less risk.” After a brief pause for thought, he continues: “There are no hidden agendas either. If something goes wrong at some point, we say so to each other. Because I don't want to be surprised by problems or challenges. That is the only way to work together successfully.”

Accurate and fast service

Jan says he sees it as a good development that, at the end of 2025, Confed decided to place more responsibility with the production site in Komárno. “We now communicate directly with the experienced team there, instead of through an intermediary in the Netherlands. As a result, you get your information straight from the source. That only benefits the accuracy and speed of the service. What's more, Andras and his team speak very good English and are highly committed.”

Agreements on returnable packaging

The collaboration with Confed dates back to well before Jan joined Zehnder. “Originally, we worked with Edwin Zoet. His company at the time, Senzo Wiring Solutions, became part of Confed in 2009. By the way, Edwin is still our account manager.” When we ask why Zehnder has remained loyal to Confed as its cable supplier for thirty years, Jan answers: “On the one hand, because we consider local sourcing important in view of lead times. On the other hand, because we were able to reach good agreements with Confed about our returnable packaging. This made our transport more sustainable. On top of that, they store finished products for us at a carrier around the corner. That relieves our warehouse and means we always have material available nearby.”

Quality assurance

For PCB development and assembly Zehnder has also find the way to Confed. “In Amersfoort, they have been making the PCBAs for a new Zehnder product for three years now. That circuit board was also developed by Confed,” Jan says. “That does not alter the fact that, for us, the emphasis in the relationship with Confed lies with cable assembly.” A partner that, according to Jan, shares an important principle with Zehnder: they favour quality assurance over quality control. “At Confed, they don't just check afterwards whether something has been made properly; they make sure in advance that a product is reproducible, regardless of who makes it. That saves time, and as a result the quality of the cables they supply is always according to our expectations.”