Darren Waith

Darren Waith is the General Manager of Plastec NZ, a role he has held since January 2023. His mission is clear: to bring New Zealand manufactured product back as the preferred choice for NZ plumbers.

A Career Built on Industry Experience

Darren began his career as a Sales Rep for Coca-Cola, spending five years in the role and building the people and sales skills that would shape what followed.

In 1993 he became a part owner of Aqualine, where he spent the next 25 years helping to build the business into a respected name in the plumbing industry. Under his leadership, Aqualine received numerous awards from industry groups, customers and business awards bodies, all recognising its excellence. When he sold his share in Aqualine, Darren spent five years with Chesters Plumbing from 2018, before taking up his current position at Plastec NZ.

Giving Back to the Industry

Darren’s contribution to New Zealand plumbing goes well beyond his own business roles. He served as Chairman of the Plumbing Distributors Association of New Zealand (PDANZ) for five years, where he headed up the introduction of many plumbing standards and led the PDANZ Plumbing Trade Shows.

He is also a passionate educator. Through specially designed CPD training courses, Darren has trained thousands of plumbers and gasfitters, and he has never charged a cent for any of them. He has also helped train plumbing inspectors, sharing his knowledge at every level of the trade.

Back to Manufacturing

After years of importing product from China in his previous role, Darren finds it refreshing to be making and selling NZ-made product at Plastec. For him, it’s about backing local manufacturing and giving Kiwi plumbers a quality product made right here at home.

Life Outside Work

Darren is married with two children and a cavoodle. He loves the beach, fishing and golf, but his true passion is squash, which he plays three times a week. An ex-DJ from many years ago, he still enjoys getting on the decks on the weekend to mix his old school records.