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Kim Keating is the Director of Customer Success at ZAGO Manufacturing, where she plays a pivotal role in overseeing business development, sales, and marketing. Her focus extends beyond the traditional metrics of business success, as she strives to create value and foster relationships with ZAGO’s diverse stakeholders, including customers, team members, community members, and the environment. Passionate about promoting ZAGO’s mission, Kim is committed to advancing the company’s sustainable practices, which include producing sealing fasteners and components for a more sustainable world.
Before joining ZAGO, Kim led a purpose-driven strategic planning and marketing firm and served as the head of marketing for a major insurance brokerage firm. She actively participates in various professional organizations, including the Marketing Committee of the Commerce & Industry Association of New Jersey (CIANJ) and Women in the Fastener Industry (WIFI). Additionally, she is a member of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA) and IMPACT 100 Jersey Coast. Kim’s academic background includes a B.A. in Communications and a B.A. in Psychology from Rutgers University, grounding her in both strategic thinking and visionary marketing.
Kim’s commitment to community and sustainability is evident through her involvement in numerous initiatives. She is an Executive Steering Committee Member of “Made in Newark,” advocating for over 300 Newark-based manufacturers. She also serves on the Steering Committee of the New Jersey Sustainable Business Council, working to link businesses, academia, and policymakers to promote sustainable practices focusing on the triple bottom line: People, Planet, and Profitability. Her volunteer work includes roles with the Liberty Science Center Women’s Leadership Council and the Independent College Fund of New Jersey, where she provides pro-bono marketing counsel. Kim’s specialties encompass strategic marketing, sales management, business development, and fostering strategic partnerships, making her a key driver of revenue and innovation through a customer-centric, multi-stakeholder approach.
Laura Siclari: Welcome to the Women’s Roundtable podcast, powered by the Think Factory, where we learn how women think big and grow their business. My name is Laura Sicalri, a partner with Outside General Counsel Solutions, and I am the host of today’s episode. I have with me today Kim Keating, who’s the Director of Customer Success at Zago Manufacturing, based in Newark, New Jersey. Zago Manufacturing is an award winning family and female owned business that began over 30 years ago. Today, Zago is a full fledged global manufacturing company operating from 100 year old refurbished factory in the heart of Newark. Welcome, Kim.
Kim Keating: Hello. Thank you. Thanks for having me.
Laura Siclari: From the moment we connected, I was so excited about having you on the podcast, so I’m glad you’re here too.
Kim Keating: Me too. It was so refreshing to hear what you’re doing in terms of focusing on women and women in leadership roles and emerging business.
Laura Siclari: Perfect. All right. So let’s get into it. Tell me about Zago manufacturing. It really has a fun story for how it began, so I’d love to hear more about it.
Kim Keating: Absolutely. It’s actually it was founded by a husband and wife team at NJT at their small business incubator. This is about. Yeah, 30 years ago now. It’s amazing. And what started as like a two person shop. What started as a two person shop quickly morphed into a business that served the military and aerospace industry primarily. Started. Yes. Yes. The engineer, lead engineer, Harvey. I wrote in Strike he worked for a company that made fasteners, and he felt that he could, being an engineer, that he’d be able to provide certain ceiling solutions for specific industries that weren’t really being touched in our area. So we started there. Yeah. And then Gal, wife, co-founder and also an attorney came in and sort of handled all the the business aspects of the business as they as they grew. And they, they were actually starting their own family. So big risk takers.
Laura Siclari: Yeah. So it was he was kind of the the idea guy behind it and she ran the business side of it.
Kim Keating: Yes. Perfect match.
Laura Siclari: They complement this. Amazing. So it did I did see that. You know, now the bolts and fasteners really are used across. I mean, some of the biggest manufacturers in the nation and the world, like HBO’s Ferrari, I think Google Military Contractors. It’s really amazing.
Kim Keating: Yes, it’s a it’s a specialty sealing screw sealing fastener. And it differs from like just your standard screw because it has this rubber O-ring underneath the seal screw. And not to get too technical, but this rubber O-ring, once it’s turned and talked, it prevents contaminants from getting in or out. So basically, in addition to, you know, starting in the military and aerospace sector, also had a niche that they found that they could help businesses in, like sort of electric vehicles, batteries, energy generation because of its sustainable profit property of making sure the contaminants did not get out into the environment and harm it. So today, 30 years ago, there’s so much opportunity for us to keep growing and grow that, you know, it’s a very, very exciting time.
Laura Siclari: And it’s a really amazing yeah, I saw that there was a sustainability aspect to it and I was thinking environmentally and. Right, so you confirmed. So it’s really it’s able to keep, you know, contaminants in in or out of where they’re supposed to be. It’s it’s really interesting. So I what I also find interesting about Zago is the fact that well, number one, the fact that it’s in Newark, it’s been in Newark, that it’s in, you know, a 100 year old factory is amazing to me. But just as amazing is the fact that even though it’s a for profit company, I love the fact that there is this mission based, you know, social impact initiative. Part of it, too. So I it’s called they know that they go sustainability 360 initiative. So tell me about that. That’s exciting to me.
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