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The electric shower became the starting point of Roberto Zagonel’s journey, founder of Zagonel, in Pinhalzinho. According to NSC Total, the company moved from repairs in 1989, launched an electronic shower in 1994, acquired Corona and Thermosystem, and expects to exceed R$ 1 billion in 2026, with 3,600 direct jobs currently.
The electric shower that first appeared as a technical challenge in a boarding house in Chapecó helped give rise to a Santa Catarina industry that today operates with showers, electric faucets, and lighting. The story involves Roberto Zagonel, a Senai-SC student who started by repairing equipment before founding Zagonel.
The journey was reported by columnist Estela Benetti, from NSC Total, in a report published on June 29, 2026. The text states that the company, based in Pinhalzinho, in the West of Santa Catarina, offers 3,600 direct jobs, invests in a new factory, and projects to exceed R$ 1 billion in revenue in 2026.
Challenge in boarding house became starting point for an industrial solution
The origin of the business is linked to a simple everyday use problem. When Roberto Zagonel went to Chapecó to take a technical course at Senai-SC, colleagues at the boarding house where he lived challenged him to improve the operation of electric showers that overheated or underheated the water.
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According to NSC Total, he accepted the challenge, studied the subject, and later developed an innovation that would change the company’s course. The case shows how a practical demand, observed in everyday life, can become the basis for product development when it meets technical knowledge and industrial application.
The electric shower ceased to be just a household appliance and began to be treated as an engineering problem. From this perspective, Zagonel began to build a trajectory linked to the improvement of showers and electric heating systems.
The company formally started in 1989, still focusing on repairs. In 1994, operations changed scale when Roberto Zagonel created and launched the country’s first electronic shower, as reported by NSC Total.
Company moved from repairs to manufacturing electrical products
Zagonel was born in Pinhalzinho, in the West of Santa Catarina, far from the country’s largest industrial centers. Even so, the company advanced in a competitive segment: that of electric showers and showerheads, a market where price, efficiency, durability, and distribution directly influence purchasing decisions.
Over time, the industry expanded its portfolio. In addition to showers, it began manufacturing electric faucets and public and private lighting products, including LED lamps. This diversification reduced dependence on a single product and opened new revenue streams.
The most important turnaround was transforming technical assistance into industrial production. Instead of remaining solely in equipment repair, the company began to develop, manufacture, and compete for space in stores across the country.
NSC Total reports that Roberto Zagonel always paid special attention to technology. In the case of an electric shower industry, this involves electronic controls, heating efficiency, safety, durability, and adaptation to the demands of Brazilian consumers.
Acquisition of competing brands accelerated national presence
Zagonel’s expansion gained momentum in October 2024, when the company acquired the Corona and Thermosystem brands, previously owned by the São Paulo group Dexco, part of the Itaúsa holding. The operation increased the company’s presence in the shower and showerhead market.
According to Roberto Zagonel, as stated to NSC Total, the purchase of the brands helped the company become the second largest in the country in the segment of electric showers and water heaters. With this, Zagonel began to occupy a stronger position on the shelves, especially because stores tend to seek more than one option to offer consumers.
The acquisition changed the size of the commercial competition. A company that started with repairs began to compete on a national scale, combining its own brand, incorporated brands, and an expanding industrial structure.
The report also states that the company has a factory in Aracaju, in Sergipe, and a distribution center in Tubarão, in the South of Santa Catarina. This structure helps explain how a company based in the Western part of Santa Catarina began to expand its reach in other regions.
Billion-dollar revenue became a goal for 2026
Zagonel started 2026 with a revenue target of R$ 850 million. According to Roberto Zagonel, the company had already surpassed 40% of this target in the first semester, which led to the projection of exceeding R$ 1 billion in revenue for the year.
The businessman also reported that the company grew 102% in the previous year. The expansion, according to him, was especially driven by the acquisition of the Corona and Thermosystem brands, which expanded the company’s presence in the national market of electric showers and water heaters.
The forecast of surpassing R$ 1 billion places Zagonel on another business level. The number not only represents an increase in sales but also greater pressure for logistics, production, management, technology, workforce, and commercial presence.
This growth occurs in a domestic market very familiar to Brazilians. The electric shower is present in millions of homes and requires constant updating, both for efficiency and for comfort, safety, and competition from traditional brands.
New R$ 200 million factory reinforces scale bet
NSC Total reports that Zagonel is investing R$ 200 million in a new factory in Pinhalzinho. The unit will have 100,000 square meters built and is part of the company’s expansion strategy in the West of Santa Catarina.
The project also includes a decompression area near the cafeteria, with a structure for workers’ rest. According to the report, the space will have 500 bunk beds for short breaks, an initiative presented by the businessman as part of the company’s relationship with its employees.
The investment shows that the billion-dollar goal depends on production capacity, not just sales. To grow in the electric shower market, the company needs to manufacture in volume, maintain quality, distribute efficiently, and respond to retailer demand.
Pinhalzinho also appears as an important part of this story. Although it is not a major metropolis, the city has become the base of the largest local company, according to the report. This increases the industry’s weight in job creation and regional economic dynamics.
Reference in WEG shows industrial ambition in the Western Santa Catarina
Roberto Zagonel stated to NSC Total that he always aimed at WEG as a reference. The comparison does not mean that the companies are the same, but it indicates the type of industrial ambition that the founder envisions for Zagonel: to grow with technology, scale, and national presence.
WEG, also from Santa Catarina, was born in Jaraguá do Sul, in the East of the State, and became one of the largest industrial references in Brazil. By citing this inspiration, Zagonel positions his company within a Santa Catarina tradition of industrial companies that grew from cities outside the major national centers.
The idea of being the “WEG of the West” works as a positioning goal, not as a title already achieved. Zagonel is still at a different scale, but the pursuit of technology, expansion, and billion-dollar revenue explains why the comparison appears in the entrepreneur’s speech.
In Zagonel’s case, the initial base was the electric shower. From there, the company advanced to electronic showers, electric faucets, lighting, and acquisition of competing brands, building a trajectory of diversification within the electronic sector.
What this trajectory says about innovation outside major centers
Zagonel’s story shows that industrial innovation does not only arise in capitals or established technological hubs. In Pinhalzinho, a company from the West of Santa Catarina transformed a solution for electric showers into an operation with thousands of jobs and billion-dollar projection.
The case also shows the importance of technical training. Senai-SC appears as part of the starting point of Roberto Zagonel’s trajectory, who combined practical knowledge, observation of everyday problems, and willingness to develop his own product.
The question that remains is how many other industrial solutions can arise from simple yet unresolved problems. Shower, faucet, lamp, and other common items may seem trivial, but they drive production chains, jobs, technology, and major commercial disputes.
Do you think Brazil values industrial companies that originate outside major centers or only recognizes these cases when they are already billion-dollar companies? Leave your opinion in the comments and share if Zagonel’s trajectory reminds you of other companies from Santa Catarina that have grown with technology and national production.
