Once upon a time, a kettle — or in large commercial kitchens a tea urn — was considered a modern way to dispense hot water.

These days, of course, such devices are a little old hat — the designers of high-end kitchens demand instant boiling water on tap, and one of the firms that has driven and profited from the growth of this market is Australian company Zip Heaters.

Having taken a brief look at the firm’s online store, not only can you get instant boiling water on tap, you can also enjoy instant sparkling, chilled and filtered water.

Sadly we can’t stretch to one of these taps here at vanrental.co.uk HQ, but apparently an increasing number of people can.

To deliver and fit these Zip Heaters’ increasingly popular taps in kitchens across the UK, Zip Heaters has just signed a 45-van fleet renewal deal with Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.

As befits a company with a high-end product, the vans are top-spec Volkswagen Transporter Trendline models, complete with VW’s automated DSG transmission.

David Durance, Technical Support Manager at Zip Heaters, said:

“As a company that sells high quality products, we required a fleet of vehicles that are befitting of this image. The Volkswagen Transporter not only offers an excellent load capacity but also has a reputation for being a stylish, high quality and efficient product, which matches our own brand image perfectly.”

The agreement will see Zip update and extend its existing fleet of 58 Volkswagen commercial vehicles to cover business expansion and ongoing fleet replacement, and Zip says that the new Transporters have been chosen for their exceptional reliability and low running costs.

Time for a cup of tea, I think…