Davis & Shirtliff, the leading water and energy equipment supplier in East Africa is celebrating its 75th Anniversary, a major milestone in its company historical past. This is a most uncommon achievement for any organisation, although particularly one which has the same family shareholding and primarily the same market focus since its founding. There are few corporations wherever with this claim and D&S is therefore extraordinarily happy with the achievement with various occasions being held in celebration.
The firm was based in 1946 by ex-soldiers Eddie Davis and Dick Shirtliff after leaving the military, initially being primarily based at Westlands, in Nairobi, their neighbour being Westlands Motors that rose to prominence with the Toyota franchise.
It grew quickly because the country recovered after the struggle specializing in boreholes, water supplies and the coffee business. One notable early challenge included the water provide for Karen Estates, the entire initial water provide infrastructure being installed by the company as nicely as for a lot of other of the residential estates that were developed at the moment.
D&S grew with the country and in the mid-1950s the bottom was moved to new larger premises at this time Dundori Rd location in the industrial space. An added exercise was swimming pools, each residential and business and plenty of have been constructed that are nonetheless in use at present. Water Treatment was one other diversification, most of the KenGen Tana River stations having D&S designed and constructed gear.
In 1970 companion Dick Shirtliff retired and after a interval with another companion, Devji Shingadia, the Davis family, then represented by Eddie’s son Alec assumed management. The 70’s and 80’s noticed slow however regular growth because the country grappled with numerous financial and political challenges, though there was a selected focus on building the pump enterprise for which the company is so well-known, notably via illustration of the Danish manufacturer Grundfos.
1993 was a major 12 months for both Kenya and D&S due to economic liberalisation which was the catalyst for the company’s fast growth since. It was additionally the 12 months that Pedrollo pumps from Italy have been first introduced, now the Group’s largest provider. These two developments enabled a distribution technique to be developed as provide constraints were eliminated and the branch network was then established, initially with Kenya branches being opened in Westlands, Eldoret and Kisumu and subsidiaries in Uganda and Tanzania quickly followed by establishing actions on the Coast though the merger with partner Butech. pressure gauge grew hugely with Pedrollo and the now well-established Solar and Power Generation actions were then added.
Since the Millennium growth has significantly accelerated, income growing many instances to KShs10 Billion at present. pressure gauge have included a whole redevelopment of the Dundori Rd site with enlargement into adjoining plots, the opening of subsidiaries and affiliate companies in Rwanda, Zambia, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Zimbabwe and DRC, considerable progress of the branch network, introduction of the profitable Dayliff range of own-brand products and a huge growth of the product range with Solar being particularly successful as the corporate developed its concentrate on renewable vitality. More recently a significant improvement has been institution of a massive 10,000m2 Distribution Centre at Tatu City that provides the useful resource for elevated stockholding and has transformed distribution effectivity all through the area, this facility being completed in 2020. Staffing has additionally grown correspondingly, the Group now employing over a thousand committed employees operating from over 70 areas.
It is often mentioned that success is transitory and sometimes unsustainable, though D&S has managed to hold up unbroken progress for an exceptional time period. This has been achieved by commercial focus, manageable ambition, steady bodily and organisational funding and, importantly, residing the values established by the founders of Quality, Integrity and ‘Altiora Peto’, which translates to embracing continuous change. D&S is now a extensively recognised company within the region and is happy with the contribution it has made, summarised by its slogan ‘Improving Lives’ which is demonstrated both by the important nature of its activities and also by an active programme of community assist that focuses on offering water to underprivileged communities, many thousands of individuals having benefited.
Of course, the 75-year milestone is only a second in a steady journey and the Group continues to develop with a selection of ongoing initiatives and great plans for the future. Ably led by CEO David Gatende and supported by dedicated and committed executives and workers driving this growth, the corporate is fortunate that the third generation of Davis’s, Edward and Henry, have joined the enterprise so continuity is assured. The Group continues to increase in product and markets with a particular give attention to digital business and looks ahead to keep serving the area with important products that certainly Improve Lives and likewise to show that an indigenous African firm can compete internationally and be a world-class organisation.
Share