Davis & Shirtliff, the main water and vitality equipment provider in East Africa is celebrating its 75th Anniversary, a major milestone in its company history. This is a most unusual achievement for any organisation, though particularly one which has the same family shareholding and essentially the same market focus since its founding. There are few corporations wherever with this claim and D&S is therefore extremely proud of the achievement with various occasions being held in celebration.
The firm was founded in 1946 by ex-soldiers Eddie Davis and Dick Shirtliff after leaving the army, initially being primarily based at Westlands, in Nairobi, their neighbour being Westlands Motors that rose to prominence with the Toyota franchise.
It grew rapidly because the nation recovered after the warfare specializing in boreholes, water supplies and the espresso business. One notable early project included the water supply for Karen Estates, the entire initial water provide infrastructure being put in by the company as nicely as for a lot of different of the residential estates that were developed at that time.
D&S grew with the nation and in the mid-1950s the base was moved to new bigger premises at this time Dundori Rd location within the industrial area. An added activity was swimming swimming pools, each residential and industrial and many were constructed which might be nonetheless in use today. Water Treatment was one other diversification, most of the KenGen Tana River stations having D&S designed and built equipment.
In 1970 partner Dick Shirtliff retired and after a interval with one other companion, Devji Shingadia, the Davis household, then represented by Eddie’s son Alec assumed control. The 70’s and 80’s noticed slow however regular development because the country grappled with numerous financial and political challenges, although there was a selected concentrate on building the pump enterprise for which the corporate is so well known, notably through representation of the Danish manufacturer Grundfos.
1993 was a big year for both Kenya and D&S as a result of economic liberalisation which was the catalyst for the company’s speedy progress since. It was also the year 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 supply constraints were removed and the department community was then established, initially with Kenya branches being opened in Westlands, Eldoret and Kisumu and subsidiaries in Uganda and Tanzania quickly followed by establishing activities on the Coast although the merger with companion Butech. The pump enterprise grew vastly with Pedrollo and the now well-established Solar and Power Generation activities had been then added.
Since เครื่องมือที่ใช้วัดความดันคือ has tremendously accelerated, income increasing many times to KShs10 Billion right now. Major initiatives have included an entire redevelopment of the Dundori Rd site with expansion into adjoining plots, the opening of subsidiaries and affiliate companies in Rwanda, Zambia, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Zimbabwe and DRC, appreciable progress of the department community, introduction of the profitable Dayliff vary of own-brand products and a huge expansion of the product range with Solar being especially successful as the company developed its focus on renewable energy. More recently a major improvement has been institution of a massive 10,000m2 Distribution Centre at Tatu City that provides the resource for elevated stockholding and has remodeled distribution effectivity throughout the region, this facility being completed in 2020. Staffing has also grown correspondingly, the Group now using over a thousand committed staff working from over 70 places.
It is often said that success is transitory and typically unsustainable, though D&S has managed to take care of unbroken growth for an distinctive time period. This has been achieved by industrial focus, manageable ambition, steady physical and organisational investment and, importantly, living the values established by the founders of Quality, Integrity and ‘Altiora Peto’, which interprets to embracing continuous change. D&S is now a widely recognised firm in the region and is proud of the contribution it has made, summarised by its slogan ‘Improving Lives’ which is demonstrated both by the essential nature of its activities and likewise 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 just a second in a continuous journey and the Group continues to develop with a variety of ongoing initiatives and nice plans for the future. Ably led by CEO David Gatende and supported by devoted and committed executives and workers driving this development, the company is fortunate that the third technology 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 appears forward to maintain serving the region with important merchandise that definitely Improve Lives and also to show that an indigenous African company can compete internationally and be a world-class organisation.
Share