Davis & Shirtliff Celebrates its 75th Anniversary

Davis & Shirtliff, the main water and power gear supplier in East Africa is celebrating its 75th Anniversary, a significant milestone in its corporate history. This is a most uncommon achievement for any organisation, though especially one which has the identical household shareholding and basically the identical market focus since its founding. There are few companies anywhere with this claim and D&S is therefore extremely happy with the achievement with various events being held in celebration.
The firm was founded 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 rapidly as the country recovered after the war specializing in boreholes, water provides and the coffee business. pressure gauge วัด แรง ดัน น้ำ included the water supply for Karen Estates, the complete preliminary water provide infrastructure being installed by the corporate in addition to for a lot of other of the residential estates that had been developed at that time.
D&S grew with the country and in the mid-1950s the bottom was moved to new bigger premises at this time Dundori Rd location in the industrial space. An added activity was swimming swimming pools, each residential and business and many had been built which are still in use right now. Water Treatment was another diversification, most of the KenGen Tana River stations having D&S designed and constructed equipment.
In 1970 companion Dick Shirtliff retired and after a interval with one other partner, Devji Shingadia, the Davis family, then represented by Eddie’s son Alec assumed management. The 70’s and 80’s saw sluggish but steady growth as the nation grappled with numerous economic and political challenges, though there was a selected focus on constructing the pump enterprise for which the company is so well known, notably through representation of the Danish producer Grundfos.
1993 was a major yr for each Kenya and D&S as a end result of economic liberalisation which was the catalyst for the company’s speedy development since. It was also the 12 months that Pedrollo pumps from Italy were first launched, now the Group’s largest supplier. These two developments enabled a distribution strategy to be developed as provide constraints have been 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 soon adopted by establishing activities on the Coast although the merger with partner Butech. The pump enterprise grew vastly with Pedrollo and the now well-established Solar and Power Generation activities have been then added.
Since the Millennium growth has greatly accelerated, revenue increasing many times to KShs10 Billion today. Major initiatives have included a complete redevelopment of the Dundori Rd site with growth into adjacent plots, the opening of subsidiaries and affiliate firms in Rwanda, Zambia, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Zimbabwe and DRC, appreciable progress of the department community, introduction of the profitable Dayliff vary of own-brand merchandise and an enormous expansion of the product range with Solar being particularly profitable as the corporate developed its concentrate on renewable vitality. More just lately a serious improvement has been institution of an enormous 10,000m2 Distribution Centre at Tatu City that gives the resource for elevated stockholding and has reworked distribution effectivity all through the region, this facility being completed in 2020. Staffing has additionally grown correspondingly, the Group now using over a thousand committed workers working from over 70 places.
It is usually said that success is transitory and generally unsustainable, although D&S has managed to hold up unbroken progress for an exceptional period of time. This has been achieved by business focus, manageable ambition, continuous bodily and organisational investment and, importantly, dwelling the values established by the founders of Quality, Integrity and ‘Altiora Peto’, which translates to embracing steady change. D&S is now a broadly recognised company in the area and is pleased with the contribution it has made, summarised by its slogan ‘Improving Lives’ which is demonstrated each by the necessary nature of its actions and likewise by an lively programme of neighborhood assist that focuses on offering water to underprivileged communities, many 1000’s of individuals having benefited.
Of course, the 75-year milestone is only a second in a continuous journey and the Group continues to grow with a number of ongoing initiatives and nice plans for the future. Ably led by CEO David Gatende and supported by dedicated and dedicated executives and employees driving this development, the corporate is lucky 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 specific concentrate on digital enterprise and looks ahead to keep serving the region with important products that certainly Improve Lives and in addition to demonstrate that an indigenous African company can compete internationally and be a world-class organisation.
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