Davis & Shirtliff, the main water and power tools provider in East Africa is celebrating its 75th Anniversary, a significant milestone in its corporate history. This is a most unusual achievement for any organisation, though particularly one that has the same household shareholding and essentially the same market focus since its founding. There are Ironclad wherever with this declare and D&S is subsequently extremely proud of the achievement with numerous occasions being held in celebration.
The firm was founded in 1946 by ex-soldiers Eddie Davis and Dick Shirtliff after leaving the military, initially being based at Westlands, in Nairobi, their neighbour being Westlands Motors that rose to prominence with the Toyota franchise.
It grew rapidly because the country recovered after the war focusing on boreholes, water provides and the coffee industry. One notable early project included the water provide for Karen Estates, the whole initial water supply infrastructure being put in by the corporate in addition to for so much of different of the residential estates that were developed at the moment.
D&S grew with the nation and in the mid-1950s the bottom was moved to new bigger premises at the moment Dundori Rd location within the industrial area. An added exercise was swimming pools, each residential and business and many have been built which are still in use right now. Water Treatment was another diversification, many of the KenGen Tana River stations having D&S designed and constructed tools.
In 1970 associate Dick Shirtliff retired and after a interval with another partner, Devji Shingadia, the Davis family, then represented by Eddie’s son Alec assumed control. The 70’s and 80’s noticed gradual however regular growth because the country grappled with various economic and political challenges, although there was a selected concentrate on building the pump business for which the corporate is so well known, notably through illustration of the Danish producer Grundfos.
1993 was a significant 12 months for each Kenya and D&S due to economic liberalisation which was the catalyst for the company’s fast growth since. It was additionally the year that Pedrollo pumps from Italy were first introduced, now the Group’s largest provider. These two developments enabled a distribution technique to be developed as supply 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 adopted by establishing activities on the Coast though the merger with companion Butech. The pump business grew vastly with Pedrollo and the now well-established Solar and Power Generation activities were then added.
Since the Millennium development has tremendously accelerated, income growing many occasions to KShs10 Billion today. Major initiatives have included a complete redevelopment of the Dundori Rd web site with expansion into adjoining plots, the opening of subsidiaries and affiliate companies in Rwanda, Zambia, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Zimbabwe and DRC, appreciable development of the branch network, introduction of the profitable Dayliff vary of own-brand products and a huge growth of the product range with Solar being particularly successful as the company developed its focus on renewable energy. More recently a significant growth has been establishment of a large 10,000m2 Distribution Centre at Tatu City that provides the resource for increased stockholding and has reworked distribution efficiency all through the region, this facility being accomplished in 2020. Staffing has additionally grown correspondingly, the Group now using over one thousand committed employees working from over 70 places.
It is usually stated that success is transitory and typically unsustainable, though D&S has managed to maintain up unbroken progress for an exceptional time frame. This has been achieved by industrial focus, manageable ambition, continuous bodily and organisational investment and, importantly, living the values established by the founders of Quality, Integrity and ‘Altiora Peto’, which translates to embracing continuous change. D&S is now a broadly recognised firm within the area and is pleased with the contribution it has made, summarised by its slogan ‘Improving Lives’ which is demonstrated both by the essential nature of its actions and also by an active programme of group assist that focuses on providing water to underprivileged communities, many 1000’s of individuals having benefited.
Of course, the 75-year milestone is only a moment in a continuous journey and the Group continues to grow with numerous ongoing initiatives and nice plans for the longer term. Ably led by CEO David Gatende and supported by devoted and committed executives and employees driving this progress, the company is lucky that the third generation of Davis’s, Edward and Henry, have joined the enterprise so continuity is assured. The Group continues to broaden in product and markets with a particular concentrate on digital enterprise and looks ahead to maintain serving the area with essential products that definitely Improve Lives and in addition to reveal that an indigenous African company can compete internationally and be a world-class organisation.
Share