Davis & Shirtliff, the main water and power tools provider in East Africa is celebrating its seventy fifth Anniversary, a major milestone in its company history. This is a most unusual achievement for any organisation, though especially one which has the identical family shareholding and essentially the identical market focus since its founding. There are few firms anyplace with this claim and D&S is subsequently extraordinarily happy with the achievement with varied occasions being held in celebration.
The company was based in 1946 by ex-soldiers Eddie Davis and Dick Shirtliff after leaving the army, initially being based mostly at Westlands, in Nairobi, their neighbour being Westlands Motors that rose to prominence with the Toyota franchise.
It grew quickly as the country recovered after the struggle specializing in boreholes, water provides and the espresso business. One notable early venture included the water provide for Karen Estates, the entire initial water supply infrastructure being put in by the corporate as nicely as for many different of the residential estates that have been developed at the moment.
D&S grew with the country and within the mid-1950s the base was moved to new larger premises at the moment Dundori Rd location in the industrial space. An added exercise was swimming pools, both residential and industrial and lots of had been constructed which might be still in use right now. Water Treatment was one other diversification, lots 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 partner, Devji Shingadia, the Davis household, then represented by Eddie’s son Alec assumed control. The 70’s and 80’s saw sluggish but regular development because the country grappled with varied financial and political challenges, though there was a specific give consideration to constructing the pump business for which the corporate is so well known, notably through illustration of the Danish producer Grundfos.
1993 was a big yr for both Kenya and D&S because of economic liberalisation which was the catalyst for the company’s speedy development since. It was additionally the year that Pedrollo pumps from Italy have been first launched, 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 although the merger with partner Butech. The pump business grew hugely with Pedrollo and the now well-established Solar and Power Generation activities were then added.
Since the Millennium growth has tremendously accelerated, income rising many times to KShs10 Billion right now. Major initiatives have included a whole redevelopment of the Dundori Rd web site with expansion into adjacent plots, the opening of subsidiaries and affiliate corporations in Rwanda, Zambia, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Zimbabwe and DRC, considerable development of the department network, introduction of the successful Dayliff vary of own-brand products and a huge enlargement of the product vary with Solar being particularly profitable as the company developed its give consideration to renewable energy. เพรสเชอร์เกจ4นิ้ว has been establishment of an enormous 10,000m2 Distribution Centre at Tatu City that gives the useful resource for elevated stockholding and has remodeled distribution effectivity all through the region, this facility being completed in 2020. Staffing has additionally grown correspondingly, the Group now employing over 1000 committed staff working from over 70 places.
It is commonly said that success is transitory and sometimes unsustainable, though D&S has managed to maintain unbroken growth for an exceptional time frame. This has been achieved by business focus, manageable ambition, continuous physical and organisational funding 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 extensively recognised firm within the region and is proud of the contribution it has made, summarised by its slogan ‘Improving Lives’ which is demonstrated each by the important nature of its activities and in addition by an active programme of community help that focuses on providing water to underprivileged communities, many thousands of individuals having benefited.
Of course, the 75-year milestone is just a moment in a continuous journey and the Group continues to develop with numerous ongoing initiatives and nice plans for the lengthy run. Ably led by CEO David Gatende and supported by dedicated and committed executives and staff driving this progress, the corporate is lucky that the third generation of Davis’s, Edward and Henry, have joined the business so continuity is assured. The Group continues to expand in product and markets with a specific concentrate on digital business and looks forward to keep serving the area with essential products that actually Improve Lives and likewise to demonstrate that an indigenous African firm can compete internationally and be a world-class organisation.
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