Davis & Shirtliff, the main water and energy equipment supplier in East Africa is celebrating its 75th Anniversary, a major milestone in its corporate history. This is a most unusual achievement for any organisation, although particularly one that has the identical family shareholding and primarily the identical market focus since its founding. There are few corporations anywhere with this declare and D&S is due to this fact extremely pleased with 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 army, 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 nation recovered after the war specializing in boreholes, water provides and the coffee trade. One notable early challenge included the water supply for Karen Estates, the entire initial water provide infrastructure being installed by the corporate as well as for a lot of different of the residential estates that had been developed at the moment.
D&S grew with the nation and within the mid-1950s the bottom was moved to new larger premises at the present Dundori Rd location in the industrial area. An added exercise was swimming pools, both residential and business and many were built which would possibly be still in use right now. Water Treatment was another diversification, most of the KenGen Tana River stations having D&S designed and built equipment.
In 1970 companion Dick Shirtliff retired and after a interval with another associate, Devji Shingadia, the Davis household, then represented by Eddie’s son Alec assumed control. The 70’s and 80’s noticed gradual but regular growth as the nation grappled with various economic and political challenges, though there was a particular concentrate on constructing the pump business for which the corporate is so well-known, notably by way of illustration of the Danish producer Grundfos.
1993 was a major year for each Kenya and D&S due to economic liberalisation which was the catalyst for the company’s fast progress since. It was additionally the yr that Pedrollo pumps from Italy have been first launched, now the Group’s largest supplier. These two developments enabled a distribution strategy to be developed as supply constraints have been eliminated and the branch community 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 at the Coast though the merger with partner Butech. The pump business grew massively with Pedrollo and the now well-established Solar and Power Generation actions had been then added.
Since the Millennium development has tremendously accelerated, income rising many occasions to KShs10 Billion right now. Major initiatives have included a whole redevelopment of the Dundori Rd site with expansion into adjacent plots, the opening of subsidiaries and affiliate firms in Rwanda, Zambia, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Zimbabwe and DRC, appreciable progress of the department network, introduction of the successful Dayliff range of own-brand products and a huge enlargement of the product range with Solar being particularly successful as the company developed its concentrate on renewable energy. More recently a major improvement has been institution of a massive 10,000m2 Distribution Centre at Tatu City that provides the useful resource for elevated stockholding and has remodeled distribution efficiency all through the area, this facility being accomplished in 2020. Staffing has also grown correspondingly, the Group now using over one thousand dedicated staff operating from over 70 areas.
It is often stated that success is transitory and sometimes unsustainable, though D&S has managed to hold up unbroken progress for an distinctive period of time. This has been achieved by commercial focus, manageable ambition, steady physical and organisational funding and, importantly, dwelling the values established by the founders of Quality, Integrity and ‘Altiora Peto’, which translates to embracing continuous change. D&S is now a widely 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 activities and also by an energetic programme of community help 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 steady journey and the Group continues to grow with a selection of ongoing initiatives and great plans for the long run. Ably led by เกจวัดความดันน้ำ and supported by dedicated and committed executives and workers driving this progress, 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 broaden in product and markets with a particular give attention to digital business and looks ahead to keep serving the area with essential merchandise that actually Improve Lives and likewise to show that an indigenous African firm can compete internationally and be a world-class organisation.
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