Davis & Shirtliff

Davis & Shirtliff is one of East Africa’s largest suppliers of water related goods. It focuses on five principal product sectors, namely; water pumps; water treatment; swimming pools; power generation; and, renewable energy products. The company headquarters are in Nairobi, but has built a local and regional network of branches, pump centres, subsidiaries, stockist agents and outlet stores.^[1] These include branches in several major cities in Kenya, a number of appointed Pump Centres situated in smaller cities, and approximately 50 stockist agents. The company also has subsidiaries in Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Southern Sudan.^[2]

The company distributes water and sustainable energy related equipment from a number of manufacturers from Europe, Japan, Australia and China as well as carrying out the manufacture and assembly of various water related products. The Davis & Shirtliff Group is equipped for fibreglass production and steel fabrication and has a number of repair workshops, mobile service teams and training facilities for both internal and external training courses.^[3]

The owner and chairman is Alec Davis.^[4]

History

The Davis & Shirtliff Group was founded in 1946 as a partnership between EC ‘Eddie’ Davis and FR ‘Dick’ Shirtliff after Dick Shirtliff purchases 50% of the equity of RH Paige & Co., a small plumbing and water engineering firm founded in 1926 and which was bought into by Eddie Davis in 1945.^[5]

Soon after its establishment, in 1947, it became a founder member of the Kenya Association of Building and Civil Engineering Contractors (KABCEC) and, in 1955, after purchasing two new plots of land and constructing new offices and workshops, moved its operations to its new site.^[6]

In 1965 it took delivery of the first consignment of pumps from Grundfos in Denmark and, in 1968, imported a consignment of Davey pumps from Australia. In 1982 the range of Grundfos products was expanded to include solar pumps.

1985 saw the appointment of Butech Limited as the Mombasa distributor of their products and the commencement of fibreglass filter production. In 1992, the group & Shirtliff purchased a 20% shareholding in Butech Limited; which was finally bought out in 2000, becoming the Mombasa Branch of Davis & Shirtliff.

In 1993 they imported their first Linz pumps from Pedrollo, Italy.

In 1995 they introduced the ‘Pump Centre’ and the establishment of a countrywide range of dealers. 1995 also saw the opening of a Branch in Eldoret.

Subsidiaries opened in Kampala and Dar-es-Salaam in 1996 and 1998 respectively.

The business has recently expanded. Throughout the first decade of the millennium, Davis & Shirtliff opens branches and subsidiaries in Lusaka; Kigali; Nakuru^[7] and Arusha; Zanzibar and Kitwe; Malindi; Addis Ababa, Mwanza and Diani; and, Juba in, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010 respectively, thereby expanding the distribution of its products and its consumer base. In 2001, Davis & Shirtliff was appointed the regional distributor for Pedrollo Pumps; in 2003, the firm's Solar division was established as a regional distributor for Shell Solar. Also, in 2004, it became a Certikin distributor and, in 2005, was appointed as a Lister Petter engine generator distributor for the region.^[8][9] Furthermore, in 2004, after months of preparation, Davis & Shirtliff was awarded the Certification for ISO 9001.^[10]

Products

Water Pumps

The firm is primarily a pump retailer. As an African company, the Davis & Shirtliff Group deal with a wide range of clients and provides products for industrial, agricultural and commercial uses as well as pumps for retail customers. The pumps supplied by Davis & Shirtliff cater for borehole, booster, irrigation, drainage, sewage, hot water, chemical dosage, domestic and hand powered applications.^[11]

Solar

The firm offers a selection of Shell Solar PV (photovoltaic) panels. A focus of the Solar division is in the application of solar technology to pumping.^[12]

Water Treatment

The firm is committed to development of water treatment facilities, and supplies hardware to treat most prevalent water conditions including removal of suspended solids, salinity, hardness, trace elements and bacteria. Most equipment is manufactured or assembled in-house with more specialised items being sourced from a variety of international suppliers.^[13]

Community Work

A key aspect of the firm's work is to assist needy institutions to obtain water supplies. Funding for community activities is largely provided through an annual contribution from the company and its staff. However, business partners are also involved and Grundfos has been particularly supportive of the Group’s activities through the donation of money, equipment and supplies.^[14]

The firm's experience in the water sector enables it to provide support to many organizations, both locally and overseas, including preferential pricing. For example, the role of the firm as a supplier of hand pumps is recognized as important by the various non-governmental organisations (NGO) who work in Kenya to provide potable water to the poorest communities. The firm is by far the biggest and most widespread supplier of handpumps in Kenya and their extensive range of models and number of suppliers means that the Group is able to provide hand pumps to NGOs at a competitive price whilst also providing the necessary product support.^[15]

Davis and Shirtliff has also partnered with Kenya Airways on a water project in Runana.^[16]

References

1. ^ "Mehta et al.". http://www.wsp.org/wsp/sites/wsp.org/files/publications/625200773125_BusinessDevelopmentServicesForCommunityManagedSmallWaterEnterprisesAF.pdf. Retrieved 2010-10-01. 
2. ^ "Watsan.com". http://www.watsan.com/show_detail.php?key=475&sgrp=66. Retrieved 2010-10-01. 
3. ^ "Dayliff.com". http://www.dayliff.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=349. Retrieved 2010-10-01. 
4. ^ "Business Daily:  - Opinion & Analysis ". http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Opinion%20&%20Analysis/-/539548/830388/-/view/printVersion/-/sa6lybz/-/index.html. Retrieved 2010-10-01. 
5. ^ Ombuor, Joe (15 April 2008). "Davis And Shirtliff - Keeping the Water Dream Alive". East African Standard. 
6. ^ M. Anzaya; C. Munene (2006). "Davis And Shirtliff". United States International University School of Business. 
7. ^ "allAfrica.com: Kenya: Davis & Shirtliff Now in Nakuru". http://allafrica.com/stories/200605120857.html. Retrieved 2010-10-01. 
8. ^ Wambui, Sarah (6 January 2010). "Davis and Shirtliff in expansion plans". Capital Business. http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/business/Kenyabusiness/Davis-and-Shirtliff-in-expansion-plans-3600.html. Retrieved 1 October 2010. 
9. ^ "Dayliff.com". http://www.dayliff.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=28&Itemid=49. Retrieved 2010-10-04. 
10. ^ "Davis & Shirtliff: No Limits to our Achievements". http://www.logcluster.org/ops/sudan/suppliers/pumps/davis. Retrieved 2010-10-06. 
11. ^ "Dayliff.com". http://www.dayliff.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=55. Retrieved 2010-10-01. 
12. ^ "Dayliff.com". http://www.dayliff.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=33&Itemid=59. Retrieved 2010-10-01. 
13. ^ "Dayliff.com". http://www.dayliff.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=57. Retrieved 2010-10-01. 
14. ^ "Dayliff.com". http://www.dayliff.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=55&Itemid=89. Retrieved 2010-10-04. 
15. ^ "P. Harvey et al.". http://wedc.lboro.ac.uk/docs/research/WEJW2/Report_-_Kenya.pdf. Retrieved 2010-10-01. 
16. ^ "Kenya Airways :: About Kenya Airways/ Corporate Social Responsibility". http://www.kenyaairways.co.uk/kq4/about_kenya_airways/corporate_social_responsibility/default.aspx?dft=flights. Retrieved 2010-10-01.