Founded 76 years ago in Westlands, Nairobi, Davis & Shirtliff is the leading supplier of water and energy-related equipment in the Eastern African region, with a footprint in 12 countries. Davis & Shirtliff is particularly focused on increasing its presence and impact in the green solar energy business, where it is already a market leader. The firm’s operations include supply of equipment and solutions for surface and borehole water pumping, water treatment, swimming pools, solar power and heating, irrigation, as well as industrial chemicals and building management systems. Davis & Shirtliff distributes numerous water and energy products under its own brand, Dayliff, in addition to stocking other international brands of equipment.
The Davis & Shirtliff Water Testing Laboratory has a global reach and offers a wide range of testing services in accordance with national, international and industry / client specific standards and requirements.
Digital innovation has been a key priority for the D&S Group with several platforms coming online in the last few years including apps D&S FLO, the Dayliff App and the Pool Tool as well as proprietary software programs iDayliff, Solarcalc and Pumpcalc.
I begin by congratulating Dr. William Ruto on his election as Kenya's fifth President. The vote was very close but that it was generally seen to be fair and also accepted not just by the contestants but also the population is a huge endorsement for Kenya and of course that it was so peaceful is a great blessing. President Ruto certainly has a full in-tray both economic and social that will bring many challenges, though I look forward to the country continuing to develop on the trajectory established by his predecessor President Uhuru Kenyatta, who has led the country to another level during his tenure. Kenya is now in a strong position to secure its position as the region's major economy and D&S looks forward to supporting the new government.
After much preparation a new D&S era has now begun with David Gatende's retirement at the end-May Founders Day and George Mbugua's accession to the CEO role. The transition was well celebrated during this traditional event and due recognition was given to David's exceptional 36-year career. Both David and George gave excellent addresses and I'm confident that D&S is well set to continue on its successful path.
New products are the life blood of any organization and the D&S Technical Division under Director Philip Holi have been busy developing various new innovations that are now ready for distribution throughout the D&S network.
My journey of 26 years with this great company has led me to taking up the responsibility as Group CEO with effect from June 2022. It has been a wonderful experience to see and participate in the growth the company has achieved over these years, and a high honour and a privilege to be asked to lead such a world-class and important business.