Davis & Shirtliff envisages its Dayliff brand becoming a household name in Uganda and a natural choice for individuals and organizations desiring quality Water and Energy solutions to improve their lives.

Eng Patrick Mufwoya, you are the new Managing Director of Davis & Shirtliff International Uganda. I hope you were welcomed well?

Yes, that is right. I received a very warm welcome from the D&S Uganda team which helped me settle in rather quickly.

My style of leadership is one that is collaborative, inclusive, participatory, and transformational embodying
one of our core values of “Altiora Peto” which means “I seek higher things”.

Who is Engineer Patrick Mufwoya? What is your training and work background that you are employing in your new role at the Uganda Office?

Patrick holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Nairobi and an MBA from University of Nicosia, Cypress.

In my formative years, I worked with Unilever Kenya as Projects Engineer and later joined the Davis & Shirtliff Group where I have been for the past 15 years during which I have been nurtured to become an effective business leader. I initially worked as a Sales Engineer at our Nairobi Head Office and later appointed Branch Manager in one of Kenya’s major towns. I was later sent to Ethiopia where I worked as the Country Manager for four years from 2011 to 2015.

Upon returning to our Head Office, I was tasked with the responsibility of leading the Business Development Division to develop new frontier markets across Africa. During my seven years of working in that role, new subsidiaries were established in countries like the DRC, Zimbabwe, Somalia, and distribution channels in Burundi, Malawi, South Africa, and West Africa.

I am very delighted to bring that experience to Uganda in my new role as I work with my team to ensure D&S’ contribution to the country is felt by all.

What management style are you bringing to Davis & Shirtliff Uganda that will motivate staff and push the company to the next level?

My style of leadership is one that is collaborative, inclusive, participatory, and transformational embodying one of our core values of “Alteora Peto” which means “I seek higher things”. It basically speaks to our desire and commitment to the pursuit of continuous improvement. The main idea is to have everyone in the team  focusing on personal and corporate growth through innovation so that we stay ahead of the curve.

Comment on Uganda’s business environment.

Uganda is a very dynamic market with a lot of potential though the market is still recovering from the devastating effects of the covid-19 pandemic. An important thing to note however is that our water and energy products and solutions remain relevant even in tough times because they are basic necessities for any society to survive.

We have plans to scale up by expanding our product range, especially new technology and digital products, and improving our customer experience whenever they interact with us. Our main objective is to improve people’s lives through provision of quality and efficient water and energy solutions in Uganda.

Davis & Shirtliff is one of the oldest companies in Africa existing for 77years. How have you survived all these years? What is your secret?

The first and most important thing is the exceptional leadership provided by the company’s founding family led by Mr. Alec Davis, the Group Chairman, whose many years of experience in the industry spans over four decades. It is a fact that many of the water sector players in the region have been developed by him through D&S in one way or the other.

Generally, the secret to D&S success lies in the company’s commitment to live its core values of integrity, quality, and Alteora Peto. It is known for provision of quality products under the trusted brand of Dayliff. It endavours to always uphold integrity in all its dealings with staff, customers, government agencies and indeed all stakeholders.

Finally, we are living in a changing world. We understand that innovation is the key to remaining relevant. The company therefore keeps introducing new products and technologies as it also upgrades its processes and systems to be in line with the changing trends in the industry.

What is the business of Davis & Shirtliff? What can golfers buy from you?

Most golfers are business leaders in various sectors of the economy. D&S is a one stop shop for all water and energy product needs in most sectors. The company offers solutions in seven product segments, a brief highlight being as follows:

1. Water pumps ranging from domestic boosters, boreholes equipment and automated pressure booster sets, firefighting pump sets, high-capacity lift pumps, industrial and food grade pumps among others.

• Swimming pool equipment and chemicals, steam, sauna, and water features items like fountains.

• Irrigation products and solutions are also offered ranging from water pumps, sprinklers, drip lines and related accessories. These are used in the irrigation of golf courses, agricultural farms, school fields, stadiums, homes etc.  

• Water, sewage and effluent treatment equipment and solutions. This ranges from small domestic purifier units to large institutional and industrial applications in hospitals, schools, hospitality sector, mining, and real estate establishments.

• Chemicals for use in domestic, municipal, mining, and industrial sectors.

• Solar products and solutions like domestic solar lighting kits, solar security and streetlights, solar water heaters, solar irrigation pumps, power backup systems in homes and office blocks, solar off-grid, grid tie, grid connect systems.

• General machinery products and solutions including electric generators of all sizes, bare shaft engines, pressure washers, outboard engines for marine transport and fishing, lawn mowers, garden trimmers and bare shaft motors.  

What gives Davis & Shirtliff an advantage over other industry players?

Its commitment to quality and obsession with continuous improvement. Also, its highly qualified, technically competent, experienced, and motivated staff are a huge resource. Within D&S group, it is not uncommon to find a substantial number of employees staying with the company for over 20 years!

What strategic innovations are you implementing to increase business at your Uganda office?

We are on-boarding new talent, investing in rigorous staff training, upgrading service facilities, renovating and rebranding the branch network to boost customer experience and improve staff comfort. We are also rolling out digital products that embrace new technologies like Building Management Systems (BMS) among others.

What is your customer service philosophy?

Good customer service is worth more than millions spent on advertising.

Where do we see Davis & Shirtliff in next decade?

We envisage D&S and its Dayliff brand becoming a household name in Uganda and a natural choice for individuals and organizations desiring quality Water and Energy solutions to improve their lives.

What CSR activities does D&S support as a way of giving back to the community?

The company has been engaging in CSR activities for a long time where needy communities are assisted to enjoy benefits of our products and solutions.

To do more, the D&S Group has decided to allocate more resources and created a standalone department with a budget line to oversee the implementation of various activities under the improving lives initiative.

We also signed a partnership framework agreement with Child Fund last year to support the initiative jointly in Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Zambia.

To mark our 25^th anniversary of D&S Uganda last year, we donated a home solar power  system to The Remnant Generation, an organization that takes care of young teenage mothers and their babies.