News and Press

Davis & Shirtliff Partners with German Solar Manufacturer SMA

Davis & Shirtliff, East Africa’s leading supplier of water and energy products has announced their exclusive distribution partnership with


German global solar market leader, SMA Solar Technology AG.

SMA is a manufacturer and supplier of solar inverters for photovoltaic systems with electricity grid connection, off-grid power supply and backup operations. Together with Davis & Shirtliff, the partnership will offer innovative key technologies for future power supply structures in the region.

In Nairobi this week is SMA Managing Director, Thorsten Ronge who will lead his team in a training and product sharing seminar to be held at Davis & Shirtliff’s knowledge centre in Nairobi’s Industrial Area.

In Kenya, SMA inverters have been used in multiple solar installations e.g. the ultra-modern Garden City Mall, Thika Road as well as Strathmore College, Nairobi West. Headquartered in Niestetal, Germany, it was founded in 1981 and enjoys a global market share of 21% with 3,000 staff employed globally.

Speaking in advance of the official agreement signing, David Gatende, Davis & Shirtliff’s CEO said “Recent advances in technology coupled with the falling price of solar modules has meant that green, economical and smart solutions are now available for most water and energy requirements including hot water, lighting, power back-up, water pumping and even water treatment.”

Kenya is blessed with climate suitable to harness the renewable free source of solar energy, that is totally inexhaustible and sustainable. As a non-polluting energy source, solar does not emit greenhouse gases when producing electricity.

“As the country embraces devolution, Industrial consumers who struggle with regular power outages or have no access to the utility grid need no longer be dependent on expensive diesel electricity supply.

With a SMA grid connect solution they can turn their rooftops into solar power generating systems saving money and reducing CO2 emissions.

Davis & Shirtliff is a major provider of various photo-voltaic solar powered solutions for water pumping, lighting, water treatment and on grid electricity generation with over 70 years of experience. It has 50 branches spread across nine countries in East and Southern Africa.