No stopping the Da Silva brothers and their EIS business
EIS a household name in Durban and the first industrial business to introduce the self-service shopping experience, continues to expand after 30 years
Growing up on a small farm on the South Coast, brothers Celes and Gino da Silva learned a strong work ethic from a young age, and inherited the “boer maak ‘n plan” attitude. Their approach, “that no challenge was ever too big”, assisted them well to establish one of the largest and professionally run, independent engineering and industrial supplies in Durban today. The Da Silva brothers share the EIS success story with us.
Celes and Gino, a Mechanical Engineer and Chartered Accountant respectively started EIS in Jacobs in 1987, servicing the manufacturing, engineering, and fabrication industries as well as the DIY market. It was the first shop in Durban to sell both fasteners and tools under one roof, and the first industrial supply store to offer the self-service shopping experience.
In August 2003 the business burnt to the ground. But as the brothers say, “they were down but not out”, and stood up and started again. “Every order is important no matter how small or big the customer is, or the size of their order. The success of the company can be attributed to our ambitions and hard work, our dedicated team and the innovative self-service set up, which has since been copied, but never mastered, by competitors.”
The brothers also say that customer service is paramount and is the core focus of the business. It is also the reason why the EIS motto is: “Understanding your needs is our business”.
Pinetown see the opening of the first EIS franchise
With EIS becoming a household name in the Durban region, Gino and Celes decided to franchise, using their knowledge and the EIS name. Rajen Gounden opened EIS Pinetown in November 2007 and has experienced great success. He runs a tidy operation in Crompton Street and has contributed to making the EIS name even stronger.
“Between Jacobs and Pinetown, we have a combined team of over 150 staff. We have a range of over 18 000 line items and serve the greater Durban area with a fleet of 35 delivery vehicles between the two branches. EIS is the benchmark for customer service and convenience in this industry and is still growing 30 years on.”
The Da Silva’s and Gounden’s Pinetown branch is 3000m² and 2000m² in size, and offers a wide range of items on display at all times, a team that is always ready to help and ample safe and secure parking. EIS Pinetown aim to satisfy all its customers needs and has Technical Representatives ready to assist and advise on specialised requests, including tooling, welding, glueing or any specialized consumables.
“Understanding your needs is our business”
Visit EIS at 145 Crompton Street, Pinetown. Tel: 031 713 3500 • Fax: 031 713 3515 • WhatsApp: 064 453 1479 • e-mail: salesp@eis.co.za Website: https://www.eis.co.za/
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