Word on the Street: Fresno service delivers bathroom essentials to businesses, homes

A group of entrepreneurs recently rolled out a company that may be a first in the Fresno area: toilet paper delivered to your home or business.

Porchit.com was launched about a month ago by friends Daren D’Ambrosio, Adam Knott and Todd Royer.

D’Ambrosio said the company hopes to gain customers by offering quality toilet paper at a fair price and the convenience of home delivery.

Porchit.com sells packages of 30 rolls of two-ply toilet paper for $13.99.

“We know that people don’t like going to the store and filling up their shopping carts with rolls of toilet paper,” D’Ambrosio said. “And now, they don’t have to, they can call us and we will deliver it to their home.”

For now, they deliver in the Fresno/Clovis area and will soon start in Madera.

Although the company has only been in business a month, it already has about 200 customers, including Robin Gray of Fresno.

Gray heard about the company from a friend on Facebook and decided to give it a try.

“It is a pretty good product and the service is really good and fast,” Gray said. “It is definitely something I am going to try again.”

Once it builds its customer base, Porchit.com plans to offer other paper products, including towels, plates, and other bathroom-related products such as soaps and razors.

Filter maker growing

The Claude Laval Corp., a Fresno-based maker of filtration equipment, is expanding with the construction of a 15,000-square-foot building.

The new building is being constructed on two acres next to the company’s Clovis Avenue factory. The expansion will accommodate growth of the company’s newest product: Twist II Clean, a water filter for the residential market.

The product removes sand and silt before it enters a homeowner’s sprinkler lines, indoor plumbing or water heater.

“It is always tough to get a new product off the ground, but this one has turned out to be a real home run,” said company founder, Claude Laval III.

The expansion project is expected to be completed this fall.

The Claude Laval Corp. celebrates its 40th anniversary this year and has 130 employees. Company officials said they will add employees as needed.

New office showroom

Tangram Interiors, an office-furniture dealer that entered the Fresno market last year, celebrated the grand opening of its new showroom last week in northwest Fresno.

The company (www.tangramfresno.com) moved into its 5,000-square-foot space on West Palmdon Drive, near Palm and Herndon avenues, on April 2, said Tangram’s Fresno general manager, Kellie Reed.

For a year before that, Tangram operated at the former Peninsula Business Interiors site near Shaw and Brawley avenues. Tangram acquired Peninsula last year.

The San Joaquin Valley’s lackluster economy was not a concern for the company, said Reed, who has worked in the office-furnishings business in the Fresno area for more than 15 years.

“I understand the economy may be sluggish, but there is great opportunity in the Central Valley,” she said. “It may not hit tomorrow, but we believe that the vision in the Valley is a wonderful opportunity.”

Tangram is based in Santa Fe Springs and has offices in Newport Beach, Riverside and Woodland Hills, and is expanding to Bakersfield as well.

The Fresno showroom is at 677 W. Palmdon Ave., Suite 101; (559) 275-7070.