Family Business Finds Niche In Designing Components For "Pond Kits" And Diy Friendly "Ponds
If you ever thought that all the great inventions have already been invented, all you have to do is look into an emerging new market and see what you don't like.
When Brad and Jody Porter started selling pond products at their landscape and stone supply yard 14 years ago, there were very few products for ponds and waterfalls.
In fact, the first filter we sold was simply a 'sponge in a plastic cage' and it was advertised to filter "All Ponds".
The next wave of products proved to be ill-designed, flimsy, hard to install and maintain, and of course, overpriced! "It was hard to sell these early components" says Jody, they were the best available at the time, but in the back of our minds, we knew they could, and should be better.
A few more years passed and the pond industry grew, but there was still not a filtering system that could withstand the harsh demands placed on them.
And often, the claims of the manufactures were bordering on ridiculous.
It's then the Porters decided to design and manufacture there own line of pond filtration systems.
After selling hundreds of pond kits, we knew the problems with the existing products.
We dealt with the product failures, the installation problems, and the maintenance shortcomings.
When we started designing our own line of products, our first consideration was to eliminate the problems the installers were encountering during installation.
Secondly, we designed our products to be simple and easy to maintain, and thirdly, we wanted the system to be sized properly so as to actually over-filter every pond they would be installed on.
Our first line of products were a great success with the "Do-it-yourselfers"and the 'professional installers'.
We were awarded a patent on many novel claims and have continued to create new products that are unique to this industry.
We have grown our proprietary product line to be the largest in the water feature industry.
There are many misconceptions and miss-truths about ponds and water features.
Many people think they will be a breeding ground for mosquitoes, or they are a lot of maintenance, or cost a lot of money to run the pump continuously.
Actually, a pond built properly cannot breed mosquitoes, maintenance can be as little as 10 minutes a week, and the energy efficient pumps available today can run on less energy than a couple of light bulbs.
So for the Porters, their journey into designing and manufacturing has been a wild and exhilarating experience.
"We never imagined we would be competing on a nationwide level with manufacturing giants from the UK and US" say's Brad.
"But oddly enough, our products are superior in many ways".
"Believe it or not" say's Jody, "we have many advantages over the giant corporations, we can bring a new product to market much faster and cheaper because we don't have to get the 'nod' from anyone but ourselves".
The Porter's often make their own patterns and have even cast their own aluminum molds for production.
"We let new ideas gel for sometimes several years" say's Brad.
"But when we think its right, we move fairly swiftly".
So what does the future hold for the Porters and "It's Paradise at Home"? "Right now we are focusing mostly on our website, we have 5 new products for this year that have just been released and we have some monster ideas on the horizon" says Brad.
With the every growing popularity of backyard living, the Porters should stay busy for quite a while.
When Brad and Jody Porter started selling pond products at their landscape and stone supply yard 14 years ago, there were very few products for ponds and waterfalls.
In fact, the first filter we sold was simply a 'sponge in a plastic cage' and it was advertised to filter "All Ponds".
The next wave of products proved to be ill-designed, flimsy, hard to install and maintain, and of course, overpriced! "It was hard to sell these early components" says Jody, they were the best available at the time, but in the back of our minds, we knew they could, and should be better.
A few more years passed and the pond industry grew, but there was still not a filtering system that could withstand the harsh demands placed on them.
And often, the claims of the manufactures were bordering on ridiculous.
It's then the Porters decided to design and manufacture there own line of pond filtration systems.
After selling hundreds of pond kits, we knew the problems with the existing products.
We dealt with the product failures, the installation problems, and the maintenance shortcomings.
When we started designing our own line of products, our first consideration was to eliminate the problems the installers were encountering during installation.
Secondly, we designed our products to be simple and easy to maintain, and thirdly, we wanted the system to be sized properly so as to actually over-filter every pond they would be installed on.
Our first line of products were a great success with the "Do-it-yourselfers"and the 'professional installers'.
We were awarded a patent on many novel claims and have continued to create new products that are unique to this industry.
We have grown our proprietary product line to be the largest in the water feature industry.
There are many misconceptions and miss-truths about ponds and water features.
Many people think they will be a breeding ground for mosquitoes, or they are a lot of maintenance, or cost a lot of money to run the pump continuously.
Actually, a pond built properly cannot breed mosquitoes, maintenance can be as little as 10 minutes a week, and the energy efficient pumps available today can run on less energy than a couple of light bulbs.
So for the Porters, their journey into designing and manufacturing has been a wild and exhilarating experience.
"We never imagined we would be competing on a nationwide level with manufacturing giants from the UK and US" say's Brad.
"But oddly enough, our products are superior in many ways".
"Believe it or not" say's Jody, "we have many advantages over the giant corporations, we can bring a new product to market much faster and cheaper because we don't have to get the 'nod' from anyone but ourselves".
The Porter's often make their own patterns and have even cast their own aluminum molds for production.
"We let new ideas gel for sometimes several years" say's Brad.
"But when we think its right, we move fairly swiftly".
So what does the future hold for the Porters and "It's Paradise at Home"? "Right now we are focusing mostly on our website, we have 5 new products for this year that have just been released and we have some monster ideas on the horizon" says Brad.
With the every growing popularity of backyard living, the Porters should stay busy for quite a while.
