Torrco Design Center has partnered with Bravo Business Media’s MyPlumbingShowroom.com service to expand the digital marketing capabilities of its six Connecticut showrooms. The resulting new website, www.torrcodesigncenter.com, enables Torrco to provide the ultimate online experience for showroom customers.

“While 80 percent of potential customers begin the buying process for their projects by searching online for ideas and products, only a small percentage actually make that purchase online,” said Don Polletta, vice president of sales and marketing. “This service provided by Bravo will help us create the right digital experience for today’s consumers — and give us maximum exposure to target audiences by pushing us to the top of search engines. It provides the product information and visuals that consumers desire when shopping, and the type of intuitive experience that will keep them engaged on our site.”

“Our optimized search and selection functions work seamlessly across all platforms and devices,” said Bravo Business Media Sales Associate Glenda McCarthy. “We’re able to provide a tremendous amount of product information for the customized Torrco site because of the direct relationships we’ve built with industry manufacturers. These capabilities will help Torrco increase awareness and reach new audiences.”

Torrco’s roots date back to 1917 when Lithuanian immigrant and plumber David Stein began stocking products in his garage and opened Brass City Plumbing Supply in Waterbury, Connecticut. Twelve years later, a flood forced Stein to move the business to its branch in Torrington, Connecticut, and he renamed it Torrington Supply. Although the name remained, its headquarters moved back to Waterbury in 1935 and Stein was joined by three of his sons.

The company continued to grow throughout the decades, and when the three Stein brothers retired in the 1980s, the business passed to next-generation owners Nancy and Joel Becker. Now in its fourth generation of family ownership and management, Torrco has two distribution centers, 11 wholesale locations and six design center showrooms that serve southern New England, Westchester and Duchess Counties, western Massachusetts, and southern Vermont.

“Showroom buyers are very different from our trade customers because, although they might know what they want, they likely don’t know what they’ll need to make their project come together,” said Dawn Corbo, director of business development. “Our new website will help guide and engage customers through the entire shopping and buying process, which begins online and ultimately ends with a visit to one of our showrooms to work with our knowledgeable staff.”