Our Story - Discount Janitorial & Paper Supply, LLC

For over three decades, Discount Janitorial & Paper Supply, LLC has been the premier source of commercial janitorial products and equipment in Marion County. Beginning as a small venture, Bernadine and Jay Thomas moved to Florida and founded two sister companies, Blue Ribbon Cleaning, Inc., and Discount Janitorial & Paper Supply. The Thomas' grew the companies to an 85 employee multi-faceted operation which then their son and daughter-in-law, Terry Thomas and Esperanza Casteneda, took over and began to manage in the early 2000s. The young couple worked tirelessly to expand the companies and maintain excellent customer service throughout Marion County by adhering to the basic principles that have brought its success: quality, delivered consistently.

Terry and Esperanza have since sold the Blue Ribbon Cleaning division and now have their focus on expanding Discount Janitorial & Paper Supply, LLC. In 2016 they built a 10,000 square foot warehouse and office space to maximum their product base for their customers. They have plans to build an additional warehouse in the near future as they have already outgrown the current one.

As the Owner of the company, Esperanza Casteneda brings her twenty-five years of small business ownership to the mix. With service, retail, and human relations experience, she finds herself wearing several hats. "We have great people working with us", she explains, "Our challenge moving forward is managing growth while simultaneously maintaining the family environment that we all value. All our employees are vital to our day-to-day operations to keep our company running smoothly, and we want them to know how much they're appreciated. Our clients know them, and more importantly, they know our clients. They help us maintain the type of individualized customer service that sets us apart."

As part of the continuing effort to maintain quality and efficiency, this year they have implemented a new sales program to reach more customers and a computer-based ordering system to make it easier for customers to order and receive their products. Additionally, they use the highest market criteria so that Discount Janitorial meets or exceeds those standards and are constantly escalating their product lines. "When we bought the company, we knew that we wanted to expand our customer base, while maintaining the fine reputation that Jay, my father-in-law, had worked so hard to establish. Our entire management team has done an amazing job balancing all of that."

Acting as Managing-Member with years of experience in the JanSan industry, Terry provides extensive knowledge in all aspects. His contribution has been vital to the healthy growth of the company. But even beyond the outstanding service and quality products, he feels there is another important component to their success. "We are truly a locally owned family business, and our customers know that. We work here, our children went to school here, our lives are here. We invest in the community to serve the loyal citizens and businesses of Marion County and the surrounding areas. In turn, the community has invested in us."