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Toro (company)
Encyclopedia
The Toro Company is an American manufacturer of turf maintenance equipment (lawn mowers), snow removal
equipment (snow blowers) and water-saving irrigation systems for golf courses, sports fields, public green spaces, commercial and residential lawns, and agricultural fields. The company is based in Bloomington
, Minnesota
.
equipment and precision irrigation systems for use by landscape contractors, golf course superintendents, sports fields and grounds managers, as well as individual consumers.
In 1986, Toro acquired the Wheel Horse
Products Division of American Motors
(AMC). Wheel Horse manufactured a wide range of lawn and garden tractors, as well as riding lawn mowers. The division was spun off from AMC so that the automaker could maintain focus on vehicles. Lawn and garden tractors were then marketed under the Toro, Wheel Horse, as well as the Toro Wheel Horse names. Acquisitions continued with the purchase of Lawn-Boy
in 1989, James Hardie Irrigation in 1996, Exmark Manufacturing in 1997, Hayter Ltd. in 2005, Rain Master Irrigation Systems and Turf Guard Wireless Monitoring Technology in 2007, TyCrop Manufacturing Ltd. in 2009, and USPraxis, Inc. in 2010.
In the 1990s, then CEO Kendrick Melrose changed the company's strategy, shifting its focus to "professional maintenance markets" (such as golf courses, sports fields, municipal parks, and commercial properties). The strategy yielded higher margins and offered more protection from the uncertainty of weather and economic conditions than the highly competitive residential market segment
s. In 2007, almost 70 percent of the company's sales came from professional markets, versus one-third in 1990.
In 2007, the low-end lawn and garden tractor product manufacturing was outsourced
to MTD Products
, to be sold at Home Depot stores.
Snow removal
Snow removal is the job of removing snow after a snowfall to make travel easier and safer. This is done by both individual households and by governments and institutions.-De-icing and anti-icing:...
equipment (snow blowers) and water-saving irrigation systems for golf courses, sports fields, public green spaces, commercial and residential lawns, and agricultural fields. The company is based in Bloomington
Bloomington, Minnesota
Bloomington is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota in Hennepin County. Located on the north bank of the Minnesota River above its confluence with the Mississippi River, Bloomington lies at the heart of the southern...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
.
History
Founded as the Toro Motor Company in 1914 to build tractor engines for The Bull Tractor Company, Toro manufactures and sells turf and landscape maintenanceLandscape maintenance
Landscape maintenance is the art and vocation of keeping a landscape healthy, clean, safe and attractive, typically in a garden, yard, park, Institutional setting or estate...
equipment and precision irrigation systems for use by landscape contractors, golf course superintendents, sports fields and grounds managers, as well as individual consumers.
In 1986, Toro acquired the Wheel Horse
Wheel Horse
Wheel Horse was a manufacturer of outdoor and garden power equipment, including lawn and garden tractors. The company's headquarters were in South Bend, Indiana.- History :...
Products Division of American Motors
American Motors
American Motors Corporation was an American automobile company formed by the 1954 merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company. At the time, it was the largest corporate merger in U.S. history.George W...
(AMC). Wheel Horse manufactured a wide range of lawn and garden tractors, as well as riding lawn mowers. The division was spun off from AMC so that the automaker could maintain focus on vehicles. Lawn and garden tractors were then marketed under the Toro, Wheel Horse, as well as the Toro Wheel Horse names. Acquisitions continued with the purchase of Lawn-Boy
Lawn-Boy
In 1934, the original Lawn-Boy lawn mower was manufactured by the Evinrude Company, becoming the first one-handed reel power mower introduced to the American public...
in 1989, James Hardie Irrigation in 1996, Exmark Manufacturing in 1997, Hayter Ltd. in 2005, Rain Master Irrigation Systems and Turf Guard Wireless Monitoring Technology in 2007, TyCrop Manufacturing Ltd. in 2009, and USPraxis, Inc. in 2010.
In the 1990s, then CEO Kendrick Melrose changed the company's strategy, shifting its focus to "professional maintenance markets" (such as golf courses, sports fields, municipal parks, and commercial properties). The strategy yielded higher margins and offered more protection from the uncertainty of weather and economic conditions than the highly competitive residential market segment
Market segment
Market segmentation is a concept in economics and marketing. A market segment is a sub-set of a market made up of people or organizations with one or more characteristics that cause them to demand similar product and/or services based on qualities of those products such as price or function...
s. In 2007, almost 70 percent of the company's sales came from professional markets, versus one-third in 1990.
In 2007, the low-end lawn and garden tractor product manufacturing was outsourced
Outsourcing
Outsourcing is the process of contracting a business function to someone else.-Overview:The term outsourcing is used inconsistently but usually involves the contracting out of a business function - commonly one previously performed in-house - to an external provider...
to MTD Products
MTD Products
MTD Products is a manufacturer of outdoor power equipment for the mass market. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, the company began in 1932 and is a family-owned, private company. It originated as a tool and die maker...
, to be sold at Home Depot stores.
Brands
The company's products are marketed under several brands:- Toro — professional and consumer mowers, irrigation systems, compact utility equipment, snow blowers, and handheld trimmers and leaf blowerLeaf blowerA leaf blower is a gardening tool that propels air out of a nozzle to move yard debris such as leaves. Leaf blowers are usually powered by two-stroke engine or an electric motor, but four-stroke engines were recently introduced to partially address air pollution concerns. Leaf blowers are...
s - Exmark — commercial mowers
- Lawn-Boy — consumer mowers
- Irritrol Systems — irrigation systems for residential and commercial landscapes
- Lawn Genie — consumer irrigation
- Pope (Australia) — garden maintenance solutions
- Hayter (United Kingdom) — consumer and professional mowers