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| Type | Public (NYSE: TTC) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1914 |
| Headquarters | Bloomington, Minnesota |
| Key people | Michael J. Hoffman, President and CEO, Chairman of the Board |
| Industry | Turf maintenance |
| Products | Professional and residential turf maintenance equipment and irrigation systems |
| Revenue | ▲US$1.877 Billion (2007) |
| Employees | 5,300 (full-time)1 |
| Website | www.thetorocompany.com |
Based in Bloomington, Minnesota, The Toro Company (NYSE: TTC) is an American manufacturer of turf maintenance equipment (lawnmowers) and water-saving irrigation systems for golf courses, sports fields, public green spaces, commercial and residential lawns, and agricultural fields.
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History
Founded as the Toro Motor Company in 19142, it serves professionals such as landscape contractors, golf course superintendents, and sports fields and grounds managers, as well as individual homeowners.
In 1986, Toro acquired the Wheel Horse Products Division of American Motors (AMC).3 Wheel Horse manufactured a wide range of lawn and garden tractors, as well as riding lawn mowers. The division was spun-off from AMC as the automaker focused company strategy 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, and Rain Master Irrigation Systems and Turf Guard Wireless Monitoring Technology in 2007.
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 - yielded higher margins and offered more protection from the uncertainty of weather and economic conditions than the highly competitive residential market segments. In 2007, almost 70 percent of the company's sales came from professional markets, versus one-third back in 1990.
In 2007, the low-end lawn and garden tractor products were outsourced to be manufactured by MTD and sold at Home Depot stores.4
Brands
The company's products are marketed under several brands:
- Toro – professional and consumer mowers, irrigation systems, compact utility equipment, snowblowers, and handheld trimmers and leaf blowers
- 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
References
- ^ Employees, Number of Employees
- ^ The Toro Company History, History 1910-1919
- ^ The Toro Company, History 1980-1989, retrieved on 2008-06-27.
- ^ The Toro Company, Press Release, 01/05/2006, retrieved on 2008-06-27.
External links
- The Toro Company
- Toro
- Toro Micro-Irrigation
- Toro Australia & Pope
- Toro Canada/English
- Toro UK
- Lawn-Boy
- eXmark
- Irritrol
- Hayter
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Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 6 October 2008, at 04:38.
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