Toro (company)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Toro Company | |
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| Type | Public (NYSE: TTC) |
| Founded | 1914 |
| Headquarters | Bloomington, Minnesota |
| Key people | Michael J. Hoffman, President and CEO Kendrick Melrose. Chairman of the Board |
| Industry | Lawn maintenance |
| Products | Consumer and Commercial Lawn equipment |
| Revenue | ▲US$1.779 Billion (2005) |
| Employees | 5,200 (full-time)[1] |
| Website | www.toro.com |
The Toro Company (NYSE: TTC) is an American manufacturer of lawnmowers and other lawn care tools based in Bloomington, Minnesota.
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[edit] History
Founded as the Toro Motor Company in 1914[2], it serves professionals and businesses such as landscapers, golf course managers, and grounds and sports field managers, as well as individual homeowners. Although the company manufactures a wide variety of lawn maintenance equipment, in recent years it has come to dominate the golf course irrigation market [3].
In 1986, Toro acquired the Wheel Horse Products Division of American Motors (AMC).[4] 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 and, Toro Wheel Horse names.
1989 saw the purchase of the Lawn-Boy, a maker of lawnmowers[5], and Exmark in 1997.[6]
In the 1990s, then CEO Kendrick Melrose (currently Chairman of the Board) changed the company’s strategy. Supplying 'professional maintenance markets' (such as golf courses, municipal parks, cemeteries, and gated communities) yielded higher margins and offered more protection from the uncertainty of the weather and economic conditions, than focusing on the highly competitive retail customer market segments. Today, roughly two-thirds of Toro's US$1.6 billion in sales come from the professional market, 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.[7]
[edit] Brands
The company's products are marketed under several brands:
- Toro – consumer and professional lawnmowers, snowblowers, trimmers, leaf blowers, and irrigation systems
- Exmark – professional lawnmowers
- Lawn-Boy – consumer lawnmowers
- Irritrol Systems – professional light-duty irrigation
- Lawn Genie – consumer irrigation
- Pope (Australia) – consumer irrigation
- Hayter (United Kingdom) – consumer and professional lawnmowers
[edit] References
- ^ Employees, Number of Employees
- ^ The Toro Company History, History 1910-1919
- ^ Toro Golf Course Irrigation, Golf Course Irrigation dominations
- ^ The Toro Company, History 1980-1989, retrieved on: July 30, 2007.
- ^ The Toro Company, History 1980-1989, retrieved on: July 30, 2007.
- ^ The Toro Company, History 1990-1999, retrieved on: July 30, 2007.
- ^ The Toro Company | Press Release
[edit] 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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