() is an
American manufacturer of
Lawnmowers and other lawn care tools based in
Bloomington ,
Minnesota .
Founded as the in ,
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 Toro Golf Course Irrigation,
Golf Course Irrigation dominations .
In 1986, Toro 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
Lawnmower sThe Toro Company,
History 1980-1989 , retrieved on: July 30, 2007., and Exmark in 1997.The Toro Company,
History 1990-1999 , retrieved on: July 30, 2007.
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 Segment s. 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.http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=62289&p=irol-newsArticle&t=Regular&id=801214&
The company's products are marketed under several
Brand s:
- – consumer and professional lawnmowers, Snowblower s, trimmers, Leaf Blower s, and Irrigation systems
- – professional lawnmowers
- – consumer lawnmowers
- – professional light-duty irrigation
- – consumer irrigation
- ( Australia ) – consumer irrigation
- ( United Kingdom ) – consumer and professional lawnmowers
