Toro are without doubt one of the world’s leading turf care machinery manufacturers, providing both the homeowner and professional user with a range of equipment designed to cater for every eventuality. The company was founded in 1914, not with the intention to create the Toro lawn mowers we know today, but with the singular purpose of providing The Bull Tractor Company with a reliable source of engines. They did this to great effect until the beginning of WW1, when their attentions were turned to providing steering winches for merchant shipping during this time. By 1920, a move into the turf care industry was imminent when five cylinder mower units were attached to a Toro tractor in order to maintain the fairways at The Minikahda Club in Minneapolis. By 1928 a portfolio of industry leading machines had been produced and it was time for Toro to branch out into International territories.
The year of 1938 saw the first production of the Homelawn — the first of the domestic Toro lawn mowers — yet by 1942 all domestic manufacturing of Toro lawn mowers was halted in an effort to build tank, canon and anti-aircraft equipment for the U.S. army during WW2. Expansion follows the disruption of the war years for the next few decades, when Toro expand into new markets with industry firsts, including the snow-throwing Snow Hound in 1952. Further development of the all important turf care equipment saw Toro form a partnership with America’s Super Bowl organisers in 1966 before it moved back into the agricultural scene with industry leading irrigation equipment. The turn of the millennium sees The Toro Company going from strength to strength, continuing to develop Toro lawn mowers and groundbreaking solutions to turf maintenance for professional and domestic customers, whilst at the same time investing time and money back into community projects, resulting in being named Jefferson Award 2012 winner.