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The Toro Co. announced that it will celebrate its 90th anniversary with Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty around the theme, "Innovation Days." To mark the milestone in Toro's history, the company has put together demonstrations and displays to showcase its nine decades of innovation.
"The Toro Co. has a long and rich heritage of providing innovative lawn and landscape products and services that meet our customers' changing needs," said Ken Melrose, Toro’s chairman and chief executive officer. "The integration of quality products with value-added services is a key driver in our business. Through our ongoing innovation we can also continue to provide growth and learning opportunities to our employees, creating a highly skilled workforce that's good for Toro and good for the state of Minnesota."
Since 1914, The Toro Co. has helped reinvent the way landscapes are maintained and cared for with market-changing products and services. The company was the first to manufacture the two-row farm cultivator, 76-inch professional mower, snow thrower, bagging attachment for rotary mowers, flexible line trimmer and electric-start consumer lawn mowers.
On Thursday at Toro's global headquarters in Bloomington, Minn., Pawlenty joined Melrose to address Toro employees and recognize its recent patent award recipients. Pawlenty participated in demonstrations of the company's latest product offering to the consumer market. The company also had a display of its vintage equipment dating back to the 1930s.
Toro will continue to expand upon its legacy of innovation by increasing its investment in engineering, research and development (ER&D). Last year, the company invested 2.8 percent of its sales, totaling $41.5 million, in ER&D. This year, the company increased its spending to 3.1 percent of sales, totaling $50 million.
In addition to developing tools and equipment for landscape contractors, golf course superintendents and homeowners, Toro's history includes an important role with the Super Bowl – participating in every game dating back to the first in 1966 - as the company assists in developing proper playing turf for the game.
"This is an exciting time for the entire team at Toro," said Melrose. "We are experiencing financial success due to the innovative efforts and dedication of every member of the Toro family. As we look to the future, we will invest in key initiatives to ensure our sales growth outperforms the market, and we will continue to adapt and change to meet the unique needs of our global customers."