Toro Irrigation celebrates 50 years

Fifty years ago, The Toro Company purchased a Riverside, Calif.-based company, called Moist O’Matic, which manufactured plastic irrigation products. That purchase gave Toro its start in the underground irrigation business.

It all started in 1962 when Moist O’Matic had made revolutionary advancements in the use of plastics and new designs to make water-efficient sprinklers, valves and control systems. Toro’s 4th president, David Lilly, initiated the purchase of Moist O’Matic and hired John Singleton, an irrigation contractor he had met on a golf course, to pioneer Toro’s entry into golf irrigation. Initially, John made little progress but, in 1969, John and the Toro irrigation team made several breakthroughs with golf superintendents, ultimately convincing them to switch to plastic sprinkler systems from traditional brass and iron systems. A mere three years later, Lilly could state in the annual report that Toro had become “the most widely used automatic equipment in golf course irrigation,” according to Toro.

Throughout the next several decades, The Toro Company made multiple acquisitions to enter new markets and product categories, including:

• Hardie Irrigation (1996)
• EICON Industrial Controls (2001)
• R&D Engineering, a rain sensor device manufacturer (2003)
• Rain Master (2007)
• Turf Guard (2008)

Today, The Toro Company owns more than 225 irrigation patents and manufactures a complete line of irrigation solutions including sprays, nozzles, rotors, valves, controllers, sensors, software, services and more. Through its distribution network, Toro delivers those solutions to homeowners, sports fields, municipalities, golf courses and agricultural growers around the world.

"Our 50 years in irrigation is something to be very proud of. We are withstanding the test of time as well as pushing ourselves daily to be solution providers through innovation, constantly challenging ourselves to eliminate waste and focus on quality, while growing and enhancing our customer relationships,” said Phil Burkart, vice president and general manager for Toro’s Irrigation Business.

Though many things have changed over the last five decades, one thing has remained the same – Toro’s unending passion to provide customers with high quality, innovative solutions. That’s why, even during economically uncertain times, Toro has continued to invest in a portfolio of Precision™ Irrigation products that upgrade existing systems to the latest, water-saving technology available.

Toro’s first president, John Samuel Clapper, was fond of saying, “The strength of any institution rests solely in the good will of the people with whom they deal. You can replace anything except the good will of your customers.”

To take advantage of special offers in celebration of Toro’s 50 years in irrigation go to www.torocontractor.com. For more information about The Toro Company and its history, visit www.thetorocompany.com. For more information on Toro’s turf and landscape maintenance and irrigation solutions, visit www.toro.com.