Toro
Toro thrives on innovation. This rich legacy is alive every day as we strive to develop exciting new products and technologies to improve performance, productivity and efficiency.
Finding better ways to solve customers’ challenges has always been part of the fabric of Toro’s culture. An important chapter in that legacy started in 1952, when turf industry legend James R. Watson, Ph.D., joined The Toro Company as director of agronomy.
Around that time, Dr. Watson began leading a team of researchers in conducting studies on a variety of grasses and soils to ensure best management practices in fertilization and water usage, as well as approaches for controlling unwanted grasses, disease and pests. (Fun fact: The area where these studies took place was once the only research center of its kind in the world. It’s now known as the “Dr. James R. Watson Research and Development Proving Grounds” and it is still being used today at The Toro Company’s world headquarters in Bloomington, Minn.)
During his 46 years at The Toro Company, Dr. Watson was a pioneer in turf and water management research, and used the results of his studies to educate Toro employees and the industry at large. Dr. Watson was more than an agronomist, he was a customer advocate — and golf courses, parks and sports facilities around the world frequently sought his advice whenever they faced difficult turf challenges.
Around that time, Dr. Watson began leading a team of researchers in conducting studies on a variety of grasses and soils to ensure best management practices in fertilization and water usage, as well as approaches for controlling unwanted grasses, disease and pests. (Fun fact: The area where these studies took place was once the only research center of its kind in the world. It’s now known as the “Dr. James R. Watson Research and Development Proving Grounds” and it is still being used today at The Toro Company’s world headquarters in Bloomington, Minn.)
During his 46 years at The Toro Company, Dr. Watson was a pioneer in turf and water management research, and used the results of his studies to educate Toro employees and the industry at large. Dr. Watson was more than an agronomist, he was a customer advocate — and golf courses, parks and sports facilities around the world frequently sought his advice whenever they faced difficult turf challenges.
Building on Dr. Watson’s groundbreaking research, an advanced engineering group emerged within Toro’s Commercial Business in the 1980s. Over time, this team expanded to include both residential and commercial equipment, as well as irrigation, evolving into the Center for Advanced Turf Technology in the late 1990s.