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28 Arbor Age / July 2014 www.arborage.com Tough times never last, but tough companies do. That's evi- dent from the challenges Toro faced from the start. In Toro's fi rst 30 years, the company's leaders navigated through the Great Depression and two world wars by staying true to the company's core ethics and values — and those principles have driven the company's longevity and success ever since. Here are some of the surprisingly simple strategies that have worked for Toro over its fi rst 100 years. Intense focus on solving customer problems Hard-sell tactics have never been part of Toro's culture; it has always been about fi nding out what the customer needs, meeting those needs and providing exemplary service. In fact, Toro got its start in the golf industry by listening and solving problems. Our fi rst two prototypes (a fairway roller in 1918 and a fairway mower in 1919) came out of requests from golf clubs in Minneapolis. The staff at each club collaborated with Toro on a number of early products, offering input and help- ing to test equipment. Taking care of the customer after the sale Toro co-founder and fi rst president John Samuel Clapper thought that any manufacturer of a complicated piece of machinery should care more about that product after the sale than before. For the last century, Toro has done that in three key ways: 1. Standing behind the product. Toro assigned its fi rst manufacturer service representative in the golf business in 1926. Mungo "Scotty" Reid McLaren was charged with traveling the country to visit every golf course that had pur- chased Toro equipment at least once a year. At each stop, he inspected the equip- ment with the crew, helped them fi x any problems, and provided much appreciated training. That tradition of customer ser- vice continues today. 2. Standing behind our distributor partners. Scotty McLaren not only supported our customers, he also visited all of our distributors and trained them. To this day, we stand behind all of our distributors with ongoing training, exceptional parts fi ll rates, sales and technical sup- port, warranty coverage and many other tools to help them provide the level of service our customers have come to know and trust. 3. Staying close to what's important to the customer. Toro's third president, Ken Goit, once said, "The success of this company is no secret. It has been due to two simple things: building a good product and treating customers honestly and fairly." This fundamental approach has allowed Toro to reach our 100th year, and it's also how the company hopes to ap- proach the future. Every new product, feature and improvement we develop is driven by the need to make life easier and more productive for the people we serve. ANNIVERSARY SERIES SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY SERIES SPECIAL Toro Celebrating 100 Years Original Toro Standard Golf Machine Lessons in building a company that lasts Photo provided by Toro