expenses paid trips (sigh, bit of a pain really), but these things have to be done, I think you’ll all agree. Simon Gale from Lely UK was at
I
Heathrow to meet me and we were soon joined by the two others in the party, Roy Mephram from Wentworth Golf Club and George Hunt from Woburn Golf Club. After a ten hour flight we arrived in Minneapolis with a bump and the roar of reverse thrust. We then trundled around Minneapolis airport looking for a parking space (you’d think they would have that sorted, wouldn’t you?), parked up and went though the paperwork circus that is arriving in America. A short taxi ride took us to our hotel where we went for a drinks and hors d'oeuvres reception in the bar put on by The Toro Company. Here we met various representatives of Toro, some of whom would be our hosts for the week. The other members of our party had all arrived and we introduced ourselves, Rick Raison from Australia, Bert Dohmen and Marcel Hendrickx from Holland, and Peter Kavanagh, Patrick Lachapelle, Erle Jackson and Malcolm Starkey who were all from Canada. On Tuesday, our first day, we took a short ride in the hotel shuttle bus to The Toro Headquarters in Bloomington where we spent the day being shown around the various departments. Toro Motor Company was founded in
1914. The company began as an engine supplier to the Bull Tractor Company and, in 1920, changed its name to Toro Manufacturing Company who, by now, were manufacturing farm equipment. Toro created their first golf course mower
in 1921. Now, in 2008, Toro are considered the leaders in golf course maintenance
114
had been invited by The Toro Company, and sponsored by Lely UK, to visit the Toro Headquarters in Minneapolis. It was one of those all
equipment, boasting some 1,400 patents, both current and expired.
Our principal organiser for the week was
Ms Karine Watne and, after signing a confidentiality agreement, we started the tour.
The tightly packed day flew by as we
went from one department to another along huge corridors you could land a light aircraft in. One department dealt with aesthetics, styling and ergonomics. Using a variety of materials including clay (couldn’t spell plasterscene) and papier-mache to make full-scale models of machines seemed a little excessive, but simply confirmed the attention to detail we would become accustomed to during the next few days. We met Mike Hoffman, Toro’s Chief
Executive Officer, who gave us time from his busy schedule to extend a warm welcome. We also had time with some “boffins” engaged on alternative fuel projects and fuel saving ideas. Mr. Dana Lonn, Head Engineer of The Centre for Advanced Turf Technology, and his colleagues, Jack and Jesse, made a good team; they had much to say about many ideas that were being examined. I got the impression they were a law unto themselves, but free thinking was encouraged to get the most out of the creative mind. In my opinion this is to be applauded for its investment in the future. Dana’s talk in the afternoon was inspired and inspiring. He was able to draw on his vast experience to use simple parallels to explain complex concepts that made them both easy to understand and very entertaining. Dinner that evening was to be at Famous Dave’s Bar-b-Que grill, a short bus ride from
An Englishman Stateside
CelticManor’sWorkshopManager, Cal Callaby, enjoys Toro’s hospitality at their
headquarters inMinneapolis
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