Left to right: Bloomington Mayor Gene Winstead; Jeff Appelquist, author of Toro's recently released centennial book; Governor Mark Dayton (Minnesota); and Michael J. Hoffman, Toro's chairman and CEO (Photo: The Toro Company)

Governor Dayton traveled to Bloomington to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Toro yesterday. The company, which designs and manufactures lawn care and landscaping equipment, is one of the state's largest companies - employing about 1,800 in Minnesota.

"Part of the mentality of Toro is reaching out to its customers and to the communities, and developing high-quality products while strengthening your market through innovation," said Governor Dayton. "I don't think that the founder could have imagined 100 years ago that Toro would grow to be a Fortune 1000 company, or that more importantly, you'd be a leading corporate citizen in Minnesota. Your contributions to this state have been enormous.

Last fall, the Governor visited Toro as they broke ground on a expansion project that will add a three-story addition on the north side of its headquarters building at Lyndale Avenue South and 82nd Street West. When completed, the 75,000 square-foot expansion will allow the company to add 50 new corporate positions and retain nearly 900 more jobs.

To assist in the expansion project, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development provided Toro a $750,000 forgivable loan from the Minnesota Investment Fund.