N e w s a n d I n f o r m a t i o n f o r L a n d s c a p e a n d I r r i g a t i o n P r o f e s s i o n a l s

OnlineTools MakeProductTrainingEasy 24/7

Summer 2008 www.toro.com

pg. 2

Th e Toro School of BusinessHelps Contractors FocusOn Growing Th eir Business

pg. 3

New Products: High-Effi ciencyT5 Series Rotors andTPV/TPVF Series Valves

pg. 4

Effi cient 570Z PRX SeriesSprinklers Help ClientsSave Precious Water

pg. 5

Water Is Th e Issue::Irrigation ProfessionalsPossess Essential Skills

pg. 6

‘Greatest Show on Turf ’Provides A New Style of Training

pg. 7

Visit www.torocontractor.com for access to a wealth of information that irrigation contractors can really use, and it’s all available 24/7. Visit torocontractor.com and you’ll fi nd:

• An online Toro Irrigation products catalog.• Links and contact information for accessing Toro Technical Support.• Details about innovative solutions delivered by Toro Irrigation products.• Useful tips on effi cient water management and conservation.• Information about Toro Irrigation education resources.

Contractors can also download coupons for product discounts or special offers, and can register to receive special offers from Toro via e-mail. Check it out!

Finally A Website Designed Just For You...

www.torocontractor.com

2

Use Customer DatabaseTo Build Your SalesBy Tom Tootle, Director of Business Development

New housing construction is dead, tons of folks are bid-ding commercial work... So how do you grow your busi-ness in these market conditions?

Work your existing customer list.

Many of you have your customers on annual service contracts, which is a great source of revenue. However, this is the year to start upselling this group of folks who already know and trust you!

To your customers, you are their “water expert,” and your customers are more aware of water issues now than they have ever been. Water is more expensive. Water conservation is “front of mind” with your customers. So provide them with product and service solutions such as:

• Controller Upgrade. Educate your customers about exciting new technologies proven to save water and reduce overspray! Th e Toro Intelli-Sense™ series of daily-adjusting controllers will give your customers the satisfaction of knowing every drop of water used on their landscapes will be used wisely – with no excess. Th e State of California has enacted legislation requiring “all timers” to be “smart controllers by 2012.” Many other states have also begun to mandate “Smart” irrigation controllers.

• Adding a Wireless or Wired Rain or Rain/Freeze Sensor. Nothing frustrates homeowners more than seeing sprinkler systems running while it is raining. Off er the Toro Wireless or Wired Rain or Rain/Freeze Sensor as an economical way to save water!

• Introduce Low-Volume Irrigation. Replace shrub spray zones with water-effi cient low-volume irrigation. Conserve water and keep damaging spray off the customer’s house. Toro Dripline is easy to install, and you can usually run the new drip zone off the existing valve assembly. (See page 6)

Remember, your customers like you and trust you. You are their water expert. Home improvement is always on their mind and you can help them improve their home’s appearance. Instill in their minds the benefi ts of improving their existing irrigation system.

Toro Offers Online Product TrainingToro University Is Now Online

Toro University interactive training is now available online 24/7 with the focus on a new product each month. These brief training sessions are approximately 10 minutes long and feature a narrated, automated slide presentation loaded with graphics. A short exam after each session lets you test your knowledge.

“In educating contractors and distributors about Toro products, the number one challenge is making consistent, accurate, and timely information available and convenient for the contractor to access,” said Larry Spain, Irrigation Product Training Manager. “The training is brief and to the point because we understand that contractors don’t have a lot of spare time for training once the season breaks.

“We hope that making this training available online will assist not only the contractor-owner, but also provide a training tool for crew members.”

A link and instructions on how to access the training is provided on the education page of the website. For questions contact us by email at irrigationtraining@toro.com.

Education To Benefi t Your BusinessIn today’s challenging business climate, it’s more important than ever that you fi nd ways to be more effi cient in running your business. The Toro School of Business at the University of Notre Dame provides contractors with business skills to drive their businesses in good economic times and bad. Contractors who have attended the school report they really benefi ted.

“It was huge! First class all the way, and not just a big commercial for Toro,” said Erich Short of A & H Sprinklers, Inc., in Orlando. “They welcomed us, thanked us for coming, then turned it over to the professors and speakers who put on an excellent business training event. I still refer often to my binder from the school.”

Rolando Martinez of Fresno Landscaping said, “I’ve been to a lot of schools with other brands in the past and this is the best one I’ve ever attended... I would highly recommend it. I got a lot out of it. I got back and I changed a couple things about how I run our company.”

Ed Wheeler of Theisen Sprinkler Company in Broomfi eld, Colorado, agreed: “We really enjoyed it and thought it was very benefi cial. One of the subjects I got the most out of was the coverage of employee management, the people management. That was very benefi cial.”

Ed said lessons learned at the school have been implemented in Theisen’s business approach. “We changed the way we do some things,” he said. “We’re out in the fi eld, in the mud – in the trenches, so to speak – and we sometimes forget about the business aspect, the big picture. This got us refocused on what is very important.”

NOW is the time to join the hundreds of contractors who have experienced “accelerated learning” at the Toro School of Business at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, IN. Our next business school will be Dec. 7-10, 2008. Space is limited, but if you want to be considered for the program, contact your Toro Distributor or Toro District Sales Manager.

3

Toro Contractor Services: Support At Your FingertipsGot questions? Need technical support? With Toro Technical Support, answers are as close as your computer or your telephone. It’s your choice, and it’s all free!

You can access information from the Toro website (www.toro.com) or by e-mail. Or give our Toro Technical Support telephone line a call and speak to a real, live person who will help you fi nd the answers and solu-tions you need.

While it seems like everyone else is making it more diffi cult to talk to a real person, Toro is making it easier!

Give our Toro Technical Support team a call at:1-877-345-TORO (1-877-345-8676)

Or contact our tech team by e-mail at: Tech.Support@Toro.com

You enjoy free, instant access to irrigation specialists.

Byron Hughes, Technical Services Representative with 28 years of experience with Toro Irrigation.

New TPV/TPVF Series ValvesAll Th e Performance Features Contractors Seek

4

INNOVATION

New T5 Series Rotors Easy To Use Versatile Rotors Off er Added Value

With its convenient size and its great versatility, the new T5 Series Rotor delivers a benefi t contractors

and their clients love: added value.

The new T5 has the same body size as com-petitive brands’ 4” pop-ups, yet it extends to a full 5” pop-up height, making it ideal for use in high-turf areas. It also has a convenient top adjustment feature that makes it easy to quickly select between part- and full-circle arc delivery – from 40° to 360°.

Tom Cascio of the Cascio Company in Agawam, Massachusetts, has worked with T5 rotors

since they were in their fi nal test stages and now uses them in a wide variety of applications.

“We’re using the T5 quite a bit,” he said. “We use them as a repair head and we have used them for com-plete systems, too. It’s quite a good head, easy to install. We’re using them mostly in residential applica-tions and haven’t had a problem with the heads we have installed.”

Along with its versatile arc adjustability, the T5 nozzle tree offers standard angles as well as a low-angle set. Both sets of nozzles offer a wide selection of fl ows, and the nozzles are balanced so you can use any nozzle in the same zone where different arcs are being irrigated at the same time.

With its competitive pricing and great versatility, the new T5 Series Rotor could become your new “go-to” rotor, the one you install daily in a wide range of applications.

Patent-pending Glue Stop™ prevents clogging

Santoprene™ Diaphragm for corrosion resistance

Patented DBS Technology™ (Debris Bypass System)

The Toro Professional Valve (TPV) Series offers commercial-grade features and performance at a great value.

This 1” valve has an unheard-of 175 psi pressure rating, an operating range of .01 to 40 GPM, a 5-year trade warranty and a variety of inlet/outlet confi gurations.

Toro® X-Flow® Technology Prevents Water LossToro Irrigation Products Help Conserve Water

When Toro evaluates the performance of its irrigation products, it goes beyond fl ow rates, arcs and nozzle choices to measure how effectively each product helps contractors and customers conserve water.

Water is a precious resource. It is also expensive, and when it is wasted through irrigation system malfunction or damage, the result is costly, inconvenient and potentially damaging through effects such as erosion.

When a spray nozzle is miss-ing or damaged, as much as 40 gallons of water can be wasted – per minute! And in an average 10-minute run time, one broken riser or nozzle can waste more than 11 bathtubs of water!

Here are examples of ways Toro Irrigation products help conserve water. Additional information is available at www.toro.com (see

sidebar).

570Z Series Sprinklers: Based on the 570Z fi xed spray units, there are several models in this series with water-saving technology.

• The 570Z XF has a valve in riser that allows a nozzle to be removed for repair or replacement while the system is running.

• The 570Z PR has an in-riser regulator that maintains consistent pressure. It is effective in systems with high or variable water pressure, and where misting or fogging are common problems.

• The 570Z PRX combines the patented Toro X-Flow water loss prevention with the pressure-regulating technologies in a single riser. Performance is stabilized at about 30 psi from the fi rst head to the last, and the X-Flow technology provides a valve in riser seal to prevent 99% of water loss if the nozzle is damaged or dislodged.

Get More Info Online View Video And Estimate Your Water Savings

For more information about how Toro Irrigation products help conserve water, visit www.toro.com. Click through to the Irrigation page describing the 570Z Series Sprinklers. There you’ll fi nd links to a video that shows how X-Flow technology minimizes water waste, and you can complete an interactive worksheet to evaluate your annual water savings if you use 570Z PRX Sprinklers.

5Complete the Interactive Worksheet Online

x 11!x 11!

PatentedX-Flow® Device

Patented Z Seal

Pressure Regulator

570Z PRX Sprinklers

Micro-Drip IrrigationPractical, Innovative Solutions – And Strong Sales Potential

It’s natural for an irrigation contractor to think big – big sales, big installations – but be sure to take full advantage of products at the other end of the irrigation spectrum: Toro Micro-Irrigation products. As a leader in micro-irrigation innovations, Toro offers DL2000® Dripline which

is the most technologically advanced subsurface

irrigation system available. Through its non-toxic patented ROOTGUARD® technology, only DL2000 delivers optimal water application directly to the root zone while safely inhibiting root intrusion. With higher water costs in our future, it only makes sense to use inline tubing in suitable landscape applications.

6

Water Is The Issue?Irrigation Professionals’ Skills More Valuable Th an Ever

If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then photos of low-water conditions at Lake Powell, UT, Lake Okeechobee, FL, Lake Mead, NV, and Lake Lanier, GA, tell a coast-to-coast story about dwindling water U.S. supplies. Record droughts, population growth, competing demands for water from agriculture, environmental and industrial interests are all combining to threaten the very heart of our industry. When faced with hard choices, water purveyors act in favor of “essential needs.” As the Executive Director of the South Florida Water Management District said, “Brown lawns are a small price to pay to have an adequate source of drinking water.” So yes, water is an issue we all need to consider seriously.

The Future Price Of WaterFinding, storing, treating and pumping water costs more now than it did fi ve years ago and will cost more in fi ve years. Plus, an aging water infrastructure delivering water to U.S. urban populations must be repaired and/or replaced. That will cost billions of dollars. When increased water demand meets higher costs of delivering water and infrastructure costs are added, it can easily be argued that the price of water will increase faster than anyone expects.

Water Management Skills: In DemandWhen water costs rise faster than infl ation, those who are knowledgeable about water-saving irrigation technologies and practices will be more in demand than ever. Those who pay the water bills will search diligently for ways to manage water costs. And this search will lead them to landscape & irriga-tion professionals who are knowledgeable (i.e. certifi ed) about what it takes to reduce landscape water use without compro-

mising the landscape itself. “The cost of this service will come to be seen as an investment rather than an expense, because the end result is a tangible return on that investment,” said Mike Baron, National Specifi ca-tion & Sales Manager Water Management Products, Toro Irrigation

Water Purveyor SupportBelieve it or not, the single largest irrigated “crop” in the U.S. is turf grass – bigger than soy beans, corn or wheat. That means irrigation professionals who design, install and maintain landscape irrigation systems across the U.S. manage and irrigate more “crop” acreage than any group of farmers in the country. Water purveyors recognize this and are increasingly offering commercial and residential property owners fi nancial incentives to install the latest water-saving irrigation technology. It is expected that in 2008, water purveyors across the U.S. will be prepared to invest over $20 million to encourage the installation of water saving irrigation technology.

Lake Mead, Nevada

Lake Lanier, Georgia

Lake Okeechobee, Flordia

Lake Powell, Utah

7

Contractors Enjoy Hands-On Training During the Toro ‘Greatest Show on Turf’Fresh Approach To Training Is A Big Success

Toro took its 2008 campaign message direct to the people this spring with the “Greatest Show on Turf” (GST), a fl eet of customized trucks and a national training program that was presented to thousands of contractors nationwide.

“After years of reaching contractors through the normal counter-days and hamburger lunches, we needed to do something different”, said Product Training Manager Larry Spain. “At counter-days, we don’t always get to spend adequate time with irrigation contractors, especially with the large number of new products and programs Toro offers.

“At our ‘Greatest Show on Turf’ events, customers were able to experience as much as 3 hours of hands-on training and instruction on Toro products with no distractions. While our focus was on the irrigation contractor, we also invited our distributors to attend and hosted irrigation designers and municipal water purveyors at some stops. These were very inclusive events.”

According to Tom Tootle, Director of Business Development, “The goal was to take a clear message to the irrigation contractor about who Toro is, and to have them see, feel and hear about the key business solutions Toro offers. These professionals need to understand what it means to be focused

on practical water management with our Toro WaterSmart® products.”

To spread the Toro Irrigation message, trucks were leased and customized with bold “Greatest Show on Turf” graphics. Each

truck was loaded with equipment and products for hands-on training, including controllers, valves, sprinklers and acces-sories as well as promotional items to build brand awareness. Hands-on activities kept the attendees engaged in learning.

The GST trucks hit the road in early February with the goal of providing training to contractors in 27 cities.

The tour kicked off with events in Denver, Fort Lauderdale and Houston. After additional stops and thousands of miles, the fi nal events were held in Seattle, Chicago and Boston in March.

Tampa, FL

Dallas, TX Riverside, CA

Washington, DC

EDUCATION

Toro Hosts the 3rd Annual Toro WaterSmart® Symposium‘Success Without Excess III’

The Toro CompanyIrrigation Division5825 Jasmine StreetRiverside, CA 92504-1183

© 2008 The Toro CompanyIrrigation Division5825 Jasmine StreetRiverside, CA 92504-1183

All trademarks are the property of The Toro Company or their respective owners. All Rights Reserved.

Form # 08-1041-IRCNA

Toro hosts the third annual WaterSmart Symposium. This year it will be broadcast via a “Virtual Worldwide Webcast” with presenters from various locations around the world. Market segments represented will be Residential, Commercial, Golf and Agriculture, all sharing water efficiency practices. For details about the event, visit www.torowatersmart.com.

We Welcome Your Input. Contact Us.Questions, comments and suggestions from irrigation professionals have helped us

develop several of our most effective solutions. That’s why we invite you to contact us with your opinions, ideas and questions. We also welcome your ideas for

future stories and your views on this issue.

Tom Tootle Director of Business Development770-330-4011 • Tom.Tootle@toro.com

WaterSmart Symposium

July 29-30, 2008You’ll want to be a part of this important event.

Tom RiversNational Contractor Development Manager

864-940-0233 • Tom.Rivers@toro.com

In Our Next Issue:• IA Expo in Anaheim• Introduction of new Nozzles that will change the industry forever…• WaterSmart Symposium Recap

July is Smart Irrigation Month!Join the Irrigation Association (IA) in observing “Smart Irrigation Month.” Promote water conservation through effi cient watering practices and the use of technologically advanced irrigation products. You and your clients can learn more at: www.smartirrigationmonth.org

Mike Baron,National Specifi cation

& Sales ManagerWater Management

ProductsToro Irrigation