For those running Boss equipment, you might have noticed a slight change in ownership in the headlines lately.
The Toro Company recently acquired the Boss Professional Snow and Ice management business.
Ever since the news broke, landscapers have been asking a variety of questions about what will happen to the equipment.
I spoke with Bill Brown, Group Vice President of Commercial & Irrigation Businesses with The Toro Company, and here is what he had to say:
1. First, why did Toro acquire the Boss Professional Snow and Ice Management business?
“Toro is looking for good companies to strengthen our overall portfolio, including the professional contractor market. Specifically, snow and ice management is a category that we have looked at for a number of years and through this relationship with Boss, we were able to eventually complete the acquisition that we announced. We’re very impressed by the Boss brand. It has a strong culture that fits well with the Toro culture, and we felt that the combination of the two companies would be very strong.”
2. What does this acquisition mean for Toro?
“The Boss brand is very strong among contractors, which helps complement our brands of contractor products. We have Toro and Exmark products in the landscape contractor area for the turf management business. We have Irritrol in the residential and commercial irrigation spaces, as well as Unique Lighting for professional outdoor lighting. We also gain a good manufacturing facility in Iron Mountain, Michigan, which is just over the border from Wisconsin.”
3. What should landscapers expect as far as the future in regards to equipment, purchasing, ect.?
“First and foremost, it’s business as usual. We’ll continue on with the Boss brand, as that was one of the core strengths of the acquisition, along with their distribution. We’ll continue to invest in the product line. We have a good team of engineers in Iron Mountain, and we plan to further the product line whether that’s the plow business, which is the primary part, or the spreaders. You’ll see continued new products being developed.”
4. How long has this been in the works?
“We’ve probably been looking at the snow and ice category on and off for five or six years. We’re always looking at businesses that are closely lined with our customer groups, and this has been on our radar for a long time.”
