Parkland News

 

The Toro Company will enter into a partnership with the State of New York to provide the next generation of turf maintenance equipment powered by hydrogen fuel cells. The project supports New York’s plan to adopt “Green and Clean” State buildings and vehicles.

 

New York State has an aggressive green parks initiative to support the advancement of hydrogen technology in New York. Selected as a partner, Toro will provide Niagara Falls State Park (NFSP) with 3 hydrogen-powered utility vehicles based on the Toro® Workman® chassis by mid-2007. Toro displayed the hydrogen utility vehicle in its booth at the 2007 Golf Industry Show in Anaheim California in February.

 

Toro announced that all diesel-powered golf course and sports fields and grounds equipment will be “Bio-diesel Ready” by 2008. This includes the Toro Reelmaster®, Groundsmaster®, Greensmaster®, Workman® and MultiPro® product families

 

As part of this initiative, the company is also creating upgrade kits for these product families to convert diesel models already in production or in the field to be compatible with bio-diesel fuel.

 

“Our bio-diesel readiness initiative is part of a commitment to developing innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers and help to better the environment,” said Mike Hoffman, Chairman and CEO of The Toro Company. “The time is right for Toro and the industry to commit to this effort.” For the past five years, Toro has conducted extensive equipment testing using bio-fuel and bio-diesel blends. With kit modifications and an understanding of a few additional precautions customers can enjoy a more efficient, cleaner technology through bio-diesel fuel blends of up to B20. Bio-diesel is an alternative fuel source derived from biological sources that are completely biodegradable and non-toxic. Emissions from bio-fuels and bio-diesel blends are lower than petroleum-based diesel fuels making them more environmentally friendly. There are various levels of bio-diesel fuels including B2, B5, B10, B20 and B100. For example, bio-diesel fuels designated as B20 represent a mixture of 80 percent petroleum and 20 percent bio-fuel.

 

Bio-diesel upgrade kits are expected to be available in New Zealand by September 2007.

Toro Biodegradable hydraulic Oil is now available for most Toro models. This non-toxic hydraulic fluid oil is good for the environment. It will shortly be available from Parkland in a choice of 208 litre drums or 19 litre containers. 

 

To find out if biodegradable hydraulic oil is right for your Toro you should contact our Service Manager, Sean Van Ingen-Kal.