TORO CELEBRATES 50-YEAR-OLD WHEEL HORSE INVENTION
Fifty years ago, in a place called South Bend, in Indiana, USA, a man
called Cecil Pond invented the first riding lawn and garden tractor –
and so began production of the Toro Wheel Horse products that have
become so popular on both sides of the water.
Cecil did something nobody had ever done before and came up with a
simple but effective invention that changed the landscape of grass
mowing forever.
It all began in 1947 when mechanically-minded Cecil left his job with
an oil company to work with his father to build their own tractors for
small farms and gardens.
The product that put Wheel Horse on the map was the Ride-Away Jr, which
Cecil developed in 1954. “I had built a two-wheel push tractor with a
reverse gear and I thought, ‘now I can make it a ride-on,’ ” said
Cecil. Sceptics didn’t believe the tractor would be able to turn
without sliding forward, but Cecil’s prototype proved them wrong. “It
wasn’t an invention, it was a discovery,” Cecil added.
The Ride-Away Jr. was incredibly versatile – it had 57 attachments and
could mow, plough and cultivate, among other tasks. But its most
popular use by far was as a mower. Demand soon outstripped production
and so Cecil convinced his father to mortgage their house to allow for
further investment in the company. After that, sales increased by $4
million every year.
After expanding their premises 12 times, a new facility was built in
1960. This was a 180 x 240ft building on 36 acres of land. Further
expansion doubled its size two years later and eventually it grew to a
250,00 sq/ft plant capable of producing 12 basic tractor models. During
the 1960s, the plant at South Bend employed 600 people and could
produce a Wheel Horse tractor every three minutes.
Toro Wheel Horse quickly became a household name in the States.
Famous talk show host Johnny Carson introduced Wheel Horse adverts
during The Tonight Show, and many celebrities became fans, including
Bob Hope and Buster Keaton. There was international success, too, with
tractors selling across Europe.
Although it’s 30 years since Wheel Horse became part of Toro, and
50 years since the Ride-Away was launched, Cecil still gets a thrill
when he sees someone mowing a lawn on a ride-on tractor. “Every time I
see that I get a little smile on my face,” he said. “It might not be a
Wheel Horse, but that tractor wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for
the Wheel Horse.”
A true British racing legend, Sir Jackie Stewart was one of many celebrities to invest in a Toro Wheel Horse tractor.
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