Lely UK, based in Cambridgeshire, has won The Toro Company’s annual Distributor of Excellence award.

Lely UK fought off stiff competition from other Toro distributors across Europe and the Middle East to win the award, which is classed by The Toro Company as its top honour. The award is judged on sales performance, market share and customer care and satisfaction. 

Graham Dale accepts the award with Lely’s Trevor Chard (on his left) and David Cole.

The Toro Company’s Partners in Excellence programme was established between The Toro Company and its many distributors in 1984, with the international award introduced just three years ago in 2011. 

Lely has supported Toro in the UK for more than 30 years and together they count many of the UK’s top golf clubs, sports venues and other amenity sites among their customers. In that time Toro has added to Lely’s distribution of golf and fine turf products, with its turf irrigation and more recently groundscare products. 

As he presented the award Michael J Hoffman, Toro’s chairman and chief executive officer, was complimentary about Lely’s commitment to the Toro brand: “Lely has been a partner of Toro’s for over 30 years and is one of Toro’s largest distributors in the world. In the 2013 Partners in Excellence programme, they performed especially strongly in sales and marketing, and did consistently well in financial health and customer care areas.

“The management team has been very strong and stable and has worked with the Toro international division closely for years. They all very much understand the value of relationships, and support Toro in securing business at some of the most iconic golf courses and sports venues in the world such as St. Andrews, Gleneagles and Wimbledon.”

Graham Dale, Lely UK’s managing director was also recognised in The Toro Company’s first International Quarter Century Club for his 31 years of service at Lely UK.

Lely UK and Graham were announced winners on 10 July during Toro’s Centenary week celebrations and received a bronze bull designed and custom-made by bronze artist Wally Shoop.