Landscaping products maker could build robotics R&D center in Weld County

DENVER — The Colorado Economic Development Commission approved a package of tax incentives Thursday in hopes of enticing an unnamed global landscaping products manufacturer to build a robotics research and development center in Weld County.  

The company, referred to in EDC and Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade documents as Project Columbia, will be offered $519,626 in incentives in exchange for the creation of net new jobs at an average annual wage of $106,889.

It is the commission’s practice not to identify companies OEDIT is recruiting until incentives are accepted.

Project Columbia is described by OEDIT as a “worldwide provider of innovative solutions for the outdoor environment including turf and landscape maintenance, snow and ice management, underground utility construction, rental and specialty construction, and irrigation and outdoor lighting solutions.”

In addition to Weld County, the company is considering building its robotics center in Minnesota, where it is headquartered. Project Columbia will “base its decision on cost of the markets it is considering and the relative value of economies of scale in its respective operations in Colorado and Minnesota,” according to OEDIT.

A commercial real estate site selector who was representing Project Columbia told the EDC that the mystery company has existing operations in Longmont.

Evidence suggests that Project Columbia is The Toro Co. (NYSE: TTC), a Bloomington, Minnesota-based global lawn-care and turf and roadway maintenance products company.

Toro in 2021 acquired Left Hand Robotics Inc., a Longmont startup that developed an autonomous snow-plowing robot and pledged to maintain a presence in the area. 

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