Starting in 2014, Superabrasive will aggressively market the new GlossFire name for the automatic edge tooling and with that launch will bring on an entire new tool lineup for the stone industry. Never fear America, your trusted lawn mower company is still intact. This despite the growing popularity of another Toro.        

It appears that a Bulgarian diamond manufacturer, Superabrasive, has used the brand to such great success that the question of brand stability has been raised. Make any sense? We didn’t think so, either. Why on earth would a BILLION dollar lawn care company worry about a small tool manufacturer? Could it be that these diamond tools are used in such a way that a consumer could be confused as to which he should buy to combat his overgrown weeds?  I don’t think so. We did a little research on SuperAbrasive to find out why Toro would feel so threatened.  

Superabrasive has had a reputation for quality tools since its beginning in 1986 but didn’t make the Toro product until 2005. As is the case with most new products, this was designed to fix a major problem that Sassomecannica was experiencing with their polishing machines. At the time the only options to be used on these machines were silicon carbide or aluminum oxide wheels. 

These were very inefficient and cheaply-made wheels. After exhaustive testing, Superabrasive devised a revolutionary diamond impregnated disc to use on these machines to polish the edges of granite. From the very beginning the discs were a success. Granite shops around the country outfitted their machines with the Toro flat and bullnose discs.  

So, the more we understand how the tools are being used the less we understand about why a lawnmower manufacturer would be threatened. Was the name stolen from Toro and just used irresponsibly? No, the Toro-F (flat) and Toro-B (bullnose) names were trademarked at the US Patent and Trademark office. Normally this is enough to protect your brands from the threat of lawsuit but not in this case. The deep pockets of Toro have made this a modern-day David and Goliath case. Revenue of Toro: $1.96 billion.  Revenue for Superabrasive: let’s just say not $1.96 billion.  

So where does this leave our favorite Bulgarians? Surprisingly they are incredibly optimistic about the future. Instead of fighting the Toro Company and filling the pockets of their high-priced lawyers, they are taking the higher road and rebranding under the name GlossFire. They see this as an opportunity to reach out to the customers and make them better known in the industry. Starting in 2014, Superabrasive will aggressively market the new GlossFire name for the automatic edge tooling and with that launch will bring on an entire new tool lineup for the stone industry. No secrets are out just yet, but stay tuned for major announcements in the next year.  

So, a word of advice for all businesses out there: be sure that your groundbreaking products don’t conflict with a landscaping power’s name. They may just think your new granite tool will take sales away from their leaf blowers. 

Nathan Padgett is the Stone Products Manager at Superabrasive, Inc. He can be reached at nathan@superabrasive.us.