Construction has begun on the Toro Co.'s new, $11.5 million distribution center in Tomah, Wisconsin. The 354,000-square-foot facility will distribute Toro's lawn maintenance equipment. It replaces a 310,000-square-foot space in Baraboo, Wisconsin that Toro maintained for nearly 20 years.

"The selected site in Tomah provides the greatest benefit in helping reduce operational costs while improving our productivity," said Judy Altmaier, vice president of operations at Toro.

The new building is only two miles from Toro's Tomah manufacturing plant, which has 490 employees and is 35 years old. The old center was 60 miles from the factory. The center will employ 15 to 20 people.

The move is one of three changes Toro has recently announced. In December, it closed its Simi Valley, California plant and transferred the work to facilities in Riverside, California and Juarez, Mexico. Last year, it consolidated its Lincoln, Nebraska distribution center into its Beatrice, Nebraska factory.