Mercury Marine® has been making world-class outboards and sterndrives for more than 75 years. We started back in 1939 in a small machine shop in Wisconsin, and we've grown into the largest builder of marine propulsion systems in the world. Number one on the water. And we didn't get there by sitting still.
It was a marriage of performance legends when Mercury Marine was chosen to manufacture the LT-5 engine for the 1990 ZR-1 Corvette. That marriage produced an offspring, the “Wette Vette,” a 24-foot Baja 223 Bandit runabout powered by a marinized version of the LT-5.
“If you want something done right, do it yourself.”
For 75 years, one thing more than any other has separated Mercury Marine from its competition – the people of Mercury Marine. The same spirit that drives Mercury employees to achieve great feats of engineering and workmanship also drives their desire to strengthen the communities where they live.
Using “lost-foam casting” to produce intricate, single-piece engine parts isn’t new, but Mercury Marine — as it has throughout its eight-decade history — put a new spin on improving the manufacturing technology to optimize its outboard technology and quality.
It’s easy to look back at 75 years of Mercury Marine history and point to major milestones, such as the first 100hp outboard in 1962, the first V-6 outboard in 1976 and the first fuel- injected supercharged sterndrive to produce more than 1000hp (the HP1075 SCi) in 2004.
The power of the President, in the case of George H. W. Bush, also means horsepower, and Mercury Marine has powered Bush family boats since 1974.
While Mercury Marine founder Carl Kiekhaefer’s success in NASCAR is legendary, his desire to conquer automobile racing was initiated by running in a 1951 race in Mexico.
While Mercury Marine founder Carl Kiekhaefer’s success in NASCAR is legendary, his desire to conquer automobile racing was initiated by running in a 1951 race in Mexico.
Mercury Marine was named 2013 Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year by Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC), the second time the company has received the prestigious award in the past seven years.
Making the most impressive marine performance products in the world isn’t enough. Mercury Marine also constantly strives to improve its performance in every facet of its business, and has earned a reputation as one of Wisconsin’s safest manufacturers.
Competition in the outboard market was tough in the early 1970s, and Mercury Marine found itself at a slight disadvantage.
Most boaters know that Mercury is the most popular propulsion-system manufacturer in the world. But probably not many are aware of the size of the company’s marine parts-and- accessories business.
The managerial concept of Lean Six Sigma was instituted by Toyota to eliminate different types of waste, then was fine-tuned by major corporations such as Motorola and GE to focus on customer satisfaction, and shortly after was adopted by Mercury Marine with the goal of eliminating waste and maintaining critical quality.
It took Mercury Marine 24 years to sell its first million sterndrive units, but only 10 years to reach the second million — quite a testament for a product that was reluctantly brought to market and met with a cool reception by boat dealers, boat builders and the boating public at large.
At the end of World War II, Carl Kiekhaefer was running out of options on multiple fronts.
Historical anniversaries are generally commemorated with festivities. But in the case of Mercury Marine’s 25th Anniversary, the event began with a fight on many fronts.
When setting out to write “an interesting book about an amazing man,” Jeffrey L. Rodengen had no idea the journey would last six years and result in a piece of cult literature that garnered him a few close friends and more than a few enemies.
With marine-engine environmental regulations looming on the horizon, Mercury Marine broke the low-emissions outboard barrier in 1994 with 9.9hp and 50hp four-stroke models.
No matter how much horsepower a boat engine generates, a quality propeller will turn that power into performance, and Mercury Marine is known for producing the world’s best propellers. Housed in Plant 98 in Fond du Lac, Wis., Mercury Propellers employs craftspeople who create stainless-steel works of art.
Maybe the best way to prove technical innovation and manufacturing prowess is to be selected to power an American icon. Such was the case in 1988 when Mercury Marine was chosen to manufacture the LT-5 engine for the 1990 ZR-1 Corvette.
Maneuvering a boat in tight spaces— especially a big boat with multiple engines — can be daunting for even the most experienced captains. But with joystick piloting from Mercury Marine, these chores become almost effortless and much safer.
Of the many legends surrounding Mercury Marine and its founder Carl Kiekhaefer, perhaps the greatest was a story that grew from legend to lore, quickly spreading through Fond du Lac and sweeping across the marine industry and beyond.
MerCruiser was not the world’s first commercially viable sterndrive, but it could have been.
Mercury Marine consistently demonstrates its deep concern and respect for a healthy environment by meeting and exceeding the most stringent environmental regulations, while creating durable, reliable products.
Mercury Racing opened the new millennium with a new identity, a new logo and a new mission. As its president, Fred Kiekhaefer moved to erase the company's image as the "sugar daddy of racing" to instead position Mercury Racing as the maker of the most innovative products for recreational performance applications.
When Team Mercury unloaded its Chrysler 300 touring sedans at Daytona Beach, Fla., at the start of the 1955 NASCAR season, they were greeted by laughter from competitors and fans.
The 1950s were growth years for Mercury Marine, and its founder, Carl Kiekhaefer, allegedly received dozens of merger and acquisition offers from larger companies.
Mercury's affiliation with the U.S. military - like many of its earliest projects was circumstantial.
E. Carl Kiekhaefer, president of Kiekhaefer Marine (which would become Mercury Marine in 1971), took to the skies of central Florida in 1957 in a small, single-engine plane in search of a site away from prying eyes - and complaining neighbors - where he could secretly test his marine engines day and night.
In 1939, E. Carl Kiekhaefer purchased a defunct engine manufacturing plant in Cedarburg, Wis., not far from the Kiekhaefer family farm.
"It's a miracle what can be built from a dream with nothing but two hands, an honest heart and ambition."
- E. "Carl" Kiekhaefer