Mercury Marine launches 'largest single new-product development program' in history

Fond du Lac Reporter

The new line of 200, 225, 250 and 300 horsepower Pro XS were part of Mercury Marine's largest single new-product development in its history.

FOND DU LAC – Mercury Marine has expanded once again, releasing 20 new engines into its product line since February.

The line of engines “are part of the largest single new-product development program Mercury has undertaken” since its start, according to a news release.

Mercury Marine got its start nearly 80 years ago with Carl Kiekhaefer making boat engines, according to its website. Over time, it also delved into making lawn mower engines, chainsaws and snow mobiles, some of which are able to be viewed in the business’ Heritage Hall.

On the way to the assembly line, visitors pass through Heritage Hall, which displays the business' history.

The new-product development began five years ago, when the new assembly line came into the works. For the past year, floor-to-ceiling walls surrounded the product as it was being built. The more than $25 million assembly line development created an “open and free flowing space” in the factory once those walls came down, Mercury Marine Director of Public Relations Lee Gordon said.

Ranging from 175 to 300 horsepower, the new engines hit Mercury Marine’s “sweet spot,” said Gordon and provides an opportunity to reach its existing customers while also taking part of the market share that they hadn’t had before. If people had a boat, like a pontoon with a 150 horsepower engine, said Gordon, they could go up in horsepower, but there wasn't the right engine to do so with Mercury.

A look down the assembly line at Mercury Marine.

Although the engines could’ve been released in smaller segments, Mercury wanted to introduce “a whole new family” at one time.

“This gives the customer ‘here is every option you can choose from,” he said. “It’s one of those things, that if you’re going to go all in, go all in.”

While the investment into 350 and 400 horsepower outboards in 2015 was large, this investment is “another level,” said Gordon. Six engines launched at the Miami International Boat Show in February. Fourteen followed on May 18.

Engines include:

4.6 liter V-8
250 and 300 horsepower Verado
250 and 300 horsepower FourStroke
200, 225, 250 and 300 horsepower Pro XS
225, 250 and 300 horsepower V-8 SeaPro
250R and 300R Racing engines
Pro XS 175 horsepower 3.4 liter V-6
200 horsepower V6 SeaPro
175, 200 and 225 horsepower 3.4 liter V-6 FourStroke outboards
Mercury Racing 1150/1350 sterndrive engine
150 horsepower Pro XS.

The new engines were crafted to be more customer-friendly and intuitive, said Gordon. With engines able to be painted black and shades of white to match boats, the FourStroke and Verado allow for panels be color customized by Mercury dealers for customers.

Not only do the engines have a new look, but also have doors on the 3.4 liter V-6 and 4.6 liter V-8 engines to allow boaters to change their oil without having to lift off the top, saving hours on the water, said Gordon.

These engines are just part of the more than $830 million investment in business that Mercury Marine has made in Fond du Lac since 2009. Globally, the investment is at $1.1 billion.

SeaPro engines along the new assembly line at Mercury Marine.

In the past 18 months, that investment has included a new labor contract, which increased wages for all hourly employees. Gordon said that this will allow the company to hire more workers from a wider radius to meet the increasing demand.

Over the past 10 years, the company has attracted engineers from schools like MIT and University of Michigan, as well as states like Florida — something that was not possible before, as now they can be paid competitively and give them “the toys to play with.”

Currently, the company employees 3,200 hundred people in Fond du Lac, 6,000 worldwide. With the opening of the $10 million Noise, Vibration, Harshness facility later this year and the continued expansion of the assembly lines, a variety of new job opportunities are planned.

Mercury FourStrokes are pictured in different shades.

In January 2017, Mercury Marine opened its electro-disposition paint plant expansion, totaling around $25 million. Here, engines are dipped in a coat of paint to prevent corrosion in saltwater. Not only did the expansion allow Mercury to double its “current processing abilities,” according to a press release, but it also helps the environment.

A particulate paint, said Communications Manager David Maus-Berkley, can be reused and reapplied until the supply is exhausted, rather than ending up wasted or in the water system if there is a spill.

Earlier this month, Mercury’s Active Trim technology won the Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council’s Sustainable Product of the Year award. When trimming a boat, the interface allows boaters to press a button in their dashboard and have the boat be trimmed for them, saving time and fuel.

“We make a product that relies on natural spaces for people to enjoy and use them, so we want to be really kind to the environment while we make the product,” said Maus-Berkley.

Each of these investments is not only felt in Fond du Lac, but around the world.

Selling to dealers around the globe, Mercury Marine engines can be found in all but five countries. On a recent trip to Paris, Gordon spotted a Fond du Lac-made Mercury Marine engine driving on the Seine River past the Eiffel Tower.

“A lot of the folks who work on the shop floor, … they say, ‘oh I was just at Disney world, and I was looking at these engines at Disney, and thought to myself ‘did I touch that engine?’” he said. “There’s not many places you have that feeling.”