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The birthday would be in twenty days, but with the beginning of 2019 officially began the eightieth year of Mercury Marine, the American giant in marine propulsion for motor boats based in Fon Du Lac, Wisconsin, USA.
The brand founder, Elmer Carl Kiekhaefer was born in 1906 in America in Mequon, Wisconsin. Mercury Marine’s history began on January 22, 1939, when Elmer Carl Kiekhaefer bought the Cedarburg Manufactoring Company, specializing in the production of engines, which was in a broken bank, giving it the name of Kiekhaefer Marine. Kiekhaefer had a good idea of what Mercury could become, laying the foundations for product innovation and technology.
Among the main novelties are the Mark 75 engine, the industry’s first 6-cylinder outboard engine with 60 hp (horsepower) that in torque set a record in terms of durability, with 34 days, 11 hours, 47 minutes and 5.4 seconds non-stop and over 25,000 miles. The engines were refuelled during the race, averaging 30.3 mph (miles per hour).
Carl Kiekhaefer resigned as President of Kiekhaefer Mercury in 1969 and the name was changed to Mercury Marine.
Mercury is now a division of Brunswick Corporation, which since 2008 has invested more than a billion dollars worldwide in what has been the brand’s key points since its inception: innovation, research and development. In 2018 Mercury launched 19 new four-stroke outboard engines covering the 175-300hp, V6 and V8 ranges. It will be an important anniversary for Mercury, which will be celebrated throughout the 2019 exhibition season with the presentation of further novelties.
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