Mercury Racing is known for its worldwide dominance of powerboat racing and production of high performance consumer and race marine products, including outboards, sterndrives and inboards, propellers, parts and accessories.
From 1973-1992, the Racing Division, then in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, was essentially an Engineering/Public Relations arm of Mercury Marine. The company’s sole responsibility was product development and promoting Mercury’s image through racing.
That changed in 1990 when Brunswick Corporation acquired Kiekhaefer Aeromarine, a high performance marine propulsion and accessories business. The company, established in 1970 by Mercury Marine founder Carl Kiekhaefer, produced high performance marine engines, sterndrives and accessories, including trim tabs, trim indicators, shift/throttle controls and propellers, was merged with Mercury Racing. The acquisition brought the rich heritage of the Kiekhaefer legacy back to Mercury Marine, with Fred Kiekhaefer, son of the late Carl, named President of the new Mercury Racing.
The company was headquartered in Oshkosh, Wisconsin with operations in Fond du Lac (the former Kiekhaefer Aeromarine facility) and St. Cloud, Florida (Mercury’s Lake X test facility).
Continued growth resulted with the consolidation of all manufacturing and administration operations into an expanded Plant 36 (the former Kiekhaefer Aeromarine facility) in December, 1994. The business has realized record sales for the past five consecutive years. Much of the success can be attributed to Fred Kiekhaefer and his staff‘s emphasis on a new strategy that focuses upon quality consumer performance products that provide higher margins and a greater return on investment, enhancing Mercury Marine’s bottom line. An all-new line of Consumer Performance Mercury Outboard motors and an enhanced line of high performance consumer Mercury MerCruiser Sterndrive engine packages were created for the growing performance sport boating market.
An $800,000 research & development addition, completed in 2000, will help Mercury Racing to continually grow the business with the continued development of industry leading products into the new millennium.
Join us August 5th & 6th for the Windy City Poker Run. The only event of its kind, this inaugural run features Waves ‘N Wheels – combining over 70 performance boats powered by Mercury Racing engines and exotic Lamborghini sports cars from the Chicago area. Mercury Racing is sponsoring the Wisconsin branch of Make-A-Wish and will provide a wish to a child at the awards banquet Saturday evening.
