January 2014 saw global engine manufacturer Mercury Marine celebrate its 75th anniversary.
Now a division of Brunswick Corporation, the company grew from humble beginnings in Wisconsin into a leading provider of marine engines with a global footprint. Mercury designs, manufactures and sells a broad range of marine propulsion products for applications ranging from inflatable tenders and fishing boats to cruisers and yachts.
"Mercury will celebrate its 75th anniversary throughout 2014 in ways that will reflect its heritage of innovation in the marine propulsion industry," said Mark Schwabero, president of Mercury Marine.
"We will conduct events in locations around the world that will engage our customers, suppliers, employees and communities and will recognise the roles those people and entities have played in establishing the foundation of our business and our future.
"We're excited about sharing this celebration with those who have helped us grow and succeed."
Mercury was founded by E Carl Kiekhaefer in 1939 when he purchased a bankrupt engine manufacturing plant in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, not far from the Kiekhaefer family farm. The plant assets included 300 outboard engines that had been rejected by a large mail-order retailer due to defects and operating problems.
Hoping to transform the engines into working capital to fund the future business he envisioned (magnetic separators for the dairy farm industry), Mr Kiekhaefer redesigned, rebuilt and sold the engines to the retailer that had initially rejected them. The engines sold quickly and Kiekhaefer suddenly found himself in the marine engine business.
Nowadays, Mercury directs the activities of more than 5,400 employees in dozens of countries from its global headquarters in Wisconsin, USA. The company also works in collaboration with more than 4,200 dealers and distributors around the world.