The president of Mercury Marine yesterday dug into the earth to officially launch two new expansion projects in its Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, headquarters. Mark Schwabero handled the same shovel that Mercury founder E. Carl Kiekhaefer used in 1964 to begin construction of new engine-building facilities.

“Two years ago we knew expansion would come, but we didn’t know it would come this quickly,” said Schwabero at the event. “This is good news.”

The US$20m expansion projects will give Mercury about 38,000 more square feet of manufacturing space to the existing 1.5 million square feet in Fond du Lac.

“Recovery from the downturn remains sluggish in the boating industry, but we’re gaining share in certain segments, including large outboards,” said Schwabero in a statement. “These facilities will lead to new product offerings and expanded market penetration.”

The new space consists of a 20,000-square-foot addition to Mercury’s Plant 15 machining center for horizontal machining equipment, and 18,000 additional square feet in Mercury’s Plant 17 casting facility for high-pressure die-cast machines.

The additions are scheduled for December completion, with the new equipment installed by the end of the year. Additional equipment installation is planned for 2014 and 2015.

Mercury said that about 90 percent of the work is being performed by companies in the area. The engine builder has about 2,900 workers in Fond du Lac, up from 1,600 in 2009.

Topics