Mercury Racing: Winning
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ExtremeEngineBuilders / Series Outerlimits makes some of the most radical performance STORY AND PHOTOS BY RON POLLI MERCURY RACING boats on the market today, and HISTORICAL PHOTOS COURTESY MERCURY MARINE a pair of Mercury HP 1075SCi engines fit nicely inside. Shown here is Mike Stevensen’s 47’ GTX Carbon-Edition ‘Mamba’ at the Desert Storm Poker Run in Lake Havasu, Arizona. Mercury Racing: Winning DNA An Interview with Fred Kiekhaefer “It’s a reality of life that men are competitive, and the most competitive games draw the most competitive men. That’s why they’re there – to compete. They know the rules and the objectives when they get in the game. The objective is to win – fairly, squarely, decently, by the rules – but to win!” -VINCE LOMBARDI While immortals such as the great Vince The odd building with round porthole windows Lombardi were showing the world how to overlooking Lake Winnebago is where Carl play football, immortals of industry were Kiekhaefer left his final mark on the marine industry, showing the world how to make a better the original home of Kiekhaefer Aeromarine outboard engine. The playing fields may have Motors. This facility is now called Mercury Racing had different shapes but the competitive spirit and Carl’s son, Fred Kiekhaefer rules over the high and ferocity for the game is what made Carl performance boating world from the same office Kiekhaefer and Vince Lombardi contemporaries, that his father used before him. each driving their team to victory by sheer will After getting a tour around the facility from and determination. Rick Mackie, Mercury Racing’s Senior Marketing On a brutally cold Wisconsin morning Manager, it’s apparent that there is a high level in mid December, Mercury Racing opened of pride in each employee. It shows through in its doors to EBM and allowed us to bask in the way they talk about the products they design the glory and heritage of Mercury Racing. and manufacture. As Carl would often say, Founder, Carl Kiekhaefer, may no “Nothing less than perfection is acceptable” and longer walk these hallways and shop floors, they still believe that to this day. but his booming voice and the leftover scent We went to Mercury Racing’s Fond du Lac of his cigars still assault the subconscious facility to learn why their engines are so dominant senses. His personality was so powerful that in the Poker Run and Racing ranks; To find out many men and women that worked for him why many boaters consider them ‘the best’. claimed he had been the most domineering What we came away with was a larger story, factor in their adult lives. a story about an American icon and how it came His business consumed his life, his to be. On the surface, it’s all about passion for employees and his dealers. He was a man perfection and the pursuit of speed. But the story that found his niche in life and went after it here is really about the Kiekhaefer family and with every fiber in his body, and the bodies their history making crusade upon the boating of those that worked for him. He was to industry. Fortunately for all of us, it’s also a story the boating world what Lombardi was to about the enjoyment that their products have Football, a winner! provided to people around the globe. MERCURY RACING 7480 COUNTY ROAD UU FOND DU LAC , WISCONSON 54935 PERFORMANCE 920-921-5330 Also see our “Mercury Historical Timeline”: Pages 74-75 WWW .MERCURYRACING .COM 64 VOLUME 3.2 | EXTREME BOATS MAGAZINE 65 EXTREME BOATS ExtremeEngineBuilders / Series MERCURY RACING Mercury Racing the race course for all to see” mentality has provided terrific Throughout the tour, I’ve heard Rick Mackie use the term The new company was Kiekhaefer Aeromarine Motors? advertising platform. Mercury products, especially the racing “Black Art” several times. What does “Black Art” mean? “Yes. He then restarted Kiekhaefer Aeromarine Motors, FRED KIEKHAEFER products, have enjoyed an inherent level of excitement Fred explains, “It’s knowledge that comes from doing. dormant since World War II. I was in and out of that Proudly displaying because of their racing heritage. Carl understood product It’s knowledge that you can’t put into words, and you depending upon how easy it was to get along with him. the HP 1075 SCi engine at the 2005 placement long before Hollywood. This type of advertising can’t put into a manual. It’s learned from doing something Ultimately, I went completely off on another career path. Los Angeles goes way beyond a good brochure or a public relations firm. Mercury’s way for many years. Dennis Cavanaugh is a When he passed away, I came back and bought the assets Boat Show It comes from the consumer’s personal experience of either perfect example of a “Black Artist”. Dennis was the head from his estate and salvaged what I could of the business. using, or watching, someone race a Mercury product. In a of our propeller department. He knew everything about I started a new company, Kiekhaefer Aeromarine, Inc. “ya get what ya pay for” world, Mercury Racing has products propellers, probably the most knowledgeable person in Basically pushed it in a whole new direction.” with the highest value in the industry. the world on the subject. We lost him a few years back Carl’s son Fred Kiekhaefer is now in charge of Mercury’s to a tragic fall in his home. With him went a tremendous Didn’t anyone want to buy the business? “No. There was high performance empire. Fred grew up with Mercury as his amount of knowledge. It has taken us some time to nothing there worth buying out. It was not a pretty story brother, he lived through it all, sometimes from a distance recover from loosing him. Now we have Scott Reichow at the end of Kiekhaefer Aeromarine Motors. It’s kind of and other times with his own nose against the grindstone. and Ron Steiner who have taken over where Dennis left sad in some ways, but my Dad was doing things that he Mercury Marine has been in his blood his entire life. Some off. It’s a brain trust.” wanted to do. He made the money in the first place so it might say that Fred’s blood runs Phantom Black. was his to lose.” Fred was nice enough to take some time out of his busy What type of boat do you have? Fred smiles and says, “When he died, I looked at it this way, I could leave my day and answer some questions that he’s probably been “I am between boats. I had a 42 McManus offshore boat consulting career and come back here, have a chance of asked a thousand times before. and I haven’t replaced it yet. I have a Maxum bow rider making good out of the legacy. If I stayed with consulting, 2004:HP 1075 SCi CARL KIEKHAEFER WAS A LEGEND IN HIS OWN TIME. that I play around with on the lake.” eventually, I would have to come back and deal with an Mercury Racing ‘39 CEDARBURG MFG His passion for engineering perfection combined with Fred, could you enlighten us about your family history? empty factory because none of my family are business firmly established Carl forms Kiekhaefer his need to always win produced an explosive temper Fred begins, “Carl’s father, my Grandfather, August Did you take over the business after your Dad retired? oriented or capable of running it. I didn’t believe the itself in the Corporation from the ‘Extreme‘ engine ashes of the Cedarburg that became his personal trademark. He was brilliant at Kiekhaefer, owned a large dairy farm. When Carl “No. The story is my father left Mercury after the business would survive. I figured sooner or later I am builder category Mfg Co (which had marketing his products to the general public. Carl, always graduated from the Milwaukee School of Engineering, Brunswick management attempted to promote going to have to deal with the facility, the property and with the launch been producing under-rated the horsepower of his motors, giving the August bought a manufacturing plant for Carl as a gift for somebody over his head and kind of kick him everything else. It’s better to do it as a growing concern.” of their 1075hp outboard engines.) consumer more than they were paying for. In the early graduating from engineering school. The company that upstairs. You didn’t kick my Dad anyplace. He didn’t monster. Combining It had everything Carl performance with days, if it said 10 HP, you could bet it put out at least he bought had made outboard motors for Montgomery go anywhere without kicking and screaming at When you say “new direction” are you talking about the needed to design and reliability, it is the build mechanical 13 HP. Carl’s marketing concept worked, his Mercury Ward and others. The final shipment of 300 outboard the very least.” Kiekhaefer drive? Fred replies, “Well that didn’t come best of all worlds. List products. outboards would always outrun a competitive model with motors was rejected and all got returned. Carl had all these first. First, we successfully upgraded the quality of the price is $150,000.00 (including a #6 50,000 MILE TEST the same horsepower rating. Consumers soon viewed engines in inventory and the first thing that he did to raise When your father sold to Brunswick, what percentage trim tabs. Brought out the zero Drive).