This year, Mercury Marine is celebrating its 75th anniversary, from its humble beginnings in Wisconsin to its growth into the world’s leading provider of marine engines.

Last week at their Fond du Lac, Wisconsin headquarters, the celebrations included the introduction of four new engines. It is the culmination of celebrations that were announced last January.

“Mercury will celebrate its 75th anniversary throughout 2014 in ways that will reflect our strong heritage of innovation and leadership in the marine 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 recognize 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, Wis., 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 immediately and Kiekhaefer suddenly found himself in the marine engine business.

This past week, Mercury Marine launched all-new MerCruiser 4.5L 250hp sterndrive unit engineered with innovative new features and state-of-the-art technology The new Mercury MerCruiser 4.5L 250hp sterndrive was designed and is manufactured at Mercury Marine’s world headquarters in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

“We are proud to introduce the next generation of sterndrive technology with this ground-breaking new engine,” said Mercury Marine President John Pfeifer. “This is a great power source that provides features, benefits and technology that make boating more enjoyable and worry-free. This engine was purpose-built for marine use and it delivers Mercury’s proven performance, durability and ease of service.”

The MerCruiser 4.5L establishes new standards for acceleration and overall performance, thanks to design innovations such as a long runner scrolled intake manifold and high displacement, which produces an outstanding power-to-weight ratio. This V-6 engine weighs 130 pounds less than a 5.0L V-8 small block, yet provides similar performance.

The 4.5L is a “good citizen” on the water, providing maximum fuel efficiency and exceptionally quiet operation. Its newly designed rear-facing throttle body, anti-whistle throttle plate, engine cover and mounts, lightweight flywheel, fuel supply module, and structural oil pan all work together to deliver superior idle and smoothness and low noise and vibration for a better boating experience.

The MerCruiser 4.5L is a technology-rich platform that delivers the world’s first V-6 sterndrive that’s compatible with SmartCraft Digital Throttle & Shift (DTS) for immediate throttle response and smooth shifting throughout the rpm band. An option for the 4.5L V-6 with DTS is Joystick Piloting, providing the ultimate in docking experience and maneuverability.

The 4.5L V-6 also offers Adaptive Speed Control (ASC), which automatically maintains the set rpm point regardless of load or condition changes, such as tight turns, tow sports and lower speeds on plane.

At the same time, Mercury Marine unveiled new lineup of 75, 90 and 115hp FourStroke outboards, ideally suited to bass boats, deep-vee, family cottage runabout and offshore boats as well as pontoons and saltwater skiffs.

Despite their low profile and low weight – they’re 20 pounds lighter than the closest four-stroke competition – the new engines feature a 2.1-liter, four-cylinder, eight-valve, single-overhead-cam design that delivers more torque and horsepower than competing engines. The result is unmatched performance, reliability, handling and efficiency.

The new Mercury FourStroke engines are built with the same architecture as the extraordinarily reliable and extremely popular Mercury 150 FourStroke to ensure they start and run consistently and last longer no matter what conditions they face.

An all-new world-class hydrodynamically designed standard gearcase decreases drag by 15 percent to improve efficiency and performance, thus consuming less fuel and increasing operating range.