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Marine
Mercury MerCruiser, Mercury OptiMax Engines Ranked Highest in Customer Satisfaction
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Mercury Marine today was recognized by J.D. Power and Associates for delivering the highest customer satisfaction in both direct-injected (DI) outboard and sterndrive engines for the second consecutive year.
Mercury Marine is the only marine propulsion company to receive multiple customer satisfaction awards from J.D. Power.
The awards were presented today to Mercury President Patrick C. Mackey, Mercury Outboard President Mark Schwabero and Mercury MerCruiser President Kevin Grodzki in ceremonies at the Miami International Boat Show in the Miami Beach Convention Center.
Mercury MerCruiser engines, built at Mercury's Stillwater, Okla. facility, were recognized by J.D. Power as “Highest in Customer Satisfaction With Sterndrive Engines.” Mercury OptiMax – the marine industry's leading DI two-stroke outboard – was recognized as “Highest in Customer Satisfaction With Two-Stroke Outboard Engines in a Tie.” OptiMax engines are made in Fond du Lac, Wis., home of Mercury Marine.
“Being recognized two years in a row for both our outboard and sterndrive businesses demonstrates that Mercury Marine is truly #1 on the water,” said Mackey. “This achievement clearly shows the hard work of Mercury's people over the last few years has truly paid off. The quality and reliability we have built in to every engine delivers the best customer experience in the marine industry.”
The 12-member OptiMax family ranges from 75 to 300 horsepower. The two-stroke, direct fuel injected engines are regulated by powerful onboard computers. This ensures maximum fuel efficiency and power while complying with the industry leading environmental emission standards. These injectors shoot an atomized fuel and air mixture directly into the top of the cylinder after intake exhaust ports are closed. The fuel is burned immediately and completely which means much greater fuel efficiency and significantly lower emissions. DI engines inject their oil separately, and only where it's needed, for more effective lubrication.
The MerCruiser Sterndrive lineup includes a dozen models from the four-cylinder, 135 hp 3.0 liter to the 8.1 liter V-8, 425 hp, 496 MAG HO. Designed for nearly every boat, from fishing to cruising, pontoons or performance boats. Every MerCruiser sterndrive features turn-key starting and every gas multi-port fuel-injected sterndrive comes with SmartCraft®, a Mercury-exclusive technology that monitors and fine tunes
the engine to ensure it's running at peak efficiency and performance.
Mercury Marine is the world leader in recreational marine propulsion with a line of outboard, sterndrive and inboard engines, plus the marine industry's most extensive line of propellers, lubricants and parts and accessories. It is the only marine manufacturer to offer outboard and sterndrive propulsion systems.
Mr. Mackey was named president of Mercury in 2000 and immediately set a course to improve the company's processes and products in order to better fulfill the needs and expectations of dealers, boat builders and consumers. His plans called for every Mercury Marine facility to be ISO 9001-2000 Certified, a feat accomplished in 2003. ISO certification involves documenting and auditing virtually every process in every phase of the organization, which ensures that the company employs a sound, systematic approach to business. ISO 9001-2000 is built on eight principles, the first of which is customer focus.
Mercury has also embraced the principles of Lean Six Sigma, a methodology that analyzes processes across the business in an effort to reduce variation and wasted effort. The resulting process improvements enhance the company in many ways, but most importantly they promote continuous improvement to product quality and make the business more efficient.
J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information entity that conducts research and offers consulting and performance improvement services that are used by a variety of industries to improve product quality and customer satisfaction. The company does not publish or incorporate the opinions of J.D. Power and Associates in rankings, but bases research solely on responses from millions of consumers and business customers worldwide. J.D. Power and Associates funds all of its own syndicated research in order to deliver unbiased results, and then uses that research to present nationally syndicated studies that serve as industry benchmarks for measuring and tracking quality and customer satisfaction.
Mercury Marine is the world's leading manufacturer of recreational marine propulsion engines. A $2.3 billion division of Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC), Mercury and its 6,300 employees worldwide provide engines, boats, services and parts for recreational, commercial and government marine applications. Mercury's industry-leading brand portfolio includes Mercury and Mariner outboard engines; Mercury MerCruiser sterndrives and inboard engines; MotorGuide trolling motors; Mercury and Teignbridge propellers; MotoTron electronic controls; Mercury inflatable boats; Mercury SmartCraft electronics; and Mercury and Quicksilver parts and oils. Mercury Marine's OptiMax engine was ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Two-Stroke Outboard Engines Two Years in a Row, Tied in 2007" by J.D. Power and Associates, and Mercury MerCruiser engines were ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Sterndrive Engines, Two Years in a Row." More information is available at www.mercurymarine.com.
CONTACT: Erik Pope
Communications Coordinator
Mercury Marine
Phone: 920-929-5916
Email: erik.pope@mercmarine.com
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