Outboard Marine

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The Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC) was a maker of Evinrude and Johnson boat motors and many different brands of boats based in Waukegan, Illinois.[1] They also owned several lines of boats such as Chris Craft, Lowe, Princecraft, Four Winns, Sea Swirl, Stratos, and Javelin. OMC sold 100,000 motors in 2000 and had one third of the outboard market. OMC filed for bankruptcy 22 December 2000 and laid off 7,000 employees. They announced they would no longer warranty their product. This left many owners in limbo wondering if the future owner would warranty their products as the future owner is not legally liable but could as a sign of goodwill. The names Johnson and Evinrude were won by bid in February 2001 by Bombardier[2] and the boat division by Genmar corp of MN. At the 2001 Miami Boat Show they both said they would do their best to support dealers and warranties.[3] The former OMC plant #2 in Waukegan, IL is now an EPA superfund cleanup site funded by taxpayers.[4]

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[edit] History

Outboard Marine Corporation was formed in 1929 when ELTO was merged with Lockwood-Ash Motor Company. They began using the name OMC in 1956. The company faced net revenue losses of 7.3 million in the 2nd quarter of 1997 ending March 31 and would have been worse if 2 million in dividends were not suspended. The previous quarter loss was 14.3 million even after selling assets such as the corporate jet. In April 1997 OMC hired Salomon Brothers to explore future option such as a buyout or merger.[5] In 1997 Detroit Diesel made a $16 dollar a share bid for OMC. They were outbid at $18 a share by Alfred Kingsley who previously owned 2 million shares purchased at $17 a share and had no experience in the outboard industry. The deal was backed by George Soros . Carl Icahn, a corporate raider who bought TWA in 1988, is said to blame Kingsley his lieutenant during the 80's for the ensuing TWA bankruptcy a few years later. David Jones former Mercury Marine Division president until August 1997 was hired by Kingsley in September of 1997 to become the President and CEO of OMC and resigned in August 2000 due to financial turmoil at OMC.[6] In March 1998 OMC laid off 200 hundred employees after earlier laying off 348.[7] In September of 1998 OMC announced the closure of their Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Waukegan, IL plants over the next two years.[8] OMC released the 1997 FICHT fuel injected motor in 1996 to meet stiffer EPA guidelines. This motor used Gasoline Direct Injection developed by Ficht GmbH Germany. This motor was very troublesome and some outboard motor industry insiders have speculated the rush to meet EPA standards helped with the undoing of OMC. Their previous engines were known to be reliable in most applications, and have been popular with fisherman and boaters for many years. They dominated the race scene in the 70's and even held many records. Mercury and OMC competed fiercely. Since then, Mercury has stood alone in the race scene. OMC was innovative and even raced an experimental rotary engine built in a joint effort with Wankel. Business and quality issues took its toll on the company and they were forced to file for bankruptcy.[9]

[edit] Factories

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ OMC Bankruptcy Sets Consumers Adrift.
  2. ^ Bombardier takes aboard Outboard Marine Corp..
  3. ^ OMC Sputtering Along.
  4. ^ OUTBOARD MARINE CORP..
  5. ^ Outboard Marine Corporation Financial Problems News Page.
  6. ^ David Jones Named CEO & President.
  7. ^ OMC Workforce Reduction.
  8. ^ OMC Closes 2 Plants.
  9. ^ OMC Bankruptcy Sets Consumers Adrift.
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