Mercury signs exclusive agreement with Crownline
Mercury Marine and Crownline Boats announced a significant enhancement of their business relationship. Crownline, a builder of recreational boats since 1990 in West Frankfort, Illinois, has committed to making Mercury its exclusive supplier of outboard and sterndrive marine engines and related power products beginning with the 2022 model year.
“Mercury has always been a strong Crownline partner and we are pleased to enhance this partnership with Crownline as they are poised for growth,” said Randy Caruana, vice president of sales in North/Central America and Asia Pacific for Mercury Marine, a division of Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC). “The Crownline team continues to innovate and develop exciting new models that are fully featured and provide exceptional value. Crownline’s no‑compromise approach, matched with Mercury’s advanced offerings, will deliver outstanding value, performance and owner satisfaction. Mercury’s outboards and sterndrives in the mid‑ to high‑horsepower range offer the lowest sound levels, more standard features, outstanding performance and exceptional fuel economy, making them the perfect match with the Crownline brand,” Caruana said.
Kevin Riem, vice president and general manager of Crownline Boats, shared his enthusiasm about this new partnership in an email message to more than 90 Crownline dealers around the world. “We will pair our expertise in new‑product design with Mercury’s expertise in propulsion systems and integrated parts‑and‑service platforms. We are very excited about this strategic partnership and firmly believe it will result in enhanced product quality and better overall service experiences for consumers after the sale,” Riem said.
Crownline currently produces 34 models: 8 wakesurf models, 12 sterndrive models in the 20‑ to 30‑foot range, 11 outboard models in the 20‑ to 30‑foot range, and 3 cabin cruisers in the 26‑ to 35‑foot range. Plus, the company recently launched 4 new models of center‑console fishing boats. Crownline anticipates introducing more models in this line as well as some new dual‑console models.
Riem cited Mercury’s excellence in a variety of categories as an important factor in the partnership decision. “Mercury’s current lineup of outboards has exceeded our expectations and those of the retail consumer. Likewise, their sterndrive offerings continue to impress. And now that they have delivered an additional product platform for the wakesurfing, wakeboarding, and tow‑sports market, the decision really fell into focus for our team,” he said.
Riem added that Mercury’s strength in providing integrated controls and technologies is a good fit with his company’s future plans. “We are excited about our planned advances in new‑product design and the focus that our decision today will bring to our team in the future. Now that we can focus on one supply chain and one set of dash panels, gauges, controls, etc., we are better positioned to implement upgrades to our future helm designs,” he said.
