July 12, 2013 Mercury Marine conducted groundbreaking ceremonies here today for two expansion projects that will provide increased capacity and capabilities for the world’s largest manufacturer of recreational boat engines. The expansion projects will add approximately 38,000 square feet to Mercury’s 1.5 million square feet of manufacturing space in Fond du Lac. The total cost for both projects is approximately $20 million. Work at both sites has already begun and is scheduled to be completed by December. New equipment for both projects will be installed by the end of 2013, and additional equipment is planned for installation in 2014 and 2015, which will maximize the newly constructed building space. Mercury’s increased market share and expanded product offerings helped create the need for additional manufacturing space. The projects consist of a 20,000-square-foot addition to Mercury’s Plant 15 machining center to house next-generation horizontal machining equipment, and 18,000 additional square feet in Mercury’s Plant 17 casting facility to house high-pressure die-cast machines. Approximately 90 percent of the project work is being performed by companies in the Fond du Lac area or Wisconsin. Mercury has partnered with Excel Engineering for architectural design and CD Smith for construction management. Mercury employs approximately 2,900 people in Fond du Lac, up from 1,600 in 2009.