Mercury’s Plant 98 is the world’s largest manufacturer of stainless steel propellers, turning out thousands of world-class products a year. And the variety of stainless steel propellers created here is wider than that of any other prop manufacturer.
It seems a global supplier of this size would be housed in a place that’s explosive, raucous and crazily busy. Instead, it’s not too loud and certainly not explosive. And, except when Mother Nature combines sun and humidity, it’s not even that hot, despite the presence of a blast furnace. The feeling inside the foundry, in fact, is orderly and almost calm. There’s a sense of purpose as the craftsmen go about their business. It’s friendly there, and the atmosphere is one of professionalism.
Things are getting done, and they’re getting done with efficiency.
"We’re on the leading edge of this business," said Bob Summerfeldt, production manager of the investment casting plant in Fond du Lac, Wis., across the street from Mercury’s outboard production facility. Bob has worked for Mercury 31 years, the last 23 at Plant 98. But he talks as if he’s still fresh on the job, excited about what they do and how they do it. He wants their products to be the best in the world, and his attitude reveals why Mercury can say it’s "No. 1 on the Water."
"We’re always challenging ourselves to do more, to remain the best. I don’t think there’s a propeller as good as ours anywhere in the world."
A quick tour of the foundry bears out what Bob is saying. The plant runs day and night, producing the best possible product. Upstairs, a half-dozen engineers are on site, always experimenting, always tweaking, always looking for a better way.
The stainless-steel propellers, superior in performance to aluminum props, are created from start to finish in this building. The art of "investment casting" is thousands of years old, but changes created here have refined the process and helped Mercury to create a more valuable product.
While ingots of steel are being heated at 3000 degrees to a usable state, models of the desired propellers are created out of a proprietary wax compound. The models are infinitely detailed, right down to the smallest logos and numbers.
The wax propellers are dipped repeatedly in a liquefied ceramic "slurry" until a hard shell is created around them. After 24 hours of drying in a climate-controlled room, the shell-covered wax propellers are placed in an 1,800-degree furnace where the wax is melted away, leaving the hard shells intact.
Next, the pre-heated shells are filled with molten steel in an age-old process where safety is the top priority. The steel begins to cool almost instantly, and the shell starts to crack away from the newly created steel propeller. After cooling completely, the propellers are sandblasted until they sport a uniform matte finish.
At that point, a progressive concept called drag finishing is implemented to "grind" the steel propellers. The props are attached to a carousel-like machine that drags them repeatedly through a vat of "media," which consists of composite "stones" created from resin and silica. This process removes unwanted edges and imperfections from the props, taking them to the next stage of refinement.
Skilled grinders then put on the finishing touches, creating a splashing bright finish to the props.
Those grinders are true craftsmen, according to Darlene Fyvie, who is charged with managing Mercury’s stainless steel propeller plant. Darlene has worked for Mercury for 32 years. For the past seven, she has been in charge of the propeller plant.
"A propeller grinder is an artist," said Darlene. "His job is to polish and add luster to the propeller, and that’s extremely important to the product.
"They are part of a team here that is really over the top. We have our challenges, as all companies do. But the rewards and what we accomplish far outweigh any challenges we run into."
Running a foundry isn’t a job description many women can put on their resume, but Darlene feels like she fits in perfectly with the entire crew.
"If there’s something I want to brag about here, it’s the people," she said. "We have a longtime relationship with our employees, and they do a tremendous job.
"We have some young people here, but we also have people who have been with us for more than 35 years. And they all take pride in what they do.
"Something that I think says a lot about the way our people feel is the fact that we have four father-son combinations here. As a parent, I wouldn’t want to see my child follow in my footsteps unless I felt good about the place I work."
Darlene’s goals mimic those listed on the company’s mission statement: to manufacture world-class propellers and to exceed expectations of the customer.
"Our vision is to support the needs of the customer," said Darlene. "That is our first cause. And as our parent products change, we need to support those new products."
Mercury, she said, does an exceptional job of doing just that. The company constantly monitors the trends and actions of its customers – the boaters – and reacts to the needs of those customers. When a new propeller type is needed, it can be designed and produced within a few short months.
"A new propeller requires about eight weeks of tooling by our suppliers, then we need about five days to produce it here," she said. "Of course, there is also some testing time, but that’s about it.
"This is a great company. It’s a wonderful place to work. And we have a great crew. When I first considered accepting this job, I might have been a little apprehensive because it’s not a traditional job for a woman. But I love it here. I’ve worked here my entire adult life."
