Mercury Marine’s manager of commercial and government sales is headed up the hill to join the team at Mercury Racing in Taycheedah in a realignment that will enhance the company’s ability to meet market demands.
Jeff Krueger of Fond du Lac has accepted the new position of director of sales and marketing for Mercury Racing, commercial and government accounts, according to Fred Kiekhaefer, president of Mercury’s Racing Division.
Krueger will assume some of the responsibilities formerly handled by Tony Esposito, who left the company last week as director of sales and marketing to join Buckaroo Communications after nine years of service to Mercury.
Also taking on some of Esposito’s duties are Rick Mackie, now senior marketing manager, and Kevin Skiba, now national sales manager. They, along with several other Racing and Government Sales personnel, will report to Krueger.
Krueger has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and came to Mercury in 1998 from Outboard Marine Corporation. He said he’s very excited about his expanded role.
“Tony is very well respected in this business,” Krueger said of his predecessor. “He has an outstanding team in place at Racing, and I think we have an excellent opportunity to expand the market.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Along with the personnel changes, the Government and Commercial Sales department has been reassigned from the Dealer and Retail Division to Racing to align the specialty manufacturing capabilities of Racing with the unique needs of the military.
“What we’re trying to do is marry two similar types of businesses, racing and government sales,” Krueger said. “We feel there are a lot of opportunities to blend the two and grow both markets.”
One of the department’s most important immediate duties is the marketing of the soon-to-be-released JP-5 Mercury outboard and Sport Jet, which were developed by Mercury Racing.
The engines are being produced to fill the U.S. military’s need for an alternative-fuel engine. A U.S. Navy edict states that by 2010 no gasoline may be carried on Navy ships or flown in its aircraft. The engines, which are very similar in design to the consumer Mercury OptiMax, will run on JP-5 jet fuel.
“OptiMax is the enabling technology,” Kiekhaefer said. “Without high-pressure air blasting that heavy JP-5 into tiny droplets, the engine would never fire.”
The fuel does, however, have some definite advantages.
“Since JP-5 is a common fleet fuel with very low flammability, it’s really the fuel of choice in this situation,” Krueger explained.
Since his staff is split between Plant 3 in Mercury Marine’s Fond du Lac headquarters and Racing’s facility northeast of the city, Krueger will split time between the two sites.
Kiekhaefer said his division is excited about the personnel changes and the business realignment.
“I have worked with Jeff at military conferences,” he said. “I’ve been impressed with his professionalism, presentation style and personal rapport with very high-level brass. I know those skills will play well with Racing’s demanding customers.
“This also gives Rick and Kevin the opportunity to grow beyond their past contributions. Both received unsolicited backing from several of our customers when we shared the news that Tony was leaving. I am confident Racing won’t skip a beat as these folks move into their new responsibilities.”
This column was produced by the Mercury Marine communications department.
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