Business Research, Bankruptcy, Outboard Marine Corporation

Based in Waukegan, Ill., OMC started back in 1909 when Ole Evinrude first invented the gasoline powered outboard motor on his farm in Christian, Norway. Two years after inventing it, he launched a national advertising campaign and the concept of an internal combustion engine, which led to the birth of the recreational marine industry. The company kept refining and many innovations were industry firsts, including the first V-4 outboard motor in 1958, and the first V-8 in 1985. …

…only the boat manufacturing operations and is not involved in the engine campaign. Bombardier, now known as BRP Inc., launched an aggressive campaign to convince boat dealers and consumers that Johnson and Evinrude were not scuttled brands, despite quality-control problems and the bankruptcy. Five years later, Johnson and Evinrude have slowly regained some of the sales strength lost when OMC went bankrupt in 2000, BRP's goal is to recapture the 24% market share that OMC had in 2000.