The Outboard Motors Corporation

In the meantime, sales of Elto motors continued to climb. In 1925, Ole Evinrude sold
7,600 Elto motors, coming in second only to Johnson. The following year Elto introduced the
Super Elto Twin and launched a $125,000 ad campaign aimed toward the outboard racing
market. In an attempt to compete with the industry giant, Johnson, Ole and his son Ralph began
to work on a new engine. The Super Elto Quad was introduced in 1928 as America’s first fourcylinder,
two-cycle outboard motor. With 18-hp and speeds of up to 35 mph, the Super Elto
Quad was an immediate success with racing enthusiasts. That same year, Elto launched the 7-hp
Speedster twin, selling a record 10,111 units.

Back at Johnson Motors, speed was the buzzword in the mid-1920s. A 6-hp Big Twin
went into production in 1926, weighing in at 80 pounds and selling for $210. The Big Twin had
already broken the current speed record of 11 mph on July 4, 1925 in an appearance at White
Lake, MI. The Big Twin boasted a record 23.32 mph in its initial run and by production was
setting speeds up to 32.14 mph.

To keep up with current production demands, the Johnsons moved to a larger facility in
Waukegan, IL near Waukegan Harbor and Lake Michigan in 1927. The 138,000-square-foot
factory cost nearly $1 million. Three new products were then added to the lineup – a larger 8-hp
Big Twin, a 4-hp Standard Twin, and the 25 ¾-hp Giant Twin. In 1928, Johnson established an
export division and opened the Canadian Johnson Motor Company, Ltd. in Ontario. This new
facility was responsible for the manufacture and distribution of 50% of the outboard motors sold
in Canada.

The Sea Horse was introduced by Johnson on January 12, 1929 to rave reviews at the
National Motor Boat Show in NYC. The Sea Horse was an innovative and trend-setting product
that would influence the design of outboard motors for decades to come. The Sea Horse, which
came in both a two and four-cylinder model, featured a compression release charger for easier
starting, a rotary valve to increase the gas charge, and an underwater exhaust. In keeping with
their desire to achieve speed, the Sea Horse set 26 of 39 world records for outboard motoring in
1929 and 1930.

The year 1929 brought Ole Evinrude full circle, with a partnership acquisition of his
former company, Evinrude Motors. Unable to forge ahead in a very competitive market, August
Petrie had sold Evinrude Motors in June 1928 to Briggs & Stratton. Stephen Foster Briggs
watched sales steadily decline even as his company poured $400,000 into plant and product
improvements for the Evinrude line. In an effort to reclaim leadership in the outboard industry,
Briggs decided to offer Ole Evinrude the chance to merge Elto with the company he had
originally founded. Ole jumped at the opportunity.

A third and smaller company, Lockwood Motors, was also part of the merger between
Evinrude Motors and Elto. On February 23, 1929, the Outboard Motors Corporation (later
renamed the Outboard Marine Corporation) was formed. Ole Evinrude was appointed president.
Stephen Foster Briggs became chairman of the board. The former president of Lockwood
Motors, Arthur Lockwood, took the duties of treasurer for OMC. Ralph Evinrude managed the
export business.