In 1909, Ole built the world’s first outboard motor. His design remains the standard for today’s outboard engine. Based on a horizontal cylinder design, it featured a vertical crankshaft and driveshaft with direction-changing gears housed in a submerged lower unit.

Ole’s lhand-built Evinrude® outboard - a1-1/2 horsepower, single cylinder unit- would make rowing a thing of the past and mark the birth of the marine industry. Four years later, Ole had sold more than 9,400 units.

In 1914, Ole sold his company, Evinrude Motors, to Chris Meyer. By 1921, Ole had re-entered the outboard manufacturing business when he introduced a smaller, lighter-weight, twin-cylinder outboard, the ELTO® - Evindurde Light Twin Outboard.

At two-thirds the weight of his original engine design, the lightweight ELTO outboard engine pioneered the use of aluminum for marine engines. By 1924, ELTO outboards were outselling the original Evinrude motor and went on to dominate the industry.

In 1929, ELTO was merged with Evinrude and the Lockwood-Ash Motor Company forming the Outboard Motors Corporation, which was merged with Johnson Motors to form the Outboard Marine and Manufacturing Company.

The ELTO line was discontinued right after WWII as the company concentrated on making improvements to the Evinrude product line. In 1956, the company chanted its name to Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC).

Thanks to a continuous refining of the Evinrude outboard, OMC went on to develop and product innovative new engines at a rapid pace. Many of these innovations were industry firsts, including the first V-4 in 1958, and the first V-8 in 1985.

Today, OMC continues to perpetuate its founding father’s pioneering spirit of Evinrude outboards with its exclusive FICHT® Ram Injectionâ„¢ technology. Compared to conventional two-stroke outboards, the new Evinrude outboards with FICHT Ram Injection offer better performance, up to 35 percent better fuel economy, turn-key starting, smooth and quiet operation, up to 80 percent lower hydrocarbon exhaust emissions, and up to a 50 percent reduction in oil consumption.

The FICHT Ram Injection technology features a simple desing involving fewer parts. It is less comples than competitive low-emission technologies making it the marine industry’s most advanced, state-of-the-art injection system available.

To maintain its competitive advantage in recreational powerboat markets, worldwide, OMC continues to concentrate on the development of innovative, technologically advanced products like Evinrude outboards with FICHT Ram Injection.®