Our Founder, Our Story & Our Mission
Ivan Fox, born 1918, founded this company of men and women in the spring of 1964. That spring, a devastating tsunami ravaged the southern coasts of Alaska, laying waste to whole harbors of boats. A fisherman and then a fleet manager in the Alaskan fishing industry, Ivan saw the devastation first hand. He and his Port Engineer founded MER, then Marine Engine Repair, in response to that crisis, to get his fleet and his friends back out on the water again for the coming season, and earning.
Ivan crossed the bar on March 10 of 2013. We his children, grandchildren and family carry on his tradition, his values, his sense of duty and responsibility. We aspire to be the best we can be and to be good to each other, our employees, our vendors, and our customers. We are a family of fishermen and work boat owners. We know what it means to lose a day on the water in the height of the season. We know what courage in the face of a cruel sea means, and we know the importance of preparation.
There are no guarantees in life. Life is not fair, so don’t expect it to be. Success is rarely an accident. It is the result of intelligent design and skillful execution. Nothing we sell or build is cheap; economical yes, but never cheap. We think in terms of the best value, the lowest cost of ownership, the best return on your investment.
It is our ongoing mission to support the workboat industry. We can’t help it, it’s in our DNA. We strive to build the best engines and generators we can, to make them more efficient, easier to maintain and to assist in their application so they are less likely to fail.
Even with the best preparation, the best equipment will eventually fail. Everything has its season. MER exists to give them the best chance to work hard for you for many years, to earn their keep. We don’t sell anything we wouldn’t put in our own boats and we work hard to build them worthy of yours. Like Ivan, when the chips are down, we’ll be there to help get you up and running again.
Cheers, Robert Allen
