The Konrad family has a long history of providing propulsion systems for boats.

In the 1920’s, Sigfried Konrad, engineered and built a lightweight, efficient outboard motor. The 2 hp single engine was named the Champion. In addition, he produced a similar, but more economical motor called the Monarch

These two outboards were produced and assembled in his machine shop in St. Paul, MN. Several thousand were sold to local fishermen before Sigfried Konrad sold the designs to a local manufacturer that continued production. He decided general industrial machining was better suited to his long term goals.

It seemed however, that boats had gotten into the Konrad blood. In 1990, his son entered the marine propulsion market.

Sigfried Konrad's son Ken, grew up helping him in the machine shop. After high school, he attended a local technical institute where he acquired the technical knowledge that supported his years of practical experience in the family machine shop. After graduation, he served his country in the US Navy. There he maintained and serviced diesel engines aboard ships and smaller crew boats in Vietnam.

In the early 1990’s, Konrad Marine became a supplier of compatible stern drive components and assemblies for the Mercury Alpha* stern drives. Within a year, Ken introduced the Omega.

The Konrad Marine Omega line became popular with dealers and marine shops not affiliated with Mercury, as the Omegas were totally compatible with the Alpha, its workmanship was guaranteed and they were shipped overnight.

With this successful entry into the stern drive business, Konrad Marine next focused its sights on a marine propulsion area that was not being met by other manufacturers – the diesel stern drive, in the 134 kw –273 kw (180hp – 370hp) applications.

The 520 Diesel Stern Drive was introduced in 1997, after years of engineering and testing. In fact, to ensure the Konrad 520 would meet the rigorous needs of its users, the company built its own testing facility at its headquarters in Hudson, Wisconsin. It contains 302,800 litres (80,000 gallons) of water. It enables testing to continue year round in a controlled environment.

Today, Konrad Marine 520 Stern Drive’s can be found on a wide variety of vessels including water taxis, crew boats, parasail boats and in police and military applications around the world.

Four years later, the Konrad 540 Stern Drives were introduced. The 540 has two versions, the High Performance Drive and the Recreational Drive. It can handle a torque rating of up to 1000 Nm (738 lb. ft.). The 540 is designed for lighter boats that require reliable, durable performance that simply goes fast.

What’s next in the Konrad Marine story? Konrad innovation continues to stretch your imagination. Our team of engineers are presently working on our next additions to our 500 series, as well as other products that compliment our stern drives. Konrad is the ultimate force in the water.

*Alpha is a trademark of Mercury Marine, a Brunswick Corporation.

Original equipment Manufacturer's names are used for identification purposes only. We are in no way implying that any of our parts are the OEM products.