MER are the same group that build Bollard generator sets. I have no personal experience with them. They are said to be good; they have a commercial line for fishing boats, and a slightly fancier line for yachts.
As far as "built to fail", I can only comment on NL, which I have two of.
An identical generator set to mine, a NL 6.5kW set, was featured in a NL press release. It was used on the deck of a fishing boat in the Gulf of Alaska, I think, had a little lean-to around it, it was only shut off for oil and filter and impeller changes. I think it had run 20K hours without an overhaul.
If that's built to fail, well, it's more than good enough for me.