Jensen Maritime Consultants, a Crowley Maritime Corp. company, has doubled the size of its staff and added three major services to its already robust suite of capabilities in just the past 12 months. These additions are the results of multi-year strategic plans that have now positioned Jensen as a leader in the industry of naval architecture and marine engineering.

New services include fully staffed, in-house production engineering, construction management and electrical engineering teams, which will work synergistically with Jensen’s traditional ship structures, design and drafting, marine/mechanical engineering and naval architecture groups.

“Very few naval architecture and marine engineering firms are able to provide such a complete offering of services in house, much less full time,” said Jensen’s Johan Sperling, vice president. “These new offerings in tandem with our more established capabilities offer customers the complete services they are looking for.”

Jensen has also formed a dedicated business development team and has invested in project management training, which will aid the company as it executes complex projects, much like Crowley’s solutions team, the company’s Houston-based Project Management Organization (PMOrg).

To support these new ventures, Jensen has added 21 employees to its roster over the past year. This expansion has more than doubled Jensen’s size to 46 total employees since it was acquired by Crowley in April 2008.

Jensen has also upgraded to best-possible technology by investing in state-of-the-art technical software and hardware systems, and more powerful computers. As a result, Jensen is now is able to offer customers advanced services, such as 3D modeling and high-end finite element analyses.

“Jensen’s unrivaled growth over the last 12 months is due to the careful joint planning of Jensen and our parent company Crowley, which has demonstrated sustained growth for 120 years,” said Sperling. “While Jensen has always had the talent, it now has the structure and support in place to compete with any other firm in the U.S. commercial naval architecture and marine engineering market. The ‘new Jensen’ is now operating as a full-service firm and has the talent and systems in place to offer superior services to virtually any customer.”

Jensen team leaders for these new in-house teams include recent hires Ed Silchenstedt, manager, production engineering; Ray Martus, director, new construction; and Stephen Gleaves, manager, electrical engineering.

Silchenstedt has more than 40 years of extensive experience in shipbuilding and design, and shipyard management. He is now responsible for managing Jensen’s full-service, in-house production engineering team, which is staffed with qualified structural and machinery/piping engineers and designers.

Martus joins Jensen from Crowley’s construction management division. In this new role, he will bring together the unique skills of both companies by managing a fully staffed Jensen construction management team. Martus has 25 years of combined shipboard and shoreside experience in marine engineering, ship operations, project and financial management and new vessel construction.

Gleaves, managing the new marine electrical designers and engineers group, brings 43 years of combined marine electrical experience to Jensen. Additionally, Gleaves has unique expertise in diesel electric propulsion design and hybrid power plants for vessels.

“We knew going into 2011 that it was going to be a big year for growth,” said Crowley’s Todd Busch, senior vice president, technical services. “But Jensen has surpassed our expectations already in 2012. Despite a difficult economy, Jensen has added strategic new services, talented staff and advanced technology – all for the sake of serving customers better. Jensen has truly embraced its role as an industry leader and is taking charge of its future.”