Jansen History

The Early Years

The J.H. Jansen Company was founded in 1976 by Johan Jansen. Johan recognized a niche that was not well served by the boiler OEMs, namely upgrading and improving performance for existing industrial boilers. The company’s early projects focused on energy efficiency of recovery and power boilers in the North American pulp and paper industry, and included boiler evaluations and audits in half a dozen major mills.
Soon, clients began approaching Jansen to supply not only studies or evaluations, but to design and supply boiler upgrades. Two such cases, one in Quebec and another in Wisconsin, saw Jansen perform engineering evaluations and conceptual design, but design engineering and equipment supply fell to outside contractors due to our lack of these capabilities. Johan and the other Jansen engineers realized that an in-house design team could allow the company to take on large jobs, get into new markets, and further grow the company.

Growing Capabilities and Successes

Jansen added a design engineering team in 1986, and major upgrade projects soon followed. A key advancement was the development of the Jansen High Energy Combustion Air Nozzle™. Unlike other air ports on the market, the design of the Jansen nozzle created high velocity air jets with effective furnace penetration with minimal pressure loss. This design was unique enough to be awarded a US patent. Jansen also expanded its process engineering toolbox around this time to include boiler circulation studies and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling.
In the late 80s and early 90s, Jansen took on numerous successful boiler evaluations and upgrades around the world, including an air system upgrade and lower furnace replacement on a recovery boiler in Georgia, a low-odor conversion for a recovery boiler in British Columbia, and several air system upgrades on biomass boilers throughout North America. Success continued into the new millennium, with Jansen designing and supplying air system upgrades on more than 45 biomass boilers and completing several superheater and economizer upgrades between 2000 and 2010.

Looking to the Future

Johan Jansen retired in 1997, leading to a shift in the company’s management and ownership. Ned Dye assumed the role of company president, followed by John La Fond. In 2019, shortly before John La Fond’s retirement, Doug Giarde became the company’s new president. Throughout these changes, Jansen has continued as a privately owned corporation. The continuity in ownership and management is a key reason why Jansen has maintained its original mission of quality engineering and customer-centered service.
Jansen has weathered numerous challenges in its long history, and today is optimistic about the future. With more than 47 years of business experience, a staff of seasoned veterans and sharp newcomers, and a well-earned reputation for quality engineering, Jansen is poised to maintain its position as an industry leader for years to come.