Page 66: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2023)

TECH FEATURE: GEARS

While the Karl Senner LLC reference list is long, a strong recent win was last- month’s delivery of a pair of Damen 3013

Multi Cats, built by Conrad Shipyard for

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock.

Credit: Great Lakes Dredge & Dock

Gearing Up for a Hybrid Future

Karl Senner LLC is a ? xture in the maritime community, a third generation, long-tenured player in the marine propulsion sector, known for marine propulsion, most commonly known as the North American distributor and service provider of REINTJES Gearboxes. st

Today, as it enters its 51 year, the company has built a presence that exceeds the selling/servicing of heavy machinery, positioning itself as propulsion experts, staffed and out? tted to meet some of the industry’s greatest challenges related to the entire propulsion system, including electri? cation, both hybrid drives and full electric solutions.

By Greg Trauthwein rothers Karl and Chris Senner sit at the helm to- in recent years include the towboat market, passenger vessels, day – Karl the President, Chris the Executive Vice dredging, and ? shing.

President – and together they and their team of 59 “While interest continues to grow on the Hybrid and Elec-

Bemployees have come out the other side of the Co- tri? cation arenas, we aim to keep our systems simple and ser- vid pandemic stronger, with a new headquarters, and facilities viceable,” said Chris Senner. “As we see a growing demand in Kenner, La., plus an expanded network of physical facilities in the market, we are increasing our capacity to deliver more (in Channelview, TX, Paducah, KY, and Seattle, WA) and per- complex systems. It’s exciting to sit down with customers, un- sonnel located in key U.S. maritime hubs on the West Coast, derstand their speci? c needs, and con? gure an optimal propul-

Gulf Coast, East Coast, and Inland Waterways. sion system solution for their operation, whether for shafted “We are uniquely positioned as a company when it comes to ? xed pitch propeller (FPP), controllable pitch propeller (CPP), our extensive parts inventory,” said Karl Senner, noting that the azimuth (Z or L Drive), or waterjet. At the end of the day, we company keeps in stock about $25 million in parts – including remain ? exible to meet our customer’s needs, and offer the everything from small consumables, and maintains about 50 best propulsion and electrical solutions when it comes to re- complete marine gearboxes in the 500-3,000 hp per shaft line liability, serviceability, ef? ciency, safety, CapEx and OpEx.” range. “This is not something we put in place during with Covid, “We see a strong future in multiple market segments, par- it’s something we’ve always done. This strategy proved particu- ticularly as we expand into electrical system and alternative larly valuable during the supply chain disruptions during Covid.” energy solutions,” said Karl Senner, noting the industry’s en-

Key market segments served by the Karl Senner LLC team ergy transition evolution, encompassing electromechanical 66 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • November 2023

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