Søren Jensen - The man behind the company
Søren Jensen in his employment at K.F.W. Askøe.
Søren Jensen was born in 1901 on the island of Samsø and grew up in modest circumstances in a large family where work and duty were part of daily life.
He left school early, first working as a farmhand and then serving an apprenticeship as a carpenter – a practical foundation that would shape his entire career.
His early adult years involved some years of wandering as a craftsman during a period of difficult economic conditions, before he chose to train further as a structural engineer.
In 1929, he secured a probationary position with the engineer K.F.W. Askøe in Aarhus – a professionally demanding and formative period in which Søren Jensen truly found his footing as a consulting engineer.
Here he worked with complex calculations, large-scale construction, and developed a working style characterised by thoroughness, accountability, and respect for the craft.
Søren was on probation with K.F.W. Askøe for 13 years – they never got around to formalising the arrangement, even though the probationary period had long since ended.
Unfortunately, K.F.W. Askøe died suddenly in 1942, at only 51 years of age. This forced Søren to consider how to shape his career from that point onwards.
The footballer "Søren Jyde" – a crowd favourite
Alongside his early professional development, Søren Jensen had a remarkable career as a footballer. He broke through at AGF in the mid-1920s and quickly became a prominent figure in the team – both as captain and as a physically strong, committed player.
Søren Jensen played around 400 matches for AGF and was the team's regular captain for many years. Between 1931 and 1933, he earned 11 caps for the Danish national team and became one of the first players from outside Copenhagen to secure a permanent place in the squad.
On the pitch he was known for his work ethic, courage, and fair play. The press gave him the nickname "Søren Jyde", and he achieved a rare popularity as a crowd favourite – not for flamboyant moves, but for his consistent effort and calm demeanour.
After an injury brought his international career to a close, Søren Jensen went on to manage AGF before withdrawing from football altogether.
The experiences from sport – the discipline, the team spirit, and the respectful approach to both teammates and opponents – stayed with him throughout his career as a consulting engineer and company founder.
In his younger days, Søren Jensen was a very popular professional footballer.
Both as a player and captain for AGF, as player on the national team and as coach.
Founding Søren Jensen Engineering
Søren Jensen.
After years as a structural engineer and trusted employee with the consulting engineer K.F.W. Askøe in Aarhus, Søren Jensen found himself standing on his own feet in the mid-1940s. Askøe's death and subsequent collaborations made it natural for Søren Jensen to take the step he had otherwise not been in a hurry to take: establishing his own consulting engineering firm.
In 1945, he settled in Silkeborg and founded what would later become known as Søren Jensen Consulting Engineers. The firm was not built on grand vision statements, but on expertise, responsibility, and trust. Søren Jensen did not think of the company as a project in itself, but as a job that needed to be done properly.
His approach was measured and understated, and he was consistently focused on ensuring that tasks were solved thoroughly and that collaboration with clients and tradespeople worked well. That quickly made an impression.
Erik Jensen joins the company
In 1965, Erik Jensen joined the firm as master in engineering. With him came the beginning of a gradual generational transition, in which the company gained new competencies and a broader professional scope.
Søren Jensen increasingly entrusted responsibility for the firm’s development to his son, without great ceremony or formal announcements. The transition happened in practice, not in words
As Erik Jensen joined the firm, its assignments grew in both complexity and scope. The organisation was strengthened, new fields of expertise were added, and collaboration with larger public and institutional clients began to take shape.
In 1970, the company was converted to a limited company, and Søren Jensen, Consulting Engineers A/S became the formal framework for the work that was now largely driven forward by the next generation.
The transition from Søren Jensen to Erik Jensen was not a break, but a continuation. The values on which the firm had been founded – professional decency, responsibility, and a quiet sense of one's own significance – were carried forward and developed.
It was not a generational handover marked by grand words, but a craft gradually passed on.
With Erik Jensen entering, a gradual change happened, strengthening and broadening the company.
The years under Erik Jensen's leadership
As a 90 year old, Erik Jensen remains active in the company as a valued senior engineer, contributing sparring and essential knowledge to younger generations.
Under Erik Jensen’s leadership, the firm’s professional profile expanded from a clear focus on structural engineering to a broader consultancy practice.
Techinal installations, client consultancy and interdisciplinary design became established areas of expertise, developed deliberately and selectively with professional quality taking precedence over rapid growth.
The company grew in a controlled way, following the projects rather than forcing expansion for its own sake. In particular, long-term projects in hospitals and university buildings gave the firm a distinct position, where continuity, process knowledge and collaboration became just as important as technical expertise.
Leadership remained close to the professional work, and responsibility was gradually shared with employees who grew into their roles. Under Erik Jensen, Søren Jensen Consulting Engineers developed into a broader, multidisciplinary consultancy with particular strength in complex construction projects.
The driving force was - and remains - coherence, professional control and a measured approach to long-term development. Always with the core values in focus: Collaboration, Competence and Responsibility.
Frank and Flemming Jensen – the third generation at the helm
With the third generation, ownership of Søren Jensen is held by Frank Jensen, with Flemming Jensen as co-owner. The transition to the third generation has been carried out as a planned and responsible generational handover, where continuity, expertise, and long-term stewardship have been the guiding principles.
Frank Jensen holds overall management responsibility and sets the direction for the firm’s development. Under his leadership, Søren Jensen has continued to develop as a family-owned consulting engineering firm with a strong focus on responsible ownership, financial resilience and a clear ambition to contribute positively to society and the planet. Flemming Jensen contributes as co-owner to the ownership and strategic anchoring of the company.
The third generation carries forward the company’s traditional focus on professional decency and collaboration, while also setting a clear framework for the future
Drawing on stewardship thinking and a regenerative business model, the firm works purposefully with sustainability, leadership, and long-term value creation – so the company can be handed on in at least the same condition as it was received.
From left: Frank and Flemming Jensen.
Historical timeline 1901 - 2004
1901: Søren Jensen is born on Christmas Eve on the island of Samsø.
He grows up in a large family shaped by work, responsibility, and frugality.
1929: Søren Jensen takes up a position with the consulting engineer K.F.W. Askøe in Aarhus.
The position proves professionally pivotal and shapes Søren's approach to structural engineering, reinforced concrete, and consulting.
1945: Søren Jensen establishes his own consulting engineering firm based in Silkeborg, following the conclusion of his collaborations in Aarhus.
1965: Erik Jensen joins the firm as a master in engineering.
The year marks the beginning of a gradual generational transition and a clear professional broadening of the company.
1970: The company is converted into a limited company under the name Søren Jensen Rådgivende Ingeniørfirma A/S, in English Søren Jensen Engineering.
In practice, Erik Jensen takes over the main responsibility for the company’s development.
2004: Frank Jensen joins the firm following completion of an international education and professional experience abroad.
The transition marks the beginning of the third generation in the company and a new strategic and professional point of departure.
