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Jørn Munch Jensen, the founder of JENSEN-GROUP, passed away on June 21, 2012, only a few days after his 80th birthday.

Profession
Probably the most formative event in his life was his friendship with Bent Kjellberg, who introduced him to a folding machine. Bent was employed in his father’s laundry company, Bornholms Dampvaskeri (called Victor Vask today). He had seen a folding machine at a Danish ferry operator and thought it might help cut some of the costs related to the laundry’s labour intensive processes. He also thought the machine could be made better and cheaper. In 1959, Jørn Munch Jensen decided to build his own folding machine together with his father Ejnar Jensen. He knew nothing about the laundry business or even how to manufacture such a machine but, with the right background and drive he was convinced that he could make his dream come alive. And he did.

Today, JENSEN is a synonym around the globe for sustainable laundry automation, supplying equipment and solutions for all sections of industrial laundries. Jørn Munch Jensen has laid the foundation for this internationally successful enterprise, that without any doubt is a product of his vision, as well as his sales and business skills. Throughout these years, Jørn Munch Jensen collected many stories and anecdotes which he decided to write down in his book "from the Baltic Sea to the World". In this book, he also expresses his thanks to the employees and partners of the JENSEN-GROUP, claiming that "the survival, strength and success however are based on their creativity, production knowledge, industry insight and, last but not least, their overall dedication". This statement was very characteristic for Jørn Munch Jensen, who was an "old school patron" who always had a listening ear for all his employees, on all hierarchic levels. Under the aegis of Jørn Munch Jensen, solutions and products were designed that became benchmarks within our industry.

Family
His most faithful companion, his wife Lise, spent 58 happy years at his side. Lise and Jørn met in Copenhagen and settled on Bornholm when they got married in 1954. During their marriage, Lise decorated 21 homes as the Jensen family often moved around the globe. Jørn was very proud of his three children Karine, Anne and Jesper and became a loving father-in-law for their husbands and wife. He found great joy in watching his seven grandchildren grow up. Although they were living in different countries, Jørn and Lise never spared any effort to visit them and be there when milestones were celebrated, or when the special care of loving grandparents was needed. In May, they travelled to the USA for the graduation at Yale University of their grandson Jakob and spent beautiful days in Ireland last weekend, where their eldest grandson Nikolai got married. Jørn Munch Jensen was very involved in the lives of his grandchildren and children, who will miss him very dearly. The family takes comfort in the fact that merely 11 days before passing away, Jørn Munch Jensen could celebrate his 80th birthday together with his family and friends.

Jørn Munch Jensen was an entrepreneur by heart. He developed visions that were realized with enthusiasm and vigor, and in most cases, with success. He was never “unnoticed” and always made sure that he left a mark. Even when passing away he did it suddenly and with impatience. His actions were often a surprise to all of us, and his vision was mostly right. He anticipated trends and world developments before many of his contemporaries. Jørn Munch Jensen lived his passion in his professional and in his personal life, and always claimed that he was happy.

We say goodbye to a fulfilled man, and thank him for being a loving husband and father and a loyal patron.

The JENSEN family

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