HEC's primary area of expertise is in the conceptual, preliminary, and contract design of commercial vessels. We have extensive experience in newbuildings and conversions of containerships, break-bulk carriers, ro-ro's, and tankers. Through the years, we have been fortunate to have relationships with clients looking for innovative and cost effective solutions, and willing to venture beyond "current practice".

These clients wanted the best, most competitive ships for their services. To gain that competitive edge, they realized that sometimes new and different approaches are needed. They also understood that ships are just one part of the total transportation system. To truly optimize the movement of cargoes, the entire system must be considered.

An example of this systems approach to transportation is the design of the first open-hatch bulk carriers for Crown Zellerbach. These ships efficiently utilized other newly developed pieces of the system such as cargo handling gear, storage facilities, securing equipment, unitizing concepts, packaging methods, terminal layout, and stevedoring services. HEC has also been involved in the design of subsequent generations of open-hatch vessels, and has introduced many innovations and refinements to the original design. Today, open-hatch ships are firmly established as the stardard for trans-oceanic carriage of forest products.

As the business grew, Bob realized it was important to provide his employees with a stake in the company. The company was incorporated as Herbert Engineering Corp. in 1975, with all shares owned by employees who actively participate in the company's management. This was a bold step, but helped attract and keep talented people who wanted challenges and responsibilities.

Over the ensuing years, most of our newbuilding projects have involved cargo ships, including containerships, break-bulk carriers, ro-ro's, tankers, and barges. Nearly all of these designs have been double-hulled, and all of the vessels incorporate high standards of safety and environmental performance. Representative projects include open-hatch ships for the Weyerhauser Company, the first high-DWT ro-ros for carriage of forest products and autos for Seaboard Shipping, the first post-PANAMAX containerships for APL, and the first conversion of a conventional containership to a hatchless containership for Matson Navigation Company. Each design was developed in close cooperation with the client's technical staff.

During the mid-1970's, HEC developed naval architectural and ship design software for in-house use. Initially mainframe-based, the software was converted for use on HP9845 microcomputers in the late 1970's, and then to PC's during the mid-1980's. This software, originally developed to allow our engineers to more effectively and efficiently evaluate ship designs, became the basis for our shipboard loading, design, and salvage software products.

Our first CargoMax loading program was installed on ro-ro's and bulk carriers in 1979. In 1981, Chevron Shipping committed to CargoMax on a fleet wide basis. This breakthrough was followed by fleet sales to other major shipping companies, including ARCO, BP, and SeaLand. The first WINDOWS version of CargoMax was installed by STOLT on their chemical carriers in 1995. Over the years, our clients have provided invaluable input towards the continued enhancement of CargoMax.

We continue to provide design expertise to our clients for newbuilding and conversion projects, as well as general naval architecture and marine engineering support services. The marine-related software products are now offered to the marine industry by Herbert Software Solutions, Inc.

To provide our clients access and support in the rapidly expanding Ship Building industry in China we have established an office in Shanghai as Herbert Engineering Shanghai (HES). Our European office (in Glasgow) provides close support for our clients in that market as well.