Celebrating 20 Years
Twenty years ago, David Jochum took a risk. A naval architect stifled by the bureaucracy of legacy naval engineering firms and appalled at the self-dealing he saw in an era marked by private equity and corporate acquisitions, Mr. Jochum wanted to do it better. He knew striking out on his own meant he needed to understand business, so while continuing to work for the man, he earned his MBA from George Washington University. Then he took the leap.
August 2026 marks the twentieth anniversary of Tridentis. To this day we remain 100% owned by our President and Founder, which distinguishes us in a business world that, once again, is marked by private equity acquisitions and corporate consolidation. Under Mr. Jochum’s leadership, Tridentis is unburdened by the need to chase quarterly revenue targets or engage in short-term thinking to please investors. We are agile and responsive to adjust methods or scale to meet the moment. We are intensely entrepreneurial and driven to be responsive to what our customers demand. We are willing, even eager, to try new ideas and propose innovative concepts that break through legacy approaches.
And in 2026, these hallmarks of what Tridentis is have continued to show in our accomplishments. We launched our SPEED TO STEEL™ campaign to meet the moment in the need to revolutionize naval shipbuilding. We are applying the innovative principles of that campaign to rapidly accelerate and deliver transformational value to multiple Government shipbuilding programs. We also landed our first contract with the U.S. Army, to deliver our naval engineering expertise in support of Army transportation planners. We launched a new UUV prototype and recently secured another Phase II SBIR award that will bring edge compute and demonstrate human-machine teaming to support ghost pot recovery efforts. And more is to come!
All of this started with a founder who took a risk. Much like the successful naval engineering entrepreneurs that built American naval dominance in the 20th century, David Jochum had the vision, drive, and determination to build a business that makes meaningful contributions to our national defense and American way of life.
If you have been a part of Tridentis’ journey over the last twenty years, and would like to share an anecdote, express appreciation, or reconnect, please reach out to us on our “Contact Us” page.