Maritime Association for Southern Sunnmøre (MAFOSS)

The Maritime Association for Southern Sunnmøre (MAFOSS) was founded in 1969 under the name “The Workshop Association in the Ulstein Region”, with the goal of promoting the shipbuilding industry in the region and developing forms of cooperation to strengthen the competitiveness of its member companies. 

MAFOSS covers a region consisting of seven municipalities in Southern Sunnmøre, Norway (Volda, Ørsta, Vanylven, Sande, Herøy, Ulstein, and Hareid), often referred to as “the Seven Stars.” The member companies represent an almost complete maritime and marine value chain: from idea and design, through equipment and components, to construction, assembly, testing, and final delivery. 

As of today, MAFOSS has around 35 member companies, including four shipyards, the largest Norwegian subcontractors, smaller companies with detailed expertise, as well as classification and consulting services. 

Jan Thormodsæter is the Managing Director of MAFOSS.
Under his leadership, the organization has placed strong emphasis on restructuring, skills development, and apprenticeships, as well as on finding increasingly better joint solutions to the challenges faced by its member companies. 

This includes participation in the Erasmus+-funded program LeaderSHIP, where MAFOSS has the privilege of learning from the best in Europe in areas such as education, best practices, and overall understanding of the industry’s challenges.
A highly educational and valuable project to be part of! 

Some of the key areas MAFOSS has focused on recent years include: 

• Skills development projects: For example, the MAKOMP project, which aims to enable smarter sharing of resources and capacity among member companies, as well as upskilling of skilled workers. 

• Recruitment and apprenticeships: Ensuring access to vocational expertise and working to mitigate fluctuations in orders and staffing levels. 

• Strategic collaboration: Working across industry, the public sector, and education to solve shared challenges such as infrastructure (road, sea, air), educational offerings, and creating strong framework conditions for the maritime sector. 

Under Thormodsæter’s leadership, MAFOSS has strengthened its role as a regional facilitator: bringing member companies together, highlighting their needs and challenges, amplifying their voice to politicians and public authorities, and continuously working on innovation and future-readiness. 

To get in touch with MAFOSS and Jan, please e-mail jan@mafoss.no or phone +47 92467700.

Further information about MAFOSS to be found at www.mafoss.no