At Glomset in Ålesund municipality, a village with around 80 homes, is Undertun Industri. Beautifully located between the fjord and the mountains, the 15 employees create a product that is sought after in large parts of the world. Undertun Industri at Glomset in Ålesund. Photo: Øyvind Sandnes / news Delivered to the US Navy and the space project of Elon Musk You may not have thought about it, but on all the almost 400 fast boats in the country, you disembark on a gangway from Undertun Industri. And when the US Navy or Elon Musk’s space project SpaceX were looking for a landing, it was Undertun that delivered. – We have no marketing department. They still find us, says daily manager Sverre Undertun. The boss jumps into the truck and drives out the gate to pick up something that comes with a truck. He doesn’t wear a suit and tie. Too long hours in the office become boring. Company owner Sverre Undertun is often at the workshop to do physical work. Photo: Øyvind Sandnes / news The factory at Glomset does not have an assembly line. A large part of the success story lies in the fact that everything is specially made for each individual customer. – People come to us with their problems, and then we try to solve them. There is a great need for advanced gangways, and there is really no one else who makes them on a tailor-made basis. Our motto has become: We will not make things that other companies make, he says. – An adventure Professor of economic history at Norway’s Handelsøyskole, Ola Honningdal Grytten, is very impressed by what they achieve at Undertun Industri. – They live in a small village, but manage to break up and sell a very special niche product that they can deliver all over the world. They become experts in tailor-made gangways. It’s a great idea – an adventure, says the professor. Ola Honningdal Grytten is a professor at NHH. Photo: Charlotte Haarvik Sanden / news He thinks it is particularly impressive that the company has managed to fit both production, labor and capital into such a small space. He thinks many people can learn something from this. – I think that finding a niche within a market, as they have done here, is the future. Especially here in Norway where production costs are quite high, he says. Adrian Undertun is the third generation of Undertuns to work at the factory. He is a trained automation engineer, but has to learn a bit of everything else as well. Photo: Øyvind Berge Sæbjørnsen / news Start on a dirt floor Sverre Undertun and his father started a mechanical workshop and factory together 30 years ago. Back then there were dirt floors in parts of the premises. They did not want to go into debt, so a new floor was laid in two stages – as and when there was money for it. Now the factory has moved to a new place in the village. Larger premises and many modern machines. Those who work there must know more than one thing. Frank Ronny Nærø is a constructor, but the days are very versatile. Photo: Øyvind Berge Sæbjørnsen / news Constructor Frank Ronny Nærø sits a lot at the computer and draws, but also likes to take a trip to the workshop. – It is interesting. We are constantly trying to develop a new product, so there are constant challenges, he says. Day-to-day manager Sverre Undertun believes that the most important thing is that the employees have a basic vocational education, and then they can learn other things while working in the company. – In accounting, he is actually an aircraft mechanic, the designer is a car mechanic and the production manager has been both a fisherman and a carpenter, says Sverre Undertun. Day-to-day manager Sverre Undertun likes himself best in the factory. – We have a flat structure here, he says. Photo: Øyvind Berge Sæbjørnsen / news
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Start on the ground floor – got to deliver equipment to SpaceX
