Life at Ocean Installer includes paper airplane competitions at work:

– We’re hunting those perfect angles so that we get that perfect flight

Why is it that no one has quit their job at Ocean Installer’s headquarter in Forus over the past year? Our employees believe that the reason is the good mix of social and professional aspects of the internal life at Ocean Installer, and that’s probably one of the reasons why the paper airplane competition became a hit.

As engineers, we naturally approach this from a technical perspective. We’re hunting for the perfect angles to make it fly 100 percent, says Signe Moltu.

Signe and Mathew demonstrates some of their paper airplane skills in the office landscape but insists they’re not really nerds about it.

When we organized a paper airplane competition in the sports hall at our office in Forus, the competitive spirit was unusually strong, according to rumors.

“We take things seriously, but at the same time we’re able to laugh at ourselves for taking it seriously. Actually, we don’t really care about who wins,” says Artis.

Who won the competition you had?

“I did,” says the Australian and laughs.

A company where people want to stay

At our headquarter in Forus, the balloons on the ceiling reveal that there is a birthday celebrant in the room. But you’ll also find several small trophies and medals, a testament to the fact that we do like organizing competitions and celebrate the big and small occasions at Ocean Installer.

“Hehe, yes, we have a pretty active welfare club with various sports, including paper airplane competitions,” says Siv Merete Hydle.

“But we also have regular activities like Kahoots, after-work drinks, and hiking,” she adds.

In the hallway, we meet one of the project engineers at Johan Castberg. Mikkel Paulsen moved from the Eastern part of Norway to the Stavanger region a year and a half ago to work at Ocean Installer. His first job after finishing his Engineering degree in 2021.

“I couldn’t have ended up in a better place, socially or professionally. As a new starter, when I didn’t know anyone, I made sure to get involved in almost all the activities our welfare club organized. That helped me a lot,” says the Project Engineer.

Our boats are key

Jørn Waalen is probably the employee that knows Ocean Installer the best. He was the seventh installer hired back in 2011. Back in the day Jørn was the man in charge of the specification and delivery of the Normand Vision – a massive model of which can be seen in our reception area.

“I’m proud of that! Remember that the boats we use are some of the most important tools we have,” says Waalen.

“It’s specially designed for installing underwater equipment, cables, pipelines, and other equipment in the oil and renewable energy industry. This one can lift 400 tons,” he says, pointing at the crane.

Months-long leaves of absence

Waalen doesn’t just have a passion for boats. He also has a burning commitment to the Red Cross that it requires a little extra from our company.

For the past 30 years, Jørn has had various roles, some quite long-lasting. Suddenly, he can be away for several months to establish field hospitals and other Red Cross projects in places around the world.

The recent examples include missions to the Kutupalong camp in Bangladesh, the Al-Hol camp in Syria, and most recently, follow-up of water projects in Pakistan after the flood 2022.

– I’m lucky that I work for a company that really supports me, and a company that goes the extra mile to make sure that I can follow my passion.

That is by no means something they’re obliged to do, but it’s something I really appreciate, says Waalen

The perfect size

Statistics indicate that he has a few more years here. It has become a topic of conversation at Forus that Ocean Installer is the company where “no one quits.” Among 170 employees, no one has left in the past eight months.

Why do so few people leave?

“I would highlight the working environment. There’s always a good mood, and it seems like everyone looks forward to meeting each other,” says Waalen.

“The size of the company is perfect. We’re small enough that people know each other, and you can feel a bit of an entrepreneurial spirit. But we’re big enough to get things done, and we get major and exciting projects both in the North Sea and West Africa,” says Artis.

“The day-to-day life at Ocean Installer feels personal and with short decision-making lines, but at the same time, very professional. You compete with the largest companies in the world,” says Moltu.

Always room for more installers

In Ocean Installer we firmly believe that our success over the past 12 years is directly attributed to the exceptional individuals who make up our team of installers.

Whether it’s installing complex offshore structures, laying pipelines, connecting offshore floating wind installations, or providing comprehensive EPCI services. We have the knowledge, experience, and we do have the passion to deliver those exceptional results – all we’re missing is you! Are you ready to join our crew and embark on an exciting adventure?

Check our vacancies here:

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