A private, family-owned Finnish marine interior contractor, MAKINEN specialises in material supply, furniture installations and interior technical work for the global cruise industry. The company supports projects worldwide, with offices in Finland, the US and China. President Markus Mäkinen discussed MAKINEN’s recent projects. Report by Antonia Cole.
Established in 1993, MAKINEN has three generations of experience in marine interiors, President Markus Mäkinen said: “What differentiates MAKINEN is the deep internal knowledge we have across the main areas of marine interiors: refurbishment of cabins and public spaces, expedition vessel newbuild interiors, and furniture production. Another distinctive element is our integrated capability. We handle design coordination, engineering, furniture production, logistics and installation under one roof. This reduces interface risk for the client and gives us direct control over quality and schedules at every phase.”
One of the company’s key strengths is its lean production methods for large-scale cabin refurbishments. MAKINEN uses comprehensive planning systems to resolve logistical details before work begins onboard. This ensures that personnel, materials and tools arrive exactly when and where they are needed. Therefore, the company’s expert team can focus fully on installation.
MAKINEN has a global network of over 2,000 subcontractor professionals and a direct workforce of approximately 50 employees. The company is headquartered in Finland, where its main offices, furniture manufacturing facility and warehouses are located. MAKINEN also has dedicated local teams in Miami, Florida, and China. The company has completed the full turnkey interior of seven expedition vessels, the refurbishment of more than 60,000 cabins and the production of over 65,000 sofas for cruise ships worldwide.
“We have significantly increased our order book over the past three years, which has been driven by our multi-vessel programmes,” continued Mr Mäkinen. “The complexity of the job makes it very exciting. Bridging Finnish precision with US corporate culture, navigating large organisations with strong decision-making processes and many stakeholders, and then seeing a multi-year programme with hundreds of moving parts actually pull together.
“We come from a small country and compete globally. When it works, that is deeply rewarding.”
Advanced capabilities
Over the past three years, MAKINEN has focused on large-scale refurbishment programmes and expedition vessel interiors. As the company specialises in long-term, multi-vessel contracts, the same project management teams are able to efficiently move from one project to the next. This ensures consistency in operations and enables the team to continuously develop their skills while delivering cost-efficient solutions.
“We recently signed the AIDA Evolution II contract with AIDA Cruises to support its fleet modernisation programme,” explained Mr Mäkinen. “This includes cabin and suite refurbishment, suite and crew area conversions, and selected maintenance works. Having completed three vessels under Evolution I, we will now complete the next four over the next two years.”
Additionally, MAKINEN is expanding its partnership with Margaritaville at Sea. The company previously refurbished the outside cabins on the Margaritaville at Sea Islander and will now serve as the accommodation contractor for the upcoming drydock of Margaritaville at Sea Beachcomber. This will include all passenger cabins and suites.
“Another important area for us is expedition vessel newbuilds,” continued Mr Mäkinen. “In 2025, we completed Douglas Mawson, the seventh and final vessel in the SunStone Ships Infinity Class series. We also signed a contract with Asenav shipyard in Chile for the Magellan Discoverer project. The interior installation work has been taking place in Valdivia this year, with the vessel scheduled for delivery in fall 2026. As well as this, we supported the construction of Royal Caribbean’s Icon Class vessels at Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland.”
Quality management
As a company, MAKINEN prioritises quality in all projects. The company operates under ISO 9001 certification and maintains its own set of internal quality and safety policies, which extend to all subcontractors and suppliers. To guarantee standards are constantly met, MAKINEN conducts regular internal and external audits. Additionally, the company focuses on early planning to guarantee operational consistency.
“We do not simply open 1,000 cabins at once and start solving things as we go,” commented Mr Mäkinen. “The work is planned in detail before execution, including the order of operations, the resources needed and the daily targets. We use our own production planning system, ISMaster, to support this. It gives our teams clear task lists and helps us follow our plans more effectively. One benefit of this is that possible mistakes or quality issues are noticed early. As the work moves forward cabin by cabin, any problems become visible immediately and can be corrected before the same issue is repeated elsewhere.”
During the recent AIDA modernisation programme, this system enhanced efficiency, reliability and consistency. With a focus on standardised processes, clear leadership and well-trained teams, the company maintained a consistent output of 60 completed cabins per day during drydocks. MAKINEN also integrates sustainability into its operations. The company prioritises resource efficiency, waste reduction and emissions management across logistics, local procurement and facility operations. To provide transparency, MAKINEN creates an annual sustainability report according to GRI standards and calculates its carbon footprint to monitor progress.
“We support our customers’ own sustainability goals as a subcontractor,” added Mr Mäkinen. “In collaboration with a customer and a supplier that is a specialist in lightweight materials, we have piloted lighter materials to lower the weight of furniture onboard.
“Additionally, our long-term multi-vessel programmes are important in terms of sustainability as they offer room to test, learn and develop better solutions with the customer across several vessels.”
Expanding services
A major challenge in the marine interior sector is dry dock timeframes getting shorter, while clients also expect more advanced work and have smaller budgets. To address this, MAKINEN works closely with the client from the initial planning stages until project completion. By securing materials and arranging teams before a vessel arrives at the yard, the company ensures that operations are controlled, organised and efficient.
“This process supports us as we build lasting relationships with our suppliers and partners, which are reinforced through long-term agreements and shared quality standards,” said Mr Mäkinen. “This helps both sides understand the requirements early and deliver consistent quality throughout the project.”
Going forward, MAKINEN is focused on expanding its capabilities within the expedition newbuild sector. Through the delivery of the Infinity Class series, the company has enhanced its services and gained more experience in complete interior packages for complex expedition vessels. Now, MAKINEN is looking to use this knowledge to begin larger and more advanced newbuild programmes.
“On the refurbishment side, we continue to develop our relationships with major cruise operators,” explained Mr Mäkinen, in conclusion. “Our focus is on multi-vessel modernisation programmes, where our experience, planning and continuity bring clear value across the full project. The people-side is also important. Good leadership and a strong core team make a real difference.”