ENGLISH PONSSE CUSTOMER AND STAKEHOLDER MAGAZINE 1/2021 PONSSE NEWS PONSSE ACADEMY A COMPETITIVE EDGE FROM TRAINING PONSSE SCORPION THE PERFECT CHOICE AS A USED MACHINE FAMILY GUSTAFSSON FROM SWEDEN A TRUE WINNING TEAM PONSSE NEWS GREETINGS FROM VIEREMÄ! I wish a happy winter to everyone in the Northern Hemisphere and a warm PONSSE CUSTOMER AND summer to you in the Southern Hemisphere! Last year was very challenging STAKEHOLDER MAGAZINE everywhere due to coronavirus pandemic. In one way or another, we’ve been PUBLISHER forced to adapt to this new situation in both our working and private lives. Ponsse Plc, Ponssentie 22, New rules and recommendations have also affected Ponsse’s operations, but FI-74200 Vieremä, Finland we have also learned new lessons and done our best to serve our customers – EDITOR-IN-CHIEF with safety coming first, of course. Katja Paananen These exceptional circumstances have forced us to provide new kinds of services for our customers, and we intend to keep these in our service range, EDITING & CONTENT also in the future. For example, we deliver Ponsse Plc spare parts directly to customers’ warehouse ISSN 2489-9488 (print) and we can go to fill the customer’s stock ISSN 2489-9496 (online publication) shelves. We can thus avoid any unnecessary EDITORIAL STAFF contact and ensure that our customers, as well Juho Nummela, Katja Paananen, as ourselves, can continue to operate safely. Juha-Matti Raatikainen, Disinfecting facilities and addressing every Marika Ryytty, Jarmo Vidgrén, 4 8 29 aspect of safety have become normal way of Juha Vidgrén everyday doing. 4 A WINNING TEAM FROM SWEDEN 20 PONSSE MOMENT 29 PONSSE NORTH AMERICA 25 YEARS LAYOUT When the shortage of components started Luova Työmaa 8 PONSSE ACADEMY 22 PONSSE OPTI 8 30 LOGGING NEWS to affect the operations of our Vieremä A competitive edge from training The most modern forest machine computer COVER PHOTO 34 RETRO CORNER factory last spring we switched to a single in the markets Ponsse Plc 12 EXPERIENCES OF BISON Olavi Kauhanen – a pioneer of shift from March to the end of June. This 23 PONSSE EXPRESS contracting abroad caused postponements in machine deliveries, ILLUSTRATION (PONSSE KIDS) 13 FROM SAVONIA TO SIBERIA for which we would like to apologise to our Henna Ryynänen 24 ENTREPRENEUR KIMMO KULOJÄRVI 35 PONSSE SCORPION AS A USED MACHINE 16 PRODUCT CHANGES customers. After the summer holidays, our PRINT 27 HIGH-QUALITY RESULTS AS OBJECTIVE 37 PONSSE KIDS factory returned to two shifts. We have done Painotalo Seiska 18 PONSSE IN URUGUAY Certified operational quality 28 PONSSE S.A.S. 25 YEARS 38 PONSSE COLLECTION everything we can to protect our production PAPER and service operations, and most of our Maxi Silk 150 g employees have been working from home since the spring. Highspeed Matt 100 g Our 50th anniversary was truly different from what we had planned. ADDRESS SOURCE “Together” was our leading theme for the anniversary, but we were not Mailing list of Ponsse News and able to meet our customers as we would have liked. Ponsse customer register In June, we also made changes in our organisation. I was appointed the Chairman of the Board, following my brother Juha, who showed a great 18 example in the position for ten years. My previous position as sales and marketing director passed on to Marko Mattila, a longstanding member of the Ponsse family. It is good to make changes to the organisation every now Ponsse Plc customer and stakeholder and then to have fresh ideas and develop ourselves. What was also great magazine about these changes was that we will all continue as members of the team – we’ve only changed positions. Juho Nummela, our excellent President and Feedback, subscriptions and CEO, will continue to lead our operations. changes of address by email to The next few months will be challenging, but I’m certain that we can get [email protected]. through them together! The magazine is free of charge. FOLLOW PONSSE: Jarmo Vidgrén, Chairman of the Board 2 3 REPORT / FAMILY-OWNED COMPANY FALLASKOG AB FROM A BUSINESS NAME INTO A COMPANY Fallaskog AB has selected the one-size “It is very important that we are treated ALWAYS STRIVING TO GET BETTER The company started operating under bigger K100 crane in place of the K90 for with an open-minded and honest attitude. If the business name of KG Gustafsson all its forwarders. we have a problem, we are given an honest Skogsavverkning. Fallaskog AB was “Machine operators like to work with a answer and no excuses, like none of this has A WINNING TEAM HARVESTS established in 2005. The transition took bigger crane, which also has an impact on ever happened before. This builds trust,” place gradually, and Fallaskog AB has productivity,” Tobias says. Liisa points out. taken care of all operations since 2013. During his career as a forest machine SUCCESS FROM FORESTS “Some of our customers require us WELL-EQUIPPED MACHINES contractor, Karl-Gunnar has also participated to operate as a limited liability company. Currently, the company has four harvesters in research and development by testing new This was also a natural choice considering and six forwarders, most of which come equipment and prototypes. Karl-Gunnar Gustafsson bought his first forest machine more than 50 years ago. that ownership is divided between several in Ponsse’s colours. One Bison from 2019 “It is always fun to cooperate, and it Little did he know that he would later become an employer for so many people, people,” Karl-Gunnar says. and one Buffalo from 2018 are now teamed would be more than fine with us if Ponsse up with two Bisons and one Elephant was even more interested in our thoughts including his whole family. Together, the family is a tight-knit group with a true will WITHIN A HUNDRED-KILOMETRE RADIUS King acquired this autumn. Two of the and ideas,” Tobias says, sending a message to maintain a high level of quality in everything they do. Fallaskog AB operates within a radius of company’s harvesters are PONSSE Ergos, to the R&D unit. roughly 80 km from its home base. Its key both equipped with the H8 harvester head. allaskog AB based in Finspång operates in the counties of Östergotland, customers include Holmen Region Syd, “There are many reasons why we have JUMPING ON THE DEVELOPMENT WAGON Södermanland and Närkes. The company’s machine size reveals that it Brevens Bruk, Boo Egendom and Sontorps decided to focus on mid-size forwarders. By following Karl-Gunnar’s long career in mainly operates at regeneration felling sites. In addition to the family Bruk. The company’s annual timber Some landowners steer clear of the largest the forest industry, it is easy to perceive how ownership, the company employs 17 people. production volume is approximately forwarders. Another reason is that the the industry has become so mechanised. “We have excellent workers, and we can do nearly everything on 300,000 m3 (excluding bark). In addition largest forwarders are at their best over He describes himself as a nerd who is very Four own, from planning and initial clearing to harvesting, loading, repairs and to regeneration felling, the company also longer distances. At smaller sites, mid- much into forests and machines, making administration. This is very significant considering both logistics and flexibility,” operates occasionally at thinning and size forwarders are equally productive, this a perfect job for him. says Tobias Gustafsson, the company’s managing director and chair of the Board of special sites. while they are easier to transport. Ergo “I was about ten when the Bamse forest Directors, and the second oldest of the siblings. harvesters can also be flexibly transported, tractor came to the forest institute where The company is owned with equal shareholdings by Karl-Gunnar, the GROWING INTEREST because they and their tracks do not exceed my mother was working as a cook. This company’s founder, and his wife Ulla Gustafsson, his daughter Liisa Eriksson and The company acquired its first PONSSE the transport equipment’s size and weight 3/4-track machine picked up trees using a his sons Tobias and Joakim Gustafsson. Tobias was the first to join the company in Ergo in 1998. The next transaction with limits,” Tobias says. wire crane. It was an amazing experience,” 2005. All five are also members of the Board of Directors. Ponsse took place as late as in 2016, but it says Karl-Gunnar, who a few years later was a major one. MECHANICS HELD IN HIGH REGARD attended the Västerby forest institute. “Our interest in Ponsse grew and when For Karl-Gunnar, it is a major advantage Karl-Gunnar did not mind that it was we went to a machine demonstration, that Ponsse’s local maintenance services a two-hour ride to Västerby on his moped. we liked what we saw. We believed in the employ world-class service mechanics, The head teacher soon realised that this reliability of after sales services, as a repair such as Tommy Karlsson who won young man had interest and ambition to shop we were using had years before Ponsse’s competition for mechanics, first work in the forest industry. At the time, become Ponsse’s contractual maintenance in Sweden and later at the international schools taught first thinning using a bow partner. The price was also a factor, and we final event. Leif “Kuffa” Karlsson has also saw, and the development of clearing saws, decided to buy two Buffalo forwarders and made a name for himself as a mechanic. chainsaws and forest machines had a lot to one Elephant King forwarder.” “Forest machines also break at times, offer.