PONSSE NEWS - LOGGING FOR OVER 40 YEARS - FULL SERVICE IN KOMI 2018

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PONSSE NEWS - LOGGING FOR OVER 40 YEARS - FULL SERVICE IN KOMI 2018
CUSTOMER AND STAKEHOLDER MAGAZINE 1/2018

PONSSE NEWS

FULL SERVICE
IN KOMI
PONSSE RENEWS
ITS MACHINE MODEL
SERIES FOR
2018

METSÄKULJETUS HYVÄRISET AND METSÄ-MULTIA

LOGGING FOR
OVER 40 YEARS
PONSSE NEWS - LOGGING FOR OVER 40 YEARS - FULL SERVICE IN KOMI 2018
PONSSE NEWS
    CUSTOMER AND STAKE­
    HOLDER MAGAZINE

    PUBLISHER
    Ponsse Oyj
    Ponssentie 22, FI-74200 Vieremä
    Finland

    EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
    Katja Paananen

                                                                                4                                           26
    EDITORS & CONTENT
    Ponsse Oyj

    EDITORIAL STAFF
    Juho Nummela, Katja Paananen,
    Juha-Matti Raatikainen,
    Marika Ryytty, Jarmo Vidgrén,
    Juha Vidgrén

    LAYOUT                                 4 FULL SERVICE IN KOMI                                      18 13,000 PONSSE FOREST MACHINE READY
    Mainonnan Työmaa                         Dimitri Popov, leader of Mobilnyi Service is                FOR LOGGING SITES IN LOWER SAXONY
                                             responsible of PONSSE´s Full Service in Komi.
    THE COVER PHOTO                                                                                    20 WAHLERS FORSTTECHNIK & PONSSE:
    Jouko Arvonen                          11 PONSSE KIDS                                                COOPERATION FOR 25 YEARS

    ILLUSTRATIONS                          12 PONSSE RENEWS ITS MACHINE                                22 PONSSE MOMENT
    Henna Ryynänen (Ponsse Kids)             MODEL SERIES FOR 2018
                                                                                                       24 TOWARDS NEXT DECADES
    PRINT                                                                                                Metsäkuljetus Hyväriset and Metsä-Multia
    Painotalo Seiska Oy                                                                                  have been logging for over 40 years.

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2
PONSSE NEWS - LOGGING FOR OVER 40 YEARS - FULL SERVICE IN KOMI 2018
”HOW’RE
                                                            WE DOING?”

                                                            I often think about this question, from Ponsse’s founder Einari Vidgrén to
                                                            employees or neighbours he met on the village road. He truly wanted to
                                                            know how people were doing. And asking helped to promote a strong sense
                                                            of community. Einari wanted to share the feeling that problems at work were
                                                            everybody’s business, and that things get done when people work together.
                                                            Nobody needs to be alone with their problems.
                                                                Ponsse now has over 1,450 employees worldwide. The meaning of com-
                                                            munity and of doing things together are emphasised more and more. When

                        34
                                                            it comes to forest machines, we are in a very
                                                            tough work environment. It is essential to
                                                            have a strong focus on supporting custom-
                                                            ers’ business, rapidly developing technology,
                                                            and our own expertise and work ethic. In
                                                            this kind of environment, fast reactions
                                                            and teamwork are needed more than ever.
                                                            We continue to meet these challenges with
26 RANDALLS EQUIPMENT                                       training and our daily practices, and we
  – 50 YEARS OF PIONEERING                                  believe that continuing to work as a team
                                                            will ensure our ongoing development and
28 FIVE-COUNTRY SCORPION ROAD SHOW
                                                            progress.
30 LOGGING NEWS                                                 In February, it was 75 years since Einari
33 MODERN TOOLS ENSURE QUALITY EDUCATION                    Vidgrén was born. For over a year, together
                                                            with author Antti Heikkinen we have gath-
34 OPERATING FOREST MACHINE IN
                                                            ered stories and material about Einari’s life,
  UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
                                                            from his beginnings as a logger to becoming
  Part 2. The stories in this series tells about the work
                                                            a forest machinery manufacturer. In this
  of forest machine operators in different markets.
                                                            project, we have already heard all kinds of
39 PONSSE COLLECTION                                        stories about the first logging sites in Laaka-
                                                            järvi, and about Einari’s years at school. The
                                                            project continues, and I invite you to contact

                              20
                                                            me directly or send your memories, stories
                                                            or pictures by email at tarinat@ponsse.com.
                                                                I hope you enjoy reading Ponsse News.
                                                            Have a great spring!
                                                                Sometimes it’s good to think back to the early 1970s, when it was difficult
                                                            to get financing to run everyday operations, or to find components for
                                                            assembly, get electricity to the factory and deliver machines to customers.
                                                            Under these circumstances, a customer happened to come to the factory and
                                                            asked Einari how they were doing.
                                                                Einari answered, as confidently as always: “We’re doin’ just fine!”
                                                            He believed in what he was doing so strongly that it helped him and
                                                            the rest of the team overcome every obstacle.

                                                            Juha Vidgrén
                                                            Chairman of the board, Ponsse Plc

                                                                                                                                              3
PONSSE NEWS - LOGGING FOR OVER 40 YEARS - FULL SERVICE IN KOMI 2018
REPORT / KOMI

           FULL SERVICE IN
           At the Verkhnyaya Vytchegda, in the Komi Republic of Russia, a passenger van
           arrives at a logging camp, spilling out eight men—all PONSSE drivers. Their night
           shift has just ended, and it’s time to have some breakfast in the camp kitchen
           and rest while the day shift is ongoing.

          E
                         ast of Verkhnyaya Vytchegda,                                                          machines to the stands.
                         there is only wilderness all the                                                           Like other harvesting companies in
                         way to Hanty-Mansijski. The area                                                      Russia, Mondi Syktyvkar has entered into
                         is rich in wildlife, such as bears,                                                   fifty-year contracts with the government for
                         wolves and other predators. The                                                       harvesting and reforestation purposes. Con-
           day before, a sloth of four bears have been                                                         tracting requires a comprehensive approach:
           sighted near this camp—a female and three                                                           Before harvesting can begin, roads must be
           cubs. It’s a common enough event and the                                                            built since contractors are also responsible
           men are not particularly excited, preferring                                                        for creating the infrastructure that facilitates
           to discuss other matters throughout the                                                             logging.
           breakfast.                                                                                               The machine base at the Verhnaja
               At the camp, the morning begins with            the men are hoping for a cold weather front     Vytsegda camp is typical for a logging site
           a session with visiting machine designers           to arrive. During the early morning hours,      of Mondi Syktyvkar: four machine units are
           from Vieremä. Every year, a number of Pons-         two of the machines have gotten stuck in        operated with four PONSSE Ergo harvesters
           se staff travel to Komi to gather feedback on       soft soil and require extra machinery to pull   aided by four PONSSE Buffalo forwarders.
           the reliability of the machines and to audit        them out. In this region, the soil is fine-     For the past few years, all of Mondi’s opera-
           machine service centres. The drivers get to         grained with few rocks. Working conditions      tions in the Komi region have involved Pons-
           voice their opinions, and their first desire is     are made more difficult by record rainfall      se machinery exclusively. At the moment,
           followed by hearty laughter. Could someone          throughout the summer and early autumn.         there are 58 machines made in Vieremä
           please send some snow and frost from                Softest areas have been reinforced with         working at eight different logging sites.
           Finland? There’s a very obvious reason why          small logs in order to facilitate moving the    Increased efficiency has actually reduced the

4
PONSSE NEWS - LOGGING FOR OVER 40 YEARS - FULL SERVICE IN KOMI 2018
KOMI
 number of Ponsse forest machines in a typical Mondi order.
     To the visiting Finns, who are used to seeing uninhabited         THE KOMI REPUBLIC
 areas filled with forests, the Komi Republic seems quite large
 and sparsely populated. By area, the Komi Republic is larger
 than Finland. Between huge swaths of forest, small and            •   THE KOMI REPUBLIC is a republic of the Russian Federation,
 densely built villages sometimes emerge. Their demographics           located in Northeast Europe, west of the Ural Mountains. The Komi
 look grim as their populations keep growing older. The Komi           Republic is 1.2 times the size of Finland by area. Most of the area,
 Republic has a population of about one million people who             about 72.7%, is covered by boreal forests (taiga). Northernmost
 are concentrated in a few large cities such as Syktyvkar, the         parts of the region consist of the tundra biome, and Northeast
 region’s capital, popular among young people who are leaving          Komi is covered in permafrost.
 rural areas to look for work. The best employment opportuni-
 ties in rural areas are now often related to forestry.                Central characteristics of the region’s nature include major rivers
                                                                       that flow through the rolling hills, and several lakes. Features of
 FOREST WORK IS HIGHLY VALUED                                          the continental climate are long and cold winters that are much
 At the camp, breakfast for the eight men returning from the           more severe than in Finland. The winter lasts about six months in
 night shift is served by Maria Pahanova, the matron, and by           the southern parts of the region, and can last as long as two thirds
 Lida Ignatova, the kitchen maid. In addition to kitchen staff,        of a year in Northern Komi. Temperatures range from +40 to -40
 the logging camp employs a housemaid to keep the camp                 degrees Celsius. The area is rich in natural resources. In addition to
 clean.                                                                forests, oil, coal and various ore deposits can be found here.
     The women are native Komi speakers, but switch to Rus-
 sian at the logging camp. Maria Pahanova says that women
 are finding it difficult to find work in rural areas as village
 schools keep shutting down permanently and agricultural
 work is not easy to find. Most available job opportunities are
 now forestry-related.
     “Women are entitled to a pension at 50 years old, but
 many try to keep working a little longer to boost their

                                                                                                                                                5
PONSSE NEWS - LOGGING FOR OVER 40 YEARS - FULL SERVICE IN KOMI 2018
REPORT / KOMI

           income,” Pahanova says. “I could retire myself as                                         boggy terrain. “This is as good work as any,” says
           I’m 53 years old. But I’m happy with my life, and                                         Mr. Uljashev. “On my days off, I fish and hunt, as
           there’s still plenty of work left to do. I dream of                                       do most of the Komi people.”
           buying a house to spend my retirement years in,”                                              He says his machine unit can harvest between
           she says.                                                                                 15 and 25 cubic metres of wood per hour, depend-
               Among the last men to finish breakfast is har-                                         ing the site. “I’ve worked in forests a long time,
           vester operator Alexander Uljashev who can be                                                 back when we cut trees manually. It’s strenuous
           found in the kitchen trailer swirling a steaming                                               work and quite dangerous sometimes. These
           glass of tea and watching morning news on                                                       modern machines are very ergonomic, and
           the television.                                                                                 they are quite pleasant to work with.” Mr.
               According to him, working the night shift                                                   Uljashev has been driving a PONSSE Ergo
           doesn’t differ much from working the day shift.                                                for the past two years. On average, he harvests
           The most difficult aspect of his work is the forest                                           between 150 and 250 cubic metres of wood per
           itself, which is often old-growth and located in soft,                                     shift, depending on the type of forest.
                                                                                                         The men are used to living in logging camps.

                                                                            ”
                                                                                                     The camp itself can stay in the same place for
           MONDI’S OPERATIONS IN THE KOMI REPUBLIC                                                   several years, and the men switch between stands
                                                                                                     usually twice a year, alternating between summer
           • Mondi Group is a global packaging and paper
                                                                                                     and winter sites. Driving from the camp to the
             company with operations in 30 countries.
                                                                                                     stands can take as long as an hour and a half, and
           • Mondi Syktyvkar has an annual wood con-
             sumption about 4.2 million cubic metres.
                                                                     ”Women are entitled to a        the farthest stands are located some 50 to 70 kilo-
                                                                    pension at 50 years old, but     metres from the camp. Due to the difficult terrain,
           • 4800 employees.
                                                                     many try to keep working        roadside refuelling is a must. Operators drive their
           • Mondi Syktyvkar’s wood procurement oper-                                                machines from the stands to the roadside, and
             ations include harvesting, road building and
                                                                    a little longer to boost their
                                                                                                     the next shift takes over after refuelling. The fresh
             maintenance, wood transport, reforestation                income. I could retire
                                                                                                     shift then takes the machines back to the stands,
             and forest management                                  myself as I’m 53 years old,”
                                                                                                     which can sometimes require driving another five
           • Annual saw-log sales 0.7 million cubic                        Pahanova says.            kilometres in the forest.
             metres, main markets area are local Komi
                                                                                                         Machine operators start their day with a ride to
             Republic and Leningrad region
                                                                                                     the destination site. Roads here are muddy and full
           • Harvesting is 100% cut-to-length                                                        of holes, and it’s really a miracle that the passenger
           • Mondi lease about 2.1 million ha of forest in                                           van has made it to the camp intact. The men re-
             Komi which has an annual harvesting volume                                              turning from the night shift are tired, because it’s
             of about 3.5 million cubic metres. About 2.5                                            difficult to get rest during the bumpy ride.
             million cubic metres are harvested with Mon-
             di-owned machinery, the rest is outsourced
                                                                                                     The logistics terminal owned by Mondi is located
             from contractors.
                                                                                                     next to the Syktyvkar mill and holds nearly a
           • 58 wholly owned PONSSE forest machines
                                                                                                     million cubic metres of wood. It’s necessary to
             and 120 wood transport trucks
                                                                                                     keep a large stock of wood at the mill’s disposal
                                                                                                     since seasonal changes in road conditions can
                                                                                                     severely impact transport of wood to the terminal.

6
PONSSE NEWS - LOGGING FOR OVER 40 YEARS - FULL SERVICE IN KOMI 2018
Dmitry Popov (Mobilnyi Service), Stanislav Navratil (Mondi) and Harri Saarela (Ponsse Plc) believe that Full Service co-operation develops all parties’ operations.

MOBILNY SERVICE                                                “Our contract with Mondi Syktyvkar specifies
                                                                                                                         LESPROMSERVICE
Ponsse forest machines can be frequently spotted           a minimum mechanical utilisation rate of 81.5%.
driving on the roads in Komi, and it’s up to field         This means that a machine must have this rate of
                                                                                                                         •   Founded by CEO Nikolai Ekimovskij
servicing cars to make sure they keep moving. Mo-          productive working hours out of 100%.” A total of
bilny Service has 26 such cars and Lespromservice          54 Mobilny Service technicians are responsible for            •   Founded in 1995, entered into co-
                                                                                                                             operation with Ponsse in 2005
operates another 16 of them. Mobilny Service is a          carrying out the Full Service concept at Mondi’s
subsidiary of Ponsse dealer Lespromservice, and            different logging sites.                                      •   Dealer of Ponsse and Husqvarna
is responsible for maintenance of PONSSE forest                Mr. Popov, who is fluent in English, lives                    in the Komi region. Specialised in
                                                                                                                             hydraulics.
machines in Komi.                                          in a recently completed single-family home in
    Mobilny Service is led by its 41-year-old COO          Syktyvkar, the capital of Komi Republic, within               •   200 employees, three subsidiaries,
                                                                                                                             and three service centres including
(Chief Operation Officer) Dmitry Popov who                 walking distance of Mobilny Service offices. As
                                                                                                                             one that is focused on servicing
has an exceptionally strong background in forest           recently as last summer, Mr. Popov, who is native
                                                                                                                             PONSSE forest machines and training
machines. Mr. Popov, who graduated from the                to Komi, used to commute 170 kilometres between
                                                                                                                             operators to use them.
Syktyvkar Forest Institute, started his career by          Syktyvkar and his home village two or three times
working as a forest machine operator and service           a week to spend time with his family.
mechanic near his home village. Later, engineering             “The long drive gave me an opportunity to
studies led to working with Mondi’s harvesting             listen to audiobooks and learn English,” he says.
                                                                                                                         MOBILNY SERVIS
operations. At Mondi Syktyvkar, Mr. Popov worked           “A couple of years ago I couldn’t speak any Eng-
in project named “New look” aimed at enhancing             lish, but since I learned the language, it is easier
                                                                                                                         •   A fully-owned subsidiary of
harvesting efficiency and looked for technical             to work with Ponsse’s factory and our partner                     Lespromservis, focused exclusively
solutions and best practices aimed at reducing ser-        network. I moved to Syktyvkar five years ago after                on Full Service projects
vicing and fuel costs. He never lost sight of these        Mondi Syktyvkar, Lespromservice and Ponsse
                                                                                                                         •   COO (Chief Operation Officer) Dimitry
objectives, and eventually took over the develop-          started their Full Service co-operation”, he says.                Popov
ment of Mobilny’s Full Service operations.                 His family followed him to their new home last
                                                                                                                         •   Responsible for Full Service
    “You can always find ways to do some things            summer.
                                                                                                                             contracts and operations at nine
better,” Mr. Popov says. According to him, service                                                                           Mondi-owned work sites and two
processes need to be managed and developed care-           DEVELOPMENT REQUIRES CO-OPERATION                                 contractors. Uses Ponsse machines
fully, because clients have come to expect this from       When Mobilny Service took over the responsibility                 exclusively.
service businesses. Mr. Popov’s considerable work          of Mondi’s PONSSE machine servicing, the com-                 •   70 employees
experience as an operator and a mechanic natu-             pany was aware that it would have to deal with the
rally lets him evaluate the service experience from        difficulty of servicing machines at one of the most
the perspective of the client. “We are not looking to      remote logging sites in Komi—Udora. The site
reinvent the wheel,” Mr. Popov says.                       has been extremely challenging to work with, both

                                                                                                                                                                      7
PONSSE NEWS - LOGGING FOR OVER 40 YEARS - FULL SERVICE IN KOMI 2018
REPORT / KOMI

                                                                                               Nikolai Terentjef, Oleg Babin and forest machine operator
                                                                                                                Denis Matjeev Sysolan at a logging site.

           with respect to service and productivity. The    Denis Matveyev operates a PONSSE                durability and usability. Clearly, this benefits
           site is located some 400 kilometres from          Buffalo with 12 years of experience            both Ponsse’s product development and us,”
           Mobilny Service’s offices, and is by far the              in forestry machines.                  Mr. Popov says. “This is a perfect place to
           most remote logging site the company has                                                         test components—the machines work long
                                                            “Thanks to Full Service, the machine
           been involved with.                                                                              hours in an extreme environment. We can
                                                              has worked flawlessly. Operators
               According to Mr. Popov, Mondi Syk-                                                           help develop best solutions and practices for
                                                               used to have to service the ma-
           tyvkar wished his team well with Udora at                                                        our customers,” he says.
                                                             chines themselves, and sometimes
           the start of their co-operation. People said                                                          “Last year, I participated in an interna-
           that if the Udora site could be managed            even had to perform considerable              tional meeting for Ponsse dealers for the
           successfully, Mobilny Service would be well         repairs. It had a negative impact            first time. I was surprised at how openly and
           prepared to take on any challenge after.           on harvesting, and not to mention             honestly people and businesses co-operate.
           Currently, productivity is among the best at     service quality—not everyone could              I’m not exaggerating in the slightest when
           Udora, Mr. Popov says proudly.                     service the machines as well as a             I say we work like a big family. The dealer
               “You’ll never know what you can achieve                 trained specialist.”                 network has shown considerable interest in
           if you don’t try,” he says. “We decided to try                                                   the Full Service solutions we offer here in
           it out and learned a lot along the way. We       ability and allow for growth projections to     Komi, and we’ve arranged some excursions
           try to implement a long-term plan that will      be calculated accurately. Once customers        since then. I myself have visited different
           benefit the customer, and this helped us         can be reassured that their machines can be     Full Service businesses in Brazil on three
           solve the productivity issues at Udora,” Mr.     kept productive, they can accurately predict    different occasions thanks to the Ponsse
           Popov says.                                      harvesting volumes and costs.                   network. Local needs may differ, but we’ve
               The Full Service concept took some time          In the Komi region, Ponsse has a market     still learned a lot by observing each other’s
           to get used to, especially since it turned out   of 55%. About 170 PONSSE forest machines        methods of working.
           to be too efficient at times.                    operate there. Mr. Popov thinks the ma-
               “Once Mondi Syktyvkar was able to reach      chines are well suited for local harvesting     ACCURATE PLANNING IS KEY
           its production goals, they shut down the sites   requirements, but if of the opinion that the    TO AVOIDING MISHAPS
           early. We were out of work for the rest of       single biggest factor in the leading market     Nikolay Terentyev, another Komi native,
           the season. Their machines were suddenly         position is the excellent service machine       is a key person in developing the Full Ser-
           much more productive, and the Syktyvkar          owners and operators receive from local         vice concept in the region. He manages the
           mill was not able to stock the wood that         servicing partners.                             service department and is known as far as
           kept coming in,” he says. The situation was          “Ponsse’s way of doing business embrac-     away as Finland as a skilled mechanic. Mr.
           resolved the following year by looking care-     es strong partnerships, and Full Service is     Terentyev is a seasoned professional, but
           fully at previous year’s production data and     a perfect example of that. We also co-oper-     his passion for his work becomes evident as
           planning harvesting operations accordingly.      ate with Ponsse in product development,         he picks up a durability test report of a new
           Indeed, Full Service can improve predict-        testing components and reporting on their       component.

8
PONSSE NEWS - LOGGING FOR OVER 40 YEARS - FULL SERVICE IN KOMI 2018
“I used to work as a machine servicing         instead of reconditioning,” he says.              responsible for Mondi’s harvesting, wood
team lead. I’m familiar with the crew and                                                            transport and other support machinery in
their strengths. Recently, I’ve been directed by   FULL SERVICE IN THE MIDDLE                        the Komi Republic. Mr. Navratil, who was
management to focus on developing our oper-        OF NIGHT IN A FOREST                              born in The Czech Republic, came to work
ations and training programmes,” he says.          At any of the logging sites, machine opera-       for Mondi in Russia in 2009. He had pre-
    Mr. Terentyev has a clear vision of goals      tors can reach a Full Service technician 24       viously worked in wood trade in his home
he wants to set and achieve: “Our technicians      hours a day by radiophone. Typically, three       country, selling and buying wood at Stora
are responsible for making sure all machines       service technicians are present at each log-      Enso among other companies.
are safe to use and as productive as possible.     ging camp. They have well-equipped trail-             “When I started here at Mondi, we were
All of the work must be organized. It would        ers at their disposal.                            just launching our ‘New Look’ development
be a waste of time to start with the machine       A the Sysola site, two technicians have just      project which was aimed at making our
that requires the most servicing, when other       started their shift. Oleg Babin is hard at        operations much more efficient,” he says.
machines with only minor issues to fix can be      work with Jevgeny Beloborodov, who has            “We wanted to share some of the respon-
quickly put back to work,” Mr. Terentyev says.     been employed in the industry since 1999          sibility for operational efficiency with our
    Both Mondi Syktyvkar and Mobilny Ser-          after he finished his studies at the Syktyvkar    partners. This led to comparing three differ-
vice operate in a visibly systematic manner—       Forest Institute.                                 ent brands of forest machines and related
an absolute requirement in this challenging        “Each day begins at 6:30 a.m.” says Mr. Be-       services, and giving up manual felling and
environment. Full Service providers are            loborodov. They are sometimes alerted to a        cutting.” At first, only two machine units
regularly audited by Ponsse.                       logging site in the middle of a night when        consisted of Ponsse machinery. Since 2016,
    “Our staff is quite knowledgeable and          one of the machines requires immediate            Mondi Syktyvkar has been using Ponsse
can often solve the customer’s problems            servicing. Operators take care of routine         machinery exclusively. Servicing and stock-
without delay. We’ve also hired technicians        maintenance, such as refuelling, greasing         ing of spare parts has been fully outsourced
with no prior expertise in forest machines,”       and swapping chains, but the two men are
says Mr. Terentyev. He believes outcomes are       responsible for all other servicing.
directly related to motivation. Sometimes it       The men consider their work meaning-
can easier and more effective to teach new         ful and fulfilling. Cold weather and night
working methods to beginners rather than           shifts aren’t really a problem—it’s a matter
established professionals, many of whom            of having the right attitude to work. In the
have developed their own approach to               winter, we stop working if the temperature
solving problems over several years. Careful       falls to -32 degrees Celsius. Significant ser-
planning is a must, and each day must be           vice needs are taken care of at the camp and
started by concentrating on important tasks        smaller maintenance tasks performed at
instead of, say, running around with no            the work sites. There is little time for activ-
visible results at the end of the day.             ities besides work. We sometimes alternate
    “Obviously, we need to make sure               the sites between shifts to keep productivi-
our work servicing the machines is as              ty at optimum.
cost-effective as possible in the long run.
We carefully look at when it’s feasible to         FOCUS ON EFFICIENCY
service the machines in order to keep them         Mondi Syktyvkar is a leading producer of
in production as much as possible, and we          the pulp and paper industry in Russia. For-
also evaluate the benefits of replacing a part     estry Chief Engineer Stanislav Navratil is

 Aleхandr Cnitin has worked at Mondi since 2001 as a forest
  machine operator. He says drivers are happy with Ponsse.
  “Until a couple of years ago we had forest machines from
different brands. Naturally, it took some time to get acquaint-
 ed with the new machines. The Ponsse machines have held
 up well, and they are quite comfortable. The cabin is excel-
 lent, and service and support is never far away. We used to
 service the machines ourselves whenever we could, but we
 had to wait for service technicians to arrive whenever there
      was a bigger issue. Full Service really is a big plus.”

                                                                                                                                                     9
PONSSE NEWS - LOGGING FOR OVER 40 YEARS - FULL SERVICE IN KOMI 2018
REPORT / KOMI

                                                          ”
                                                                        The men consider their work meaningful and fulfilling. Cold weather
                                                                        and night shifts aren’t really a problem—it’s a matter of having the right
                                                                        attitude to work. In the winter, we stop working if the temperature falls to
                                                                        32 degrees Celsius since we don’t have warm service buildings here.

 to Mobilny Service.                                      as good working conditions—modern machinery           RESPONSIBILITY AT MONDI
     Mr. Navratil says: “With Full Service, we want to    and camps with amenities,” he says. Operators also    SYKTYVKAR
 increase the efficiency of our operations—increase       receive seasonal extra pay as well as compensation
                                                                                                                Mondi administers 2,113,031 hectares
 harvesting productivity, carefully manage service        for living away from home.                            of natural forest in Russia. Given this
 and spare parts costs and improve predictability             Inclement weather makes it difficult to keep      scale, responsible management of
 of cash flow. Outsourcing machine service really         harvesting wood year-round in Komi. Mondi ceases      forests has a major impact on the com-
 helped us open up some bottlenecks of our busi-          its harvesting operations when the temperature        pany’s operations. Long-term forest
 ness. We now keep all machines running practically       reaches a low of -32 degrees Celsius. This means      management aims to improve harvest-
 24 hours a day, the planned end-of-year mainte-          that on average, one to two weeks of productive       ing productivity and wood quality. The
 nance downtime notwithstanding. This is why we           working time are lost each year. This year, the wet   company is also responsible for forest
 place high demands on machine reliability and            conditions can seem challenging, but Mr. Navratil     regeneration after harvesting. Refor-
                                                                                                                esting is carried out using seedlings
 quality of service. We want to focus on the aspects      prefers rain to extreme heat and drought that can
                                                                                                                from the company’s own nurseries, or
 of our business we know best.                            start forest fires in the summer.
                                                                                                                by supporting the natural regrowth of
     It is important to us to work in a strong partner-       “Safety and sustainable development are our
                                                                                                                forests. Forests are only regenerated
 ship who is also willing to listen to our concerns       top priorities,” says Mr. Navratil. All the wood we   with local tree species, which ensures
 and is able to adapt to our needs.” Indeed, while ser-   acquire is FSC certified, and our entire operation    that they are resistant to pests and
 vice standards are set by Mondi, machine servicing       conforms to the ISO 14002 standard. Reforestation     diseases.
 partners are independently responsible for quality       in Komi is the responsibility of harvesting compa-
 and efficiency of service.                               nies. “We reforest our logging sites ourselves, and   Mondi also has an important role in
     A single harvester might accumulate as many as       we own and operate nursery for this purpose,” Mr.     preventing and combatting dangerous
                                                                                                                forest fires. The probability of forest
 5500-6000 efficient hours a year and harvest a total     Navratil says.
                                                                                                                fires is small, but if they occur they
 of about 87,000 cubic metres of wood. Before adopt-
                                                                                                                can cause great damage due to their
 ing the current operating model, Mondi managed to
                                                                                                                potential scale and the difficulty of
 harvest between 45,000 and 65,000 cubic metres of                                                              reaching remote areas. In developing
 wood annually. The growth in productivity has been                                                             responsible operations, the company
 impressive.                                                                                                    will cooperate with various bodies,
     According to Mr. Navratil, machine operator                                                                including The Komi Science Centre and
 turnover is low: “They feel secure, because we’ve                                                              the Syktyvkar Forest Institute in the
 been able to eliminate most of the impact caused by                                                            Komi Republic.
 seasonal changes. We offer work year-round, as well

10
Bonus exercise                                                               Ponsse News 2/2017
Color the picture and find Ponsse machines                                   Competition winner:
                                                                             9-year-old Robbie Smith
How many Ponsse machines and different kinds of animals can you find in      from Scotland.
the picture? Send your answer to us by 31th May 2018 either by mail to       Correct answers:
Ponsse Plc/communications, Ponssentie 22, FI-74200 Vieremä, Finland,         1B, 2D, 3C,
or by email to ponssenews@ponsse.com. Remember to include your               4A and 5E
contact information! In our next issue we will publish the right answer to
the task and the name of the lucky winner.
                                                                             Congratulations!
INNOVATION / PONSSE RENEWS ITS MACHINE MODEL SERIES FOR 2018

THE NEW FOX
The new Fox combines Ponsse’s latest
new features, an agile construction and
fine weight distribution for logging sites
with soft terrain.

12
PONSSE RENEWS ITS
             MACHINE MODEL
                SERIES
                                                  FOR 2018
                                                                                                           productive
            A logger’s best friend is now even more economical, comfortable and

 Ponsse has already been offering the most modern and extensive selection of forest
 machines and harvester heads. In addition to forest machines, Ponsse’s strength has
 long been the customer-oriented and productivity-improving information and control
 systems for forest machines.

T
           he modern PONSSE model series                                                 this enables upgrading the already great
           includes ground-breaking innova-                                              model series to an ever better one.
           tions, such as Scorpion harvesters
           and many features that improved                                               A NEW MASTER OF THINNING AND SOFT TERRAIN
           productivity and usability. During                                            The legendary PONSSE Fox harvester intro-
the past years, technological development                                                duced in 2009 will become a part of history
has progressed with big steps. Ponsse’s                                                  as the new Fox takes its place. The PONSSE
philosophy of continuous improvement                                                     Fox is an excellent machine for tasks where
has proven to be correct, as new technical                                               agility and power is needed. It is very well
solutions have been brought to production,                                               suited for thinning work and working on
making the machines more efficient and                                                   soft terrain. The crane has been brought
reliable. Ponsse also takes older machinery                                              close to the cabin in the Fox, offering supe-
into consideration in the design work: the                                               rior visibility of the harvester head and de-
possibility to upgrade older machines with                                               creasing the space required for the ma-
the new solutions is always considered in                                                chine’s movements during thinning work.
the designing.                                                                           Thanks to the positioning of the crane and
                                                                                         the eight wheels, the machine’s weight
EVEN MORE ECONOMICAL OPERATION IN                                                        distribution is excellent, making the Fox
2018 THANKS TO MANY RENEWALS                                                             equipped with the correct track system a
In addition to continuous improvement,                                                   particularly good choice for sites with soft
Ponsse unveils many new developments at                                                  terrain.
2018. These include new features that im-
prove fuel economy, efficiency, usability,      PONSSE ACTIVEFRAME                       ACTIVEFRAME NOW ALSO
quality and serviceability.                     With the ActiveFrame system developed    AVAILABLE FOR HARVESTERS
   Ponsse manufactures a large part of the      by Ponsse, there is less stress on the   Ponsse´s most manufactured forest ma-
components used in the machines itself,         operator than when using just a cabin    chine the PONSSE Ergo, is now also availa-
and for the information and control system,     suspension system.                       ble as an ActiveFrame version. PONSSE
the whole production chain is controlled by                                              ActiveFrame is a modern stabilisation
Ponsse. Combined with good cooperation                                                   system for 8-wheelers. It has a simple and
with customers and the most modern forest                                                functional structure, suspending any side-
machine factory to be completed in 2018,                                                 ways movement directed at the driver effec-

                                                                                                                                    13
INNOVATION / PONSSE RENEWS ITS MACHINE MODEL SERIES FOR 2018

              ”
                                       tively and unnoticeably. This makes driving     fuel economy.
                                       more comfortable, and reduces the stress on
                                       the operators body since they are on a low-     LOWER FUEL CONSUMPTION AND
     The new hydraulic system has      er level when compared to e.g. with a ma-       INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY

      been extensively field-tested    chine equipped with just a cabin suspension     In addition to new products, Ponsse has
      in different countries, and      system. ActiveFrame is also available for the   made changes to other models to improve
                                       Buffalo, Elephant and ElephantKing for-         the fuel economy of the machines. The hy-
       the results are promising:
                                       warder models.                                  draulic system of harvesters has been de-
      fuel consumption has been
                                                                                       veloped further, clearly decreasing fuel con-
       clearly lower in field tests.
                                       POWER FOR PROCESSING AND TRACKS                 sumption, heat generation in the hydraulics
                                       Ponsse has been developing and manu­            and pressure losses. In the new hydraulic
                                       facturing harvester heads since the 1980s.      system, the piping and connection blocks
                                       The extensive harvester head range offers       have been changed to ensure better flow,
                                       from debarking eucalyptus to processing.        brining a clear improvement to the opera-
                                       Larger harvester heads can also be fitted on    tion and efficiency of the hydraulics. The
                                       track-based solutions. The new PONSSE           new hydraulic system has been extensive-
                                       H8HD harvester head is specifically de-         ly field-tested in different countries, and the
                                       signed for harvesting and processing larg-      results are promising: fuel consumption has
                                       er trunks in demanding conditions. It con-      been clearly lower in field tests. In addition,
                                       tinues the success of the smaller PONSSE        it has been possible to lower the pressures
                                       H7HD harvester head and can be installed        of the harvester head feed without affecting
                                       on the PONSSE Bear harvester and on over        work speed.
                                       20-ton track-based machines. The new har-            Another important innovation are the
                                       vester head model offers a superior per-        new control computers, or modules, for the
                                       formance considering its size. A power-         forest machine information system devel-
                                       ful feed, combined with its geometry which      oped and manufactured by Ponsse. The new
                                       firmly supports larger trunks on feed roll-     modules can process information up to 100
                                       ers, guarantees extreme productivity and        times faster than the previous generation’s

                                                                                         THE RENEWALS FOR THE HYDRAULIC SYSTEM
                                                                                         The renewals for the hydraulic system have
                                                                                         decreased fuel consumption, pressure losses
                                                                                         and heat generation.

14
THE NEW PONSSE H8HD
   Ponsse H8HD is also available equipped with a top saw
   for more precise utilisation of trees during processing
   and for handling trees with a lot of branches.

equipment. More efficient information
processing enables more precise and effi-
cient crane and loader handling, providing
the operator with a comfortable feel and
increasing productivity. The new modules
also enable upgrading the machine to the
latest information system version long into
the future.

A BETTER WORKING ENVIRONMENT
The operator’s working environment has
also been renewed to better meet the oper-
ator’s needs and to promote comfort and
safety. The new PONSSE Seat is an indica-
tion of how Ponsse develops its products to-
gether with customers. The PONSSE Seat
has been designed for forest machines from
the start, and Ponsse has exclusive rights to     cabin have also been renewed; they are now
it from the seat manufacturer. The PONS-          more resistant to wear and dirt, and are eas-
SE Seat has better adjustments, firmer pad-       ier to clean.
ding, more comfortable upholstery and stur-           The quality of air and the appropriate
dier base than other seat models. At the          temperature have been found to have a
same time, the upholstery materials of the        great impact on the operator’s performance

                                                                                    100 TIMES MORE INFORMATION
                                                                                    The Opti information system developed by
                                                                                    Ponsse for forest machines has been renewed
                                                                                    for software, user interface and modules.
                                                                                    The new system can process up to 100 times
                                                                                    more information and 100 times faster than
                                                                                    the system of the previous generation.

                                                                                                                                  15
INNOVATION / PONSSE RENEWS ITS MACHINE MODEL SERIES FOR 2018

                    ”
                                          in studies. We have introduced a new air        urement certificates, look at the Eco­Drive
                                          conditioning and heating system to most         harvester´s key figures in real time fuel
                                          of our models with sufficient performance       consumption and, for instance, to plan and
        Ponsse Manager is a modern        even for the most demanding conditions. In      order the transfer of machines from one
        forest machine management         addition to these renewals, changes affect-     logging site to another. PONSSE Manager
     and information system that for-     ing the work and the working environment        is a part of the Opti system, it can be retro-
      est machine entrepreneurs can       have already been introduced, for instance,     fitted into older machines by updating the
     use to see the machines’ location,   to the Opti 4G system, which has a new          Opti4G-system to the latest version.
                                          software version with new features. During      PONSSE Manager can be used from any-
     productivity figures by products,
                                          2018, the Opti7+ PC with the latest tech-       where with the help of a smartphone, tablet
      follow and print measurement
                                          nology, a touchscreen and better and faster     or computer.
     certificates, look at the EcoDrive
                                          responsiveness will be added. The PONSSE            Thanks to the information systems being
       harvester´s key figures in real    Scorpion and ScorpionKing models addi-          designed and manufactured by Ponsse, we
      time fuel consumption and, for      tionally have improved lighting. The crane      have also been able to bring a spare parts
      instance, to plan and order the     boom has more working lights than before,       ordering system to forest machines, offices
       transfer of machines from one      and the internal lighting of the cabin has      and mobile devices directly for our custom-
           logging site to another.       been changed to use LEDs. These changes         ers’ use anywhere and at any time. With the
                                          help operators cope better with their work,     help of the Ponsse Parts Online system, our
                                          promoting the efficient use of the machine.     customers can see the information of their
                                                                                          machines individually and place orders di-
                                          MODERN TOOLS FOR CUSTOMERS                      rectly from the machine, their office or, say,
                                          PONSSE Manager is a modern forest ma-           their summer cottage, so that the parts will
                                          chine management and information system         be delivered as agreed to the desired place.
                                          that forest machine entrepreneurs can use
                                          to see the machines’ location, productivity
                                          figures by products, follow and print meas-

                                                                                                         DESIGNED PONSSE SEAT
                                                             The Ponsse Seat has been designed specifically for forest machine use
                                                                  from the start. Ponsse has exclusive rights to the seat model from
                                                                                                      the manufacturer of the seat.

16
UPDATE OPTI NOW!
 Update your Opti to the latest version for improved productivity and fuel savings!

 PONSSE Manager                        Parts Online                              IoT

                                   Opti4G
  StanForD2010                                                           Ponsse Ecodrive

               web

   Ponsse Sync                        Fuel Efficiency                      Easier to use

   Opti information system is now more reliable, productive and has improved user interface.
             Update your Opti now and improve your productivity and fuel effieciency!

                 #aloggersbestfriend #ponsse #sustainableforestmanagement

                                                                                               A logger’s best friend
                                                                                                    www.ponsse.com
CUSTOMER / FOWI GMBH

            13,000! PONSSE

        Ready for logging sites
        in Lower Saxony

       The 13,000th PONSSE forest machine manufactured in Vieremä, an Ergo 8w
       harvester, was delivered to FoWi GmbH in Northern Germany. Finnish machines
       and Wahlers’ services seem to have impressed Frank-Ludger Sulzer, Managing
       Director of FoWi.

       E
                   xcept for the Biber harvester,   long-term partnerships, as indicated by   clinic. With no time for forest manage-
                   which was built by Wahlers       its 25 years of cooperation with Ponsse   ment, he hired Michael Haarhaus, a
                   Forsttechnik, the company’s      and a 35-year customer relationship       young forest master, to look after the
                   machine fleet solely consists    with FoWi.                                forests”, says Frank-Ludger Sulzer,
                   of PONSSE´S harvesters               FoWi, or Forstverwaltung Wiegers-     himself a qualified forester.
        and forwarders. The are many reasons        en, is a harvesting and timber com-          “Due to the state of the forests
        why FoWi is committed to using yellow       pany that has 17 employees. Forstver-     and low timber prices at that time, it
        PONSSE machines. First of all, FoWi,        waltung Wiegersen looks after an area     was difficult to run Forstverwaltung
        which is situated in Lower Saxony, has      of 675 hectares, which the Sulzer fami-   Wiegersen profitably. FoWi GmbH was
        a close, long-term business relationship    ly has owned for three generations.       therefore founded in 1989 to support
        with Wahlers Forsttechnik, Ponsse’s             “When my father Hartwig Sulzer in-    the business. FoWi has been looking
        German dealer and service partner.          herited Forstverwaltung Wiegersen in      after the forests of Forstverwaltung
        Wahlers Forsttechnik, too, appreciates      1979, he had just opened a veterinary     Wiegersen ever since. It has also

18
ards was a simple piece of equipment and                The PONSSE machine appeared at
                                               could only be used in young forests.                FoWi’s felling site in 1998. After the used
                                                   According to Michael Rathjen, Managing          PONSSE HS15, the company purchased
                                               Director of Wahlers, FoWi and Wahlers have          the PONSSE HS10. Since then, FoWi’s
                                               greatly benefited from working with each            machine fleet has only included PONSSE
                                               other. To develop its own Biber harvester,          machines, except for the Biber. The new
                                               Wahlers had to carry out tests in forests, the      eight-wheel Ergo is accompanied by Bear,
                                               problem was that they did not have any for-         which allows the company to offer its cus-
                                               ests. Thanks to short geographical distance         tomers harvesting services from thinning
                                               and fluent cooperation, the novelties could         to regeneration felling. FoWi also has two
                                               be tested on Forstverwaltung Wiegersen’s            PONSSE Wisent forwarders, and one old
                                               land. The long-term partnership has trans-          PONSSE S10 machine that is used for
                                               lated into a close relationship.                    training purposes.
                                                   “Based on this, it was quite natural                “Our brand loyalty is based on the high
                                               that the first one-grip harvester that FoWi         quality of the PONSSE machines and the
                                               purchased in 1991 was Wahlers’ Biber,”              outstanding maintenance services offered
                                               Frank-Ludger Sulzer recalls.                        by Wahlers Forsttechnik. Everybody op-
                                                   However, not everybody was fascinated by        erating in the field knows how expensive
                                               the strongly increasing mechanisation of har-       machine down-time is.” Wahlers’ local
                                               vesting in Germany in the 1990s. There were         spare part warehouse and over-the-night
                                               no problems with using harvesters in state-         delivery from Ponsse’s warehouse in Iisal-
                                               owned forests, whereas private forest owners        mi guarantee a service speed that no other
                                               had a different attitude. “Even today some          manufacturer can match. The machines
                                               private forest owners consider an eight-wheel       have the PONSSE Opti information sys-
                                               machine too brutal for harvesting. Therefore,       tem, which is approved by the local forest
offered services to other forest owners.       it is great that we still have the small Wahlers’   management authorities. “I can transfer
FoWi is an entirely different legal entity     Biber,” Sulzer says with a laugh.                   data over the Internet anywhere. This is
than the Forstverwaltung Wiegersen forest          However, the Biber’s performance was            another time-saving feature.”
management company.                            no longer sufficient when a stipulation en-             Mutual trust is the customer relation-
   Cooperation with Wahlers already began      tered into force in Lower Saxony according          ship’s best cornerstone also from the
earlier. “We first contacted Hans Wahlers in   to which a harvester cranes reach must be           retailer’s point of view.
1983 when he had developed the Räumfix         at least ten metres.                                    “Machines have technically developed
device and was constantly working on new           “Our Biber did not meet this require-           with leaps and bounds in the last few
solutions for harvesting. Michael Haarhaus     ment.” The retailing partnership that               years and will also continue to do so in
was very interested in Hans’ innovations,      Wahlers started with Ponsse in 1993 was an          the future. However, our confidential cus-
so we already took the Tuiko processor into    important milestone for it. “Finnish forest         tomer relationship has not changed at all
use in 1985. Three people were needed to       machines we hardly known in Germany in              during the years”, says Michael Rathjen
operate the device, which on today’s stand-    those days,” says Michael Rathjen.                  together with Frank-Ludger Sulzer.

                                                                                                                                           19
CUSTOMER CASE / WAHLERS FORSTTECHNIK

                                            Wahlers Forsttechnik

                               25 YEARS AS
                             PONSSE’S PARTNER
                       Cooperation between the German company Wahlers Forsttechnik
                           and Ponsse has been fruitful and grown over the years.
                                           When Einari Vidgrén and Hans Wahlers              chinery and serviced loading machinery. In
                                           signed an agreement on retail partnership         addition, the representation of Deutz vehicles
                                           between Ponsse and Wahlers Forsttechnik           was undertaken. The company specialised in
                                           in1993 at the Elmia Wood fair in Jönköping,       building sales vehicles for markets. They were
                                           Sweden, it was an important milestone for         the first vehicles with a self-supporting roof
                                           both companies. Finnish forest machines           made of polyester. In addition to causing the
                                            were largely unknown in Germany at the           paths of Einari Vidgrén and Hans Wahlers
                                             time, but Hans Wahlers and his company          to cross, the storm disaster of 1972 had other
                                              had long been well known in the country’s      consequences as well. The damage caused by
                                               forest industry. Einari Vidgrén and Hans      the storm resulted in particular requirements
                                               Wahlers had known each other since 1972.      on forest machines. The clearing of twigs and
                                              At that time, there was a violent storm in     branches was a great challenge. As the exist-
                                             Germany, felling a huge number of trees.        ing machines at the time were not powerful
                                            Vidgrén and other Nordic contractors came        and stable enough, Hans Wahlers developed
                                           to Germany with their forest machines to as-      the Räumfix device, an attachment to a forest-
                                           sist in dealing with the damage. At the time,     ry tractor that is still manufactured and sold
                                           Hans Wahlers was one of the few people who        worldwide today. When mechanised harvest-
                                           had a fully equipped service vehicle at their     ing began in the 1980s, Wahlers Forsttech-
      Wahlers Forsttechnik undertook       disposal and were capable of performing           nik reacted to the development by building
     the importing, sales and service of   large repairs in the forest. This was how Hans    their own Smart harvester “BIBER”, which
      PONSSE machines in 1993. At          Wahlers, who had inherited the company            was based on an Atlas four-wheel frame and
                                           from his father, Johann, in 1971, was first in-   equipped with a Grangärde unit and Mowi
           the same time, it ceased
                                           troduced to the technology of forest machines.    parallel crane. Wahlers Forsttechnik built the
          the production of its own
                                                                                             machine from start to finish; even the meas-

                ”
              BIBER harvester.             FROM VILLAGE BLACKSMITH TO                        uring and control systems were developed by
                                           HARVESTER BUILDER                                 the company..
                                           In 1934, Johann Wahlers set up a village
                                           blacksmith’s workshop in Lauenbrück, Low-         SUCCESSFUL COOPERATION BEGINS
                                           er Saxony. The times were tough. Especially       It quickly became clear that the product
                                           during the Second World War and after it, the     range had to be expanded to larger harvesters
                                           ability to improvise was needed to keep ag-       and forwarders. To this end, Wahlers Forst-
                                           ricultural machinery in operating condition.      technik undertook the importing, sales and
                                           Hans Wahlers worked at his parents’ compa-        service of PONSSE machines in 1993. At the
                                           ny already as a child. After becoming a profes-   same time, it ceased the production of its
                                           sional blacksmith and gathering experience        own BIBER harvester. “Thanks to PONSSE
                                           at different forging mills, he returned home,     Opti, we were the only company operating in
                                           graduated as a master craftsman and system-       Germany at the time that already met the re-
                                           atically developed the company together with      quirements for harvester measurement in ac-
                                           his father. In addition to blacksmithing, the     cordance with the German HKS regulations”,
                                           company sold and repaired agricultural ma-        says Ralf Dreeke, one of the company’s

20
directors. Ralf Dreeke and Michael Rathjen,
who are sons-in-law of Hans Wahlers, have
been managing Wahlers Forsttechnik for a
long time now. The daughters of Hans Wahl-
ers, as well as the spouses of both directors,
Anne Wahlers-Dreeke and Monika Rathje,
are also working at the company. Anne Wahl-
ers-Dreeke has also worked extensively on be-
half of women working in the German forest
industry. Wahlers currently has more than
90 employees. The company is also the main
importer of Ponsse in Austria, the Nether-
lands and the German-speaking part of Swit-
zerland. The opening of a Wahlers branch of-
fice in Uffenheim, Southern Germany, was
also an important step in the company’s de-
velopment. The company’s original location
in Northern Germany was also modernised
and significantly expanded through the con-
struction of a new building in Stemmen in
2006. The success of the partnership between
Ponsse and Wahlers Forsttechnik can also be
presented as figures: More than 1,000 new
PONSSE machines have so far been sold in
Germany, which is also reflected in the ser-     opment as follows: “Both family business-            Wahlers Forsttechnik’s story began
vices offered. At the moment, Wahlers Forst-     es have a very similar corporate culture. At     in 1934 at a blacksmith’s workshop in
technik has the largest PONSSE spare part        both Ponsse and Wahlers Forsttechnik, three      Lauenbrück.
warehouse outside Finland, ensuring a very       items always have the highest priority: under-
quick access to spare parts to customers.        standing and recognising customers’ needs,
When the 13,000th PONSSE machine left            the continuous improvement of products,
the Vieremä factory at the end of January, it    and the technical and ergonomic develop-
was also shipped to Germany. Ralf Dreeke         ment of products to support operators’ health
describes the reasons for the positive devel-    and occupational safety.”

 Ralf Dreeke, Anne Wahlers-Dreeke,
 Monika Rathjen and Michael Rathjen.

                                                                                                                                      21
22
PONSSE MOMENT
 #PONSSE 100 PHOTO CONTEST’S winning photo
shows a PONSSE ScorpionKing in rugged Norwegian
scenery.
The photo is from the Jølster municipality, taken by
Martin Braanaas. The area has glaciers and moun-
tains, some of which rise up to 1,600 metres above sea
level. The lake in the background is Jølstravatnet.

                                                         23
CUSTOMER CASE / FORTY YEARS OF FOREST MACHINE WORK

       Onward to
       the decades ahead
       When a company has 40 years of successful forest machine entrepreneurship
       behind it, you know that’s no ordinary firm. 2017 was a year to celebrate for two im-
       portant Finnish forestry companies, Metsäkuljetus Hyväriset Oy and Metsä-Multia
       Oy. Both companies were founded in 1977. As well their long-running success in the
       field, another thing the two companies have in common is that they both rely on
       PONSSE machinery and Ponsse’s skilled personnel.

      M
                       etsäkuljetus Hyväriset and Metsä-Multia oper-     METSÄ-MULTIA OY
                       ate in small municipalities in central Finland.   Location:              Multia
                       Managing director of Metsäkuljetus Hyväriset
                       Reijo Hyvärinen notes that the older generation   Machinery:             42
                       of Hyvärinens began forestry work way back in     Personnel:             76
       the mid-1960s, and it was on these foundations that the pres-
                                                                         METSÄKULJETUS HYVÄRISET OY
       ent company was established, in 1977. Managing director of
       Metsä-Multia Aki Laaja says the company’s history also begins     Location:              Pielavesi
       in the 1960s, when the two founders, Reijo Laaja and Reijo        Machinery:             8 forest machines,
       Vuorinen, started their forestry operations. “Our company         		                     7 other machines
       officially turned 40 in summer 2017,” Laaja says.
                                                                         Personnel:             20 (with subcontractors 45)
       A RECIPE FOR LONG-LASTING SUCCESS
       Competition in the forestry industry has been tough, and is
       only getting tougher. Given this environment, what have the       sionally together,” says Aki Laaja. “Of course the machinery
       two 40-year-old companies been doing right all these years?       must be so good that it can withstand the operating condi-
          “The key to our success has always been our professional       tions year in, year out. We bought our first PONSSE forest
       and committed staff. We are fortunate to have built up a          machine in 1987, and ever since then we’ve cooperated
       great team of employees, who work well and develop profes-        closely with Ponsse. This was a wise decision that has paid

24
Ponsse’s machine num
                                         ber 500 in 1993
                   Rauno Hyvärinen, Pen
                                       tti Hyvärinen, Esa Vidgre
                                                                 n and Erkki   Karppinen.

                                                                   nance services work brilliantly. This is a key factor, and one
                                                                   that contributes hugely to giving us a competitive edge.”
                                                                       “From time to time some of Ponsse’s international cus-
                                                                   tomers visit us to see how things work,” says Reijo Hyvärinen.
                                                                   “It’s great to have a partner company that is at the forefront of
                                                                   developments in the field. And when you see Ponsse’s factory,
                                                                   the international scale of the company really hits home.”

                                                                   COMPUTING TECHNOLOGY IS HERE TO STAY
                                                                   Hyvärinen and Laaja are both second-generation entrepre-
                                                                   neurs, and have seen up close how information technology has
                                                                   made massive strides ahead, even in forest machines. “These
                                                                   days forest machine operators must be computer nerds as well,
                                                                   what with all the software that’s in these machines,” Hyvärin-
                                                                   en laughs. “But computing technology is here to stay, and in its
off handsomely for us, and continues to do so.”                    various forms is taking on a bigger role all the time.”
    Reijo Hyvärinen also believes that having skilled per-             “Well-planned logistics are also extremely important
sonnel is essential, as is close cooperation with committed        nowadays. We have three operations supervisors, whose job
subcontractors and Ponsse. “We received PONSSE´S ma-               it is to ensure correct route planning and optimization of
chine number 500 in 1993. Our two companies have a long            mobility,” says Aki Laaja.
shared history, and Ponsse’s dedication to customer service
and after-sales service are especially important for a small       ONWARD TOGETHER
company. Although Ponsse is now a global success story,            The future looks bright for both companies, but there is still
smaller customers are every bit as important to Ponsse as          much to be done.
they always were,” Hyvärinen says. “Each PONSSE machine               “The most recent machine we’ve bought is a PONSSE
is tailored to the specific needs of each customer.”               Scorpion, which we got in autumn 2017,” says Reijo Hyväri-
                                                                   nen. “And our collaboration with Ponsse will continue,
WORLD-CLASS AFTER-SALES SERVICE                                    there’s no doubt about that.”
It’s particularly important in such a capital-intensive indus-        Aki Laaja reckons that Metsä-Multia’s main strength is
try that the machines remain in good working order, with-          the comprehensive service it offers. “Customers want to buy
out production being hindered through breakdowns. “Nowa-           more and more from the one place. That means we also need
days it’s very rare that a machine will be out of production for   to be able to offer tillage and planting, for example. In short,
more than 24 hours due to some malfunction or other dis-           we need to provide all-round forestry service,” says Aki Laaja.
turbance,” says Aki Laaja. “Ponsse’s spare parts and mainte-

                                                                                                                                       25
PONSSE NETWORK / RANDALLS EQUIPMENT

     50 YEARS OF
     PIONEERING SPIRIT
     Ponsse’s Australian dealer Randalls Equipment
     opened a service centre in Mount Gambier and
     celebrated its 50 years in business.

          Y
                        ear 2017 was a multi-milestone year for           manufacturing in Tullamarine.
                        Randalls, a Ponsse dealer. The company that
                        is now the longest serving forestry equipment     TURNED FOCUS TO LOG HANDLING
                        company in Australia celebrated its 50 years      Randalls’ break into heavy duty forestry equipment came
                        in business and opened a service centre in the    in 1987 when they were able to secure the rights to sell and
          city of Mount Gambier. The story of Randalls began in 1957      support Prentice log loaders, a product from the USA. Since
          when young Ken Randalls migrated from Britain to Aus-           that time, many loaders have been sold in Australia. By this
          tralia after serving in the Middle East with the British Army   time, Peter Randalls (on the left in the picture), the son of
          as a corporal in the Royal engineers during World War II.       the company’s founder Ken Randalls, was becoming in-
          Filled with energy and enthusiasm to start a new life in Aus-   creasingly involved in the management of the business and
          tralia, Randalls did what he knew best and started designing    it was decided in 1991 that Peter would assume the role as
          and fabricating excavator buckets from a small shed in the      managing director at the age of 30.
          suburb of Maidstone, Melbourne. As this business grew               The move to build a service centre in Mount Gambier
          Randalls found himself supplying buckets to equipment           started back in 2016. “With the addition of Ponsse to our
          manufacturers such as Caterpillar who at that time were         product line-up and the suitability of these harvesters and

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