Ponsse news 1/2018, EN

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 CUSTOMER AND STAKE­ HOLDER MAGAZINE PUBLISHER

Ponsse Oyj Ponssentie 22, FI-74200 Vieremä Finland EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Katja Paananen

EDITORIAL STAFF

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

4 FULL SERVICE IN KOMI

Mainonnan Työmaa

THE COVER PHOTO

Dimitri Popov, leader of Mobilnyi Service is responsible of PONSSE´s Full Service in Komi.

11 PONSSE KIDS

ILLUSTRATIONS

12 PONSSE RENEWS ITS MACHINE MODEL SERIES FOR 2018

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FOR LOGGING SITES IN LOWER SAXONY 20 WAHLERS FORSTTECHNIK & PONSSE:

22 P ONSSE MOMENT 24 T OWARDS NEXT DECADES

Metsäkuljetus Hyväriset and Metsä-Multia have been logging for over 40 years.

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18 13,000 PONSSE FOREST MACHINE READY

COOPERATION FOR 25 YEARS

Jouko Arvonen Henna Ryynänen (Ponsse Kids)

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ack and ideas for Please send feedb email to by s rie sto nsse.com. ponssenews@po winner of a Ponsse In each issue, the will be selected du Collection pro ct who have from among those as. ide ir the d share

”HOW’RE WE DOING?”

34 26 R ANDALLS EQUIPMENT – 50 YEARS OF PIONEERING 28 F IVE-COUNTRY SCORPION ROAD SHOW 30 L OGGING NEWS 33 M ODERN TOOLS ENSURE QUALITY EDUCATION 34 O PERATING FOREST MACHINE IN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Part 2. The stories in this series tells about the work of forest machine operators in different markets.

39 P ONSSE COLLECTION

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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 community and of doing things together are emphasised more and more. When it comes to forest machines, we are in a very tough work environment. It is essential to have a strong focus on supporting customers’ 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 training and our daily practices, and we believe that continuing to work as a team will ensure our ongoing development and progress.

In February, it was 75 years since Einari Vidgrén was born. For over a year, together with author Antti Heikkinen we have gathered stories and material about Einari’s life, from his beginnings as a logger to becoming a forest machinery manufacturer. In this project, we have already heard all kinds of stories about the first logging sites in Laakajärvi, and about Einari’s years at school. The project continues, and I invite you to contact 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

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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.

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ast of Verkhnyaya Vytchegda, there is only wilderness all the way to Hanty-Mansijski. The area is rich in wildlife, such as bears, wolves and other predators. The day before, a sloth of four bears have been sighted near this camp—a female and three cubs. It’s a common enough event and the men are not particularly excited, preferring to discuss other matters throughout the breakfast.

At the camp, the morning begins with a session with visiting machine designers from Vieremä. Every year, a number of Ponsse staff travel to Komi to gather feedback on the reliability of the machines and to audit machine service centres. The drivers get to voice their opinions, and their first desire is followed by hearty laughter. Could someone please send some snow and frost from Finland? There’s a very obvious reason why

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the men are hoping for a cold weather front to arrive. During the early morning hours, two of the machines have gotten stuck in soft soil and require extra machinery to pull them out. In this region, the soil is finegrained with few rocks. Working conditions are made more difficult by record rainfall throughout the summer and early autumn.

Softest areas have been reinforced with small logs in order to facilitate moving the

machines to the stands.

Like other harvesting companies in Russia, Mondi Syktyvkar has entered into fifty-year contracts with the government for harvesting and reforestation purposes. Contracting requires a comprehensive approach: Before harvesting can begin, roads must be built since contractors are also responsible for creating the infrastructure that facilitates logging.

The machine base at the Verhnaja Vytsegda camp is typical for a logging site of Mondi Syktyvkar: four machine units are operated with four PONSSE Ergo harvesters aided by four PONSSE Buffalo forwarders.

For the past few years, all of Mondi’s operations in the Komi region have involved Ponsse machinery exclusively. At the moment, there are 58 machines made in Vieremä working at eight different logging sites.

Increased efficiency has actually reduced the

KOMI number of Ponsse forest machines in a typical Mondi order.

To the visiting Finns, who are used to seeing uninhabited 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 densely built villages sometimes emerge. Their demographics look grim as their populations keep growing older. The Komi Republic has a population of about one million people who are concentrated in a few large cities such as Syktyvkar, the region’s capital, popular among young people who are leaving rural areas to look for work. The best employment opportunities in rural areas are now often related to forestry.

FOREST WORK IS HIGHLY VALUED

At the camp, breakfast for the eight men returning from the night shift is served by Maria Pahanova, the matron, and by Lida Ignatova, the kitchen maid. In addition to kitchen staff, the logging camp employs a housemaid to keep the camp clean.

The women are native Komi speakers, but switch to Russian 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

THE KOMI REPUBLIC • THE KOMI REPUBLIC is a republic of the Russian Federation, located in Northeast Europe, west of the Ural Mountains. The Komi Republic is 1.2 times the size of Finland by area. Most of the area, about 72.7%, is covered by boreal forests (taiga). Northernmost parts of the region consist of the tundra biome, and Northeast Komi is covered in permafrost.

Central characteristics of the region’s nature include major rivers that flow through the rolling hills, and several lakes. Features of the continental climate are long and cold winters that are much more severe than in Finland. The winter lasts about six months in the southern parts of the region, and can last as long as two thirds of a year in Northern Komi. Temperatures range from +40 to -40 degrees Celsius. The area is rich in natural resources. In addition to forests, oil, coal and various ore deposits can be found here.

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REPORT / KOMI

income,” Pahanova says. “I could retire myself as I’m 53 years old. But I’m happy with my life, and there’s still plenty of work left to do. I dream of buying a house to spend my retirement years in,” she says.

Among the last men to finish breakfast is harvester operator Alexander Uljashev who can be found in the kitchen trailer swirling a steaming glass of tea and watching morning news on the television.

According to him, working the night shift doesn’t differ much from working the day shift.

The most difficult aspect of his work is the forest itself, which is often old-growth and located in soft,

MONDI’S OPERATIONS IN THE KOMI REPUBLIC

• Mondi Group is a global packaging and paper company with operations in 30 countries.

• Mondi Syktyvkar has an annual wood consumption about 4.2 million cubic metres.

• 4800 employees.

• Mondi Syktyvkar’s wood procurement operations include harvesting, road building and maintenance, wood transport, reforestation and forest management • Annual saw-log sales 0.7 million cubic metres, main markets area are local Komi Republic and Leningrad region • Harvesting is 100% cut-to-length • Mondi lease about 2.1 million ha of forest in Komi which has an annual harvesting volume of about 3.5 million cubic metres. About 2.5 million cubic metres are harvested with Mondi-owned machinery, the rest is outsourced from contractors.

• 58 wholly owned PONSSE forest machines and 120 wood transport trucks

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”

”Women are entitled to a pension at 50 years old, but many try to keep working a little longer to boost their income. I could retire myself as I’m 53 years old,” Pahanova says.

boggy terrain. “This is as good work as any,” says Mr. Uljashev. “On my days off, I fish and hunt, as do most of the Komi people.”

He says his machine unit can harvest between 15 and 25 cubic metres of wood per hour, depending the site. “I’ve worked in forests a long time, back when we cut trees manually. It’s strenuous work and quite dangerous sometimes. These modern machines are very ergonomic, and they are quite pleasant to work with.” Mr. Uljashev has been driving a PONSSE Ergo for the past two years. On average, he harvests between 150 and 250 cubic metres of wood per 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 several years, and the men switch between stands usually twice a year, alternating between summer and winter sites. Driving from the camp to the stands can take as long as an hour and a half, and the farthest stands are located some 50 to 70 kilometres from the camp. Due to the difficult terrain, roadside refuelling is a must. Operators drive their machines from the stands to the roadside, and the next shift takes over after refuelling. The fresh shift then takes the machines back to the stands, which can sometimes require driving another five kilometres in the forest.

Machine operators start their day with a ride to the destination site. Roads here are muddy and full of holes, and it’s really a miracle that the passenger van has made it to the camp intact. The men returning from the night shift are tired, because it’s difficult to get rest during the bumpy ride.

The logistics terminal owned by Mondi is located next to the Syktyvkar mill and holds nearly a million cubic metres of wood. It’s necessary to 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.

Dmitry Popov (Mobilnyi Service), Stanislav Navratil (Mondi) and Harri Saarela (Ponsse Plc) believe that Full Service co-operation develops all parties’ operations.

MOBILNY SERVICE

Ponsse forest machines can be frequently spotted driving on the roads in Komi, and it’s up to field servicing cars to make sure they keep moving. Mobilny Service has 26 such cars and Lespromservice operates another 16 of them. Mobilny Service is a subsidiary of Ponsse dealer Lespromservice, and is responsible for maintenance of PONSSE forest machines in Komi.

Mobilny Service is led by its 41-year-old COO (Chief Operation Officer) Dmitry Popov who has an exceptionally strong background in forest machines. Mr. Popov, who graduated from the Syktyvkar Forest Institute, started his career by working as a forest machine operator and service mechanic near his home village. Later, engineering studies led to working with Mondi’s harvesting operations. At Mondi Syktyvkar, Mr. Popov worked in project named “New look” aimed at enhancing harvesting efficiency and looked for technical solutions and best practices aimed at reducing servicing and fuel costs. He never lost sight of these objectives, and eventually took over the development of Mobilny’s Full Service operations.

“You can always find ways to do some things better,” Mr. Popov says. According to him, service processes need to be managed and developed carefully, because clients have come to expect this from service businesses. Mr. Popov’s considerable work experience as an operator and a mechanic naturally lets him evaluate the service experience from the perspective of the client. “We are not looking to reinvent the wheel,” Mr. Popov says.

“Our contract with Mondi Syktyvkar specifies a minimum mechanical utilisation rate of 81.5%.

This means that a machine must have this rate of productive working hours out of 100%.” A total of 54 Mobilny Service technicians are responsible for carrying out the Full Service concept at Mondi’s different logging sites.

Mr. Popov, who is fluent in English, lives in a recently completed single-family home in Syktyvkar, the capital of Komi Republic, within walking distance of Mobilny Service offices. As recently as last summer, Mr. Popov, who is native to Komi, used to commute 170 kilometres between Syktyvkar and his home village two or three times a week to spend time with his family.

“The long drive gave me an opportunity to listen to audiobooks and learn English,” he says.

“A couple of years ago I couldn’t speak any English, but since I learned the language, it is easier to work with Ponsse’s factory and our partner network. I moved to Syktyvkar five years ago after Mondi Syktyvkar, Lespromservice and Ponsse started their Full Service co-operation”, he says.

His family followed him to their new home last summer.

DEVELOPMENT REQUIRES CO-OPERATION

When Mobilny Service took over the responsibility of Mondi’s PONSSE machine servicing, the company was aware that it would have to deal with the difficulty of servicing machines at one of the most remote logging sites in Komi—Udora. The site has been extremely challenging to work with, both

LESPROMSERVICE

• Founded by CEO Nikolai Ekimovskij • Founded in 1995, entered into cooperation with Ponsse in 2005 • Dealer of Ponsse and Husqvarna in the Komi region. Specialised in hydraulics.

• 200 employees, three subsidiaries, and three service centres including one that is focused on servicing PONSSE forest machines and training operators to use them.

MOBILNY SERVIS

• A fully-owned subsidiary of Lespromservis, focused exclusively on Full Service projects • COO (Chief Operation Officer) Dimitry Popov • Responsible for Full Service contracts and operations at nine Mondi-owned work sites and two contractors. Uses Ponsse machines exclusively.

• 70 employees

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REPORT / KOMI

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

with respect to service and productivity. The site is located some 400 kilometres from Mobilny Service’s offices, and is by far the most remote logging site the company has been involved with.

According to Mr. Popov, Mondi Syktyvkar wished his team well with Udora at the start of their co-operation. People said that if the Udora site could be managed successfully, Mobilny Service would be well prepared to take on any challenge after.

Currently, productivity is among the best at Udora, Mr. Popov says proudly.

“You’ll never know what you can achieve if you don’t try,” he says. “We decided to try it out and learned a lot along the way. We try to implement a long-term plan that will benefit the customer, and this helped us solve the productivity issues at Udora,” Mr. Popov says.

The Full Service concept took some time to get used to, especially since it turned out to be too efficient at times.

“Once Mondi Syktyvkar was able to reach its production goals, they shut down the sites early. We were out of work for the rest of the season. Their machines were suddenly much more productive, and the Syktyvkar mill was not able to stock the wood that kept coming in,” he says. The situation was resolved the following year by looking carefully at previous year’s production data and planning harvesting operations accordingly.

Indeed, Full Service can improve predict-

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Denis Matveyev operates a PONSSE Buffalo with 12 years of experience in forestry machines.

“Thanks to Full Service, the machine has worked flawlessly. Operators used to have to service the machines themselves, and sometimes even had to perform considerable repairs. It had a negative impact on harvesting, and not to mention service quality—not everyone could service the machines as well as a trained specialist.” ability and allow for growth projections to be calculated accurately. Once customers can be reassured that their machines can be kept productive, they can accurately predict harvesting volumes and costs.

In the Komi region, Ponsse has a market of 55%. About 170 PONSSE forest machines operate there. Mr. Popov thinks the machines are well suited for local harvesting requirements, but if of the opinion that the single biggest factor in the leading market position is the excellent service machine owners and operators receive from local servicing partners.

“Ponsse’s way of doing business embraces strong partnerships, and Full Service is a perfect example of that. We also co-operate with Ponsse in product development, testing components and reporting on their

durability and usability. Clearly, this benefits both Ponsse’s product development and us,” Mr. Popov says. “This is a perfect place to test components—the machines work long hours in an extreme environment. We can help develop best solutions and practices for our customers,” he says.

“Last year, I participated in an international meeting for Ponsse dealers for the first time. I was surprised at how openly and honestly people and businesses co-operate.

I’m not exaggerating in the slightest when I say we work like a big family. The dealer network has shown considerable interest in the Full Service solutions we offer here in Komi, and we’ve arranged some excursions since then. I myself have visited different Full Service businesses in Brazil on three different occasions thanks to the Ponsse network. Local needs may differ, but we’ve still learned a lot by observing each other’s methods of working.

ACCURATE PLANNING IS KEY TO AVOIDING MISHAPS

Nikolay Terentyev, another Komi native, is a key person in developing the Full Service concept in the region. He manages the service department and is known as far as away as Finland as a skilled mechanic. Mr. Terentyev is a seasoned professional, but his passion for his work becomes evident as he picks up a durability test report of a new component.

“I used to work as a machine servicing team lead. I’m familiar with the crew and their strengths. Recently, I’ve been directed by management to focus on developing our operations and training programmes,” he says.

Mr. Terentyev has a clear vision of goals he wants to set and achieve: “Our technicians are responsible for making sure all machines are safe to use and as productive as possible.

All of the work must be organized. It would be a waste of time to start with the machine that requires the most servicing, when other machines with only minor issues to fix can be quickly put back to work,” Mr. Terentyev says.

Both Mondi Syktyvkar and Mobilny Service operate in a visibly systematic manner— an absolute requirement in this challenging environment. Full Service providers are regularly audited by Ponsse.

“Our staff is quite knowledgeable and can often solve the customer’s problems without delay. We’ve also hired technicians with no prior expertise in forest machines,” says Mr. Terentyev. He believes outcomes are directly related to motivation. Sometimes it can easier and more effective to teach new working methods to beginners rather than established professionals, many of whom have developed their own approach to solving problems over several years. Careful planning is a must, and each day must be started by concentrating on important tasks instead of, say, running around with no visible results at the end of the day.

“Obviously, we need to make sure our work servicing the machines is as cost-effective as possible in the long run.

We carefully look at when it’s feasible to service the machines in order to keep them in production as much as possible, and we also evaluate the benefits of replacing a part

instead of reconditioning,” he says.

FULL SERVICE IN THE MIDDLE OF NIGHT IN A FOREST

At any of the logging sites, machine operators can reach a Full Service technician 24 hours a day by radiophone. Typically, three service technicians are present at each logging camp. They have well-equipped trailers at their disposal.

A the Sysola site, two technicians have just started their shift. Oleg Babin is hard at work with Jevgeny Beloborodov, who has been employed in the industry since 1999 after he finished his studies at the Syktyvkar Forest Institute.

“Each day begins at 6:30 a.m.” says Mr. Beloborodov. They are sometimes alerted to a logging site in the middle of a night when one of the machines requires immediate servicing. Operators take care of routine maintenance, such as refuelling, greasing and swapping chains, but the two men are responsible for all other servicing.

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. Significant service needs are taken care of at the camp and smaller maintenance tasks performed at the work sites. There is little time for activities besides work. We sometimes alternate the sites between shifts to keep productivity at optimum.

responsible for Mondi’s harvesting, wood transport and other support machinery in the Komi Republic. Mr. Navratil, who was born in The Czech Republic, came to work for Mondi in Russia in 2009. He had previously worked in wood trade in his home country, selling and buying wood at Stora Enso among other companies.

“When I started here at Mondi, we were just launching our ‘New Look’ development project which was aimed at making our operations much more efficient,” he says.

“We wanted to share some of the responsibility for operational efficiency with our partners. This led to comparing three different brands of forest machines and related services, and giving up manual felling and cutting.” At first, only two machine units consisted of Ponsse machinery. Since 2016, Mondi Syktyvkar has been using Ponsse machinery exclusively. Servicing and stocking of spare parts has been fully outsourced

FOCUS ON EFFICIENCY

Mondi Syktyvkar is a leading producer of the pulp and paper industry in Russia. Forestry 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 acquainted with the new machines. The Ponsse machines have held up well, and they are quite comfortable. The cabin is excellent, 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.”

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REPORT / KOMI

” to Mobilny Service.

Mr. Navratil says: “With Full Service, we want to increase the efficiency of our operations—increase harvesting productivity, carefully manage service and spare parts costs and improve predictability of cash flow. Outsourcing machine service really helped us open up some bottlenecks of our business. We now keep all machines running practically 24 hours a day, the planned end-of-year maintenance downtime notwithstanding. This is why we place high demands on machine reliability and quality of service. We want to focus on the aspects of our business we know best.

It is important to us to work in a strong partnership who is also willing to listen to our concerns and is able to adapt to our needs.” Indeed, while service standards are set by Mondi, machine servicing partners are independently responsible for quality and efficiency of service.

A single harvester might accumulate as many as 5500-6000 efficient hours a year and harvest a total of about 87,000 cubic metres of wood. Before adopting the current operating model, Mondi managed to harvest between 45,000 and 65,000 cubic metres of wood annually. The growth in productivity has been impressive.

According to Mr. Navratil, machine operator turnover is low: “They feel secure, because we’ve been able to eliminate most of the impact caused by seasonal changes. We offer work year-round, as well

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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.

as good working conditions—modern machinery and camps with amenities,” he says. Operators also receive seasonal extra pay as well as compensation for living away from home.

Inclement weather makes it difficult to keep harvesting wood year-round in Komi. Mondi ceases its harvesting operations when the temperature reaches a low of -32 degrees Celsius. This means that on average, one to two weeks of productive working time are lost each year. This year, the wet conditions can seem challenging, but Mr. Navratil prefers rain to extreme heat and drought that can start forest fires in the summer.

“Safety and sustainable development are our top priorities,” says Mr. Navratil. All the wood we acquire is FSC certified, and our entire operation conforms to the ISO 14002 standard. Reforestation in Komi is the responsibility of harvesting companies. “We reforest our logging sites ourselves, and we own and operate nursery for this purpose,” Mr. Navratil says.

RESPONSIBILITY AT MONDI SYKTYVKAR

Mondi administers 2,113,031 hectares of natural forest in Russia. Given this scale, responsible management of forests has a major impact on the company’s operations. Long-term forest management aims to improve harvesting productivity and wood quality. The company is also responsible for forest regeneration after harvesting. Reforesting is carried out using seedlings from the company’s own nurseries, or by supporting the natural regrowth of forests. Forests are only regenerated with local tree species, which ensures that they are resistant to pests and diseases.

Mondi also has an important role in preventing and combatting dangerous forest fires. The probability of forest fires is small, but if they occur they can cause great damage due to their potential scale and the difficulty of reaching remote areas. In developing responsible operations, the company will cooperate with various bodies, including The Komi Science Centre and the Syktyvkar Forest Institute in the Komi Republic.

Bonus exercise Color the picture and find Ponsse machines How many Ponsse machines and different kinds of animals can you find in the picture? Send your answer to us by 31th May 2018 either by mail to Ponsse Plc/communications, Ponssentie 22, FI-74200 Vieremä, Finland, or by email to ponssenews@ponsse.com. Remember to include your contact information! In our next issue we will publish the right answer to the task and the name of the lucky winner.

Ponsse News 2/2017 Competition winner: 9-year-old Robbie Smith from Scotland.

Correct answers: 1B, 2D, 3C, 4A and 5E

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.

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PONSSE RENEWS ITS

MACHINE MODEL SERIES FOR 2018

A logger’s best friend is now even more economical, comfortable and

productive

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.

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this enables upgrading the already great model series to an ever better one.

he modern PONSSE model series includes ground-breaking innovations, such as Scorpion harvesters and many features that improved productivity and usability. During the past years, technological development has progressed with big steps. Ponsse’s philosophy of continuous improvement has proven to be correct, as new technical solutions have been brought to production, making the machines more efficient and reliable. Ponsse also takes older machinery into consideration in the design work: the possibility to upgrade older machines with the new solutions is always considered in the designing.

A NEW MASTER OF THINNING AND SOFT TERRAIN

The legendary PONSSE Fox harvester introduced in 2009 will become a part of history as the new Fox takes its place. The PONSSE Fox is an excellent machine for tasks where agility and power is needed. It is very well suited for thinning work and working on soft terrain. The crane has been brought close to the cabin in the Fox, offering superior visibility of the harvester head and decreasing the space required for the machine’s movements during thinning work.

Thanks to the positioning of the crane and the eight wheels, the machine’s weight distribution is excellent, making the Fox equipped with the correct track system a particularly good choice for sites with soft terrain.

EVEN MORE ECONOMICAL OPERATION IN 2018 THANKS TO MANY RENEWALS

In addition to continuous improvement, Ponsse unveils many new developments at 2018. These include new features that improve fuel economy, efficiency, usability, quality and serviceability.

Ponsse manufactures a large part of the components used in the machines itself, and for the information and control system, the whole production chain is controlled by Ponsse. Combined with good cooperation with customers and the most modern forest machine factory to be completed in 2018,

PONSSE ACTIVEFRAME

ACTIVEFRAME NOW ALSO

With the ActiveFrame system developed

by Ponsse, there is less stress on the operator than when using just a cabin suspension system.

AVAILABLE FOR HARVESTERS

Ponsse´s most manufactured forest machine the PONSSE Ergo, is now also available as an ActiveFrame version. PONSSE ActiveFrame is a modern stabilisation system for 8-wheelers. It has a simple and functional structure, suspending any sideways movement directed at the driver effec-

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INNOVATION / PONSSE RENEWS ITS MACHINE MODEL SERIES FOR 2018

”

The new hydraulic system has been extensively field-tested in different countries, and the results are promising: fuel consumption has been clearly lower in field tests.

tively and unnoticeably. This makes driving more comfortable, and reduces the stress on the operators body since they are on a lower level when compared to e.g. with a machine equipped with just a cabin suspension system. ActiveFrame is also available for the Buffalo, Elephant and ElephantKing forwarder models.

POWER FOR PROCESSING AND TRACKS

Ponsse has been developing and manu­ facturing harvester heads since the 1980s.

The extensive harvester head range offers from debarking eucalyptus to processing.

Larger harvester heads can also be fitted on track-based solutions. The new PONSSE H8HD harvester head is specifically designed for harvesting and processing larger trunks in demanding conditions. It continues the success of the smaller PONSSE H7HD harvester head and can be installed on the PONSSE Bear harvester and on over 20-ton track-based machines. The new harvester head model offers a superior performance considering its size. A powerful feed, combined with its geometry which firmly supports larger trunks on feed rollers, guarantees extreme productivity and

fuel economy.

LOWER FUEL CONSUMPTION AND INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY

In addition to new products, Ponsse has made changes to other models to improve the fuel economy of the machines. The hydraulic system of harvesters has been developed further, clearly decreasing fuel consumption, heat generation in the hydraulics and pressure losses. In the new hydraulic system, the piping and connection blocks have been changed to ensure better flow, brining a clear improvement to the operation and efficiency of the hydraulics. The new hydraulic system has been extensively field-tested in different countries, and the results are promising: fuel consumption has been clearly lower in field tests. In addition, it has been possible to lower the pressures of the harvester head feed without affecting work speed.

Another important innovation are the new control computers, or modules, for the forest machine information system developed and manufactured by Ponsse. The new modules can process information up to 100 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 efficient 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 operator’s needs and to promote comfort and safety. The new PONSSE Seat is an indication of how Ponsse develops its products together with customers. The PONSSE Seat has been designed for forest machines from the start, and Ponsse has exclusive rights to it from the seat manufacturer. The PONSSE Seat has better adjustments, firmer padding, more comfortable upholstery and sturdier base than other seat models. At the same time, the upholstery materials of the

cabin have also been renewed; they are now more resistant to wear and dirt, and are easier to clean.

The quality of air and the appropriate temperature have been found to have a 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.

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INNOVATION / PONSSE RENEWS ITS MACHINE MODEL SERIES FOR 2018

”

Ponsse Manager is a modern forest machine management and information system that forest machine entrepreneurs can use to see the machines’ location, productivity figures by products, follow and print measurement certificates, look at the EcoDrive harvester´s key figures in real time fuel consumption and, for instance, to plan and order the transfer of machines from one logging site to another.

in studies. We have introduced a new air conditioning and heating system to most of our models with sufficient performance even for the most demanding conditions. In addition to these renewals, changes affecting the work and the working environment have already been introduced, for instance, to the Opti 4G system, which has a new software version with new features. During 2018, the Opti7+ PC with the latest technology, a touchscreen and better and faster responsiveness will be added. The PONSSE Scorpion and ScorpionKing models additionally have improved lighting. The crane boom has more working lights than before, and the internal lighting of the cabin has been changed to use LEDs. These changes help operators cope better with their work, promoting the efficient use of the machine.

MODERN TOOLS FOR CUSTOMERS

PONSSE Manager is a modern forest machine management and information system that forest machine entrepreneurs can use to see the machines’ location, productivity figures by products, follow and print meas-

urement certificates, look at the Eco­Drive harvester´s key figures in real time fuel consumption and, for instance, to plan and order the transfer of machines from one logging site to another. PONSSE Manager is a part of the Opti system, it can be retrofitted into older machines by updating the Opti4G-system to the latest version.

PONSSE Manager can be used from anywhere with the help of a smartphone, tablet or computer.

Thanks to the information systems being designed and manufactured by Ponsse, we have also been able to bring a spare parts ordering system to forest machines, offices and mobile devices directly for our customers’ use anywhere and at any time. With the help of the Ponsse Parts Online system, our customers can see the information of their machines individually and place orders directly from the machine, their office or, say, their summer cottage, so that the parts will be delivered as agreed to the desired place.

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.

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

PONSSE Manager

IoT

Parts Online

Opti4G Ponsse Ecodrive

StanForD2010

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, which was built by Wahlers Forsttechnik, the company’s machine fleet solely consists of PONSSE´S harvesters and forwarders. The are many reasons why FoWi is committed to using yellow PONSSE machines. First of all, FoWi, which is situated in Lower Saxony, has a close, long-term business relationship with Wahlers Forsttechnik, Ponsse’s German dealer and service partner.

Wahlers Forsttechnik, too, appreciates

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long-term partnerships, as indicated by its 25 years of cooperation with Ponsse and a 35-year customer relationship with FoWi. FoWi, or Forstverwaltung Wiegersen, is a harvesting and timber company that has 17 employees. Forstverwaltung Wiegersen looks after an area of 675 hectares, which the Sulzer family has owned for three generations.

“When my father Hartwig Sulzer inherited Forstverwaltung Wiegersen in 1979, he had just opened a veterinary

clinic. With no time for forest management, he hired Michael Haarhaus, a young forest master, to look after the forests”, says Frank-Ludger Sulzer, himself a qualified forester.

“Due to the state of the forests and low timber prices at that time, it was difficult to run Forstverwaltung Wiegersen profitably. FoWi GmbH was therefore founded in 1989 to support the business. FoWi has been looking after the forests of Forstverwaltung Wiegersen ever since. It has also

offered services to other forest owners.

FoWi is an entirely different legal entity than the Forstverwaltung Wiegersen forest management company.

Cooperation with Wahlers already began earlier. “We first contacted Hans Wahlers in 1983 when he had developed the Räumfix device and was constantly working on new solutions for harvesting. Michael Haarhaus was very interested in Hans’ innovations, so we already took the Tuiko processor into use in 1985. Three people were needed to operate the device, which on today’s stand-

ards was a simple piece of equipment and could only be used in young forests.

According to Michael Rathjen, Managing Director of Wahlers, FoWi and Wahlers have greatly benefited from working with each other. To develop its own Biber harvester, Wahlers had to carry out tests in forests, the problem was that they did not have any forests. Thanks to short geographical distance and fluent cooperation, the novelties could be tested on Forstverwaltung Wiegersen’s land. The long-term partnership has translated into a close relationship.

“Based on this, it was quite natural that the first one-grip harvester that FoWi purchased in 1991 was Wahlers’ Biber,” Frank-Ludger Sulzer recalls.

However, not everybody was fascinated by the strongly increasing mechanisation of harvesting in Germany in the 1990s. There were no problems with using harvesters in stateowned forests, whereas private forest owners had a different attitude. “Even today some private forest owners consider an eight-wheel machine too brutal for harvesting. Therefore, it is great that we still have the small Wahlers’ Biber,” Sulzer says with a laugh.

However, the Biber’s performance was no longer sufficient when a stipulation entered into force in Lower Saxony according to which a harvester cranes reach must be at least ten metres.

“Our Biber did not meet this requirement.” The retailing partnership that Wahlers started with Ponsse in 1993 was an important milestone for it. “Finnish forest machines we hardly known in Germany in those days,” says Michael Rathjen.

The PONSSE machine appeared at FoWi’s felling site in 1998. After the used PONSSE HS15, the company purchased the PONSSE HS10. Since then, FoWi’s machine fleet has only included PONSSE machines, except for the Biber. The new eight-wheel Ergo is accompanied by Bear, which allows the company to offer its customers harvesting services from thinning to regeneration felling. FoWi also has two PONSSE Wisent forwarders, and one old PONSSE S10 machine that is used for training purposes.

“Our brand loyalty is based on the high quality of the PONSSE machines and the outstanding maintenance services offered

by Wahlers Forsttechnik. Everybody operating in the field knows how expensive machine down-time is.” Wahlers’ local spare part warehouse and over-the-night delivery from Ponsse’s warehouse in Iisalmi guarantee a service speed that no other manufacturer can match. The machines have the PONSSE Opti information system, which is approved by the local forest management authorities. “I can transfer data over the Internet anywhere. This is another time-saving feature.”

Mutual trust is the customer relationship’s best cornerstone also from the retailer’s point of view.

“Machines have technically developed with leaps and bounds in the last few years and will also continue to do so in the future. However, our confidential customer relationship has not changed at all during the years”, says Michael Rathjen together with Frank-Ludger Sulzer.

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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.

Wahlers Forsttechnik undertook the importing, sales and service of PONSSE machines in 1993. At the same time, it ceased the production of its own BIBER harvester.

”

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HARVESTER BUILDER

chinery and serviced loading machinery. In addition, the representation of Deutz vehicles was undertaken. The company specialised in building sales vehicles for markets. They were the first vehicles with a self-supporting roof made of polyester. In addition to causing the paths of Einari Vidgrén and Hans Wahlers to cross, the storm disaster of 1972 had other consequences as well. The damage caused by the storm resulted in particular requirements on forest machines. The clearing of twigs and branches was a great challenge. As the existing machines at the time were not powerful and stable enough, Hans Wahlers developed the Räumfix device, an attachment to a forestry tractor that is still manufactured and sold worldwide today. When mechanised harvesting began in the 1980s, Wahlers Forsttechnik reacted to the development by building their own Smart harvester “BIBER”, which was based on an Atlas four-wheel frame and equipped with a Grangärde unit and Mowi parallel crane. Wahlers Forsttechnik built the machine from start to finish; even the measuring and control systems were developed by the company..

In 1934, Johann Wahlers set up a village blacksmith’s workshop in Lauenbrück, Lower Saxony. The times were tough. Especially during the Second World War and after it, the ability to improvise was needed to keep agricultural machinery in operating condition.

Hans Wahlers worked at his parents’ company already as a child. After becoming a professional blacksmith and gathering experience at different forging mills, he returned home, graduated as a master craftsman and systematically developed the company together with his father. In addition to blacksmithing, the company sold and repaired agricultural ma-

It quickly became clear that the product range had to be expanded to larger harvesters and forwarders. To this end, Wahlers Forsttechnik undertook the importing, sales and service of PONSSE machines in 1993. At the same time, it ceased the production of its own BIBER harvester. “Thanks to PONSSE Opti, we were the only company operating in Germany at the time that already met the requirements for harvester measurement in accordance with the German HKS regulations”, says Ralf Dreeke, one of the company’s

When Einari Vidgrén and Hans Wahlers signed an agreement on retail partnership between Ponsse and Wahlers Forsttechnik in1993 at the Elmia Wood fair in Jönköping, Sweden, it was an important milestone for both companies. Finnish forest machines were largely unknown in Germany at the time, but Hans Wahlers and his company had long been well known in the country’s forest industry. Einari Vidgrén and Hans Wahlers had known each other since 1972.

At that time, there was a violent storm in Germany, felling a huge number of trees.

Vidgrén and other Nordic contractors came to Germany with their forest machines to assist in dealing with the damage. At the time, Hans Wahlers was one of the few people who had a fully equipped service vehicle at their disposal and were capable of performing large repairs in the forest. This was how Hans Wahlers, who had inherited the company from his father, Johann, in 1971, was first introduced to the technology of forest machines.

FROM VILLAGE BLACKSMITH TO

SUCCESSFUL COOPERATION BEGINS

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 Wahlers, as well as the spouses of both directors, Anne Wahlers-Dreeke and Monika Rathje, are also working at the company. Anne Wahlers-Dreeke has also worked extensively on behalf 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 Netherlands and the German-speaking part of Switzerland. The opening of a Wahlers branch office in Uffenheim, Southern Germany, was also an important step in the company’s development. The company’s original location in Northern Germany was also modernised and significantly expanded through the construction 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 services offered. At the moment, Wahlers Forsttechnik has the largest PONSSE spare part warehouse outside Finland, ensuring a very quick access to spare parts to customers.

When the 13,000th PONSSE machine left the Vieremä factory at the end of January, it was also shipped to Germany. Ralf Dreeke describes the reasons for the positive devel-

opment as follows: “Both family businesses have a very similar corporate culture. At both Ponsse and Wahlers Forsttechnik, three items always have the highest priority: understanding and recognising customers’ needs, the continuous improvement of products, and the technical and ergonomic development of products to support operators’ health and occupational safety.”

Wahlers Forsttechnik’s story began in 1934 at a blacksmith’s workshop in Lauenbrück.

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

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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 mountains, some of which rise up to 1,600 metres above sea level. The lake in the background is Jølstravatnet.

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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 important 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 operate in small municipalities in central Finland.

Managing director of Metsäkuljetus Hyväriset Reijo Hyvärinen notes that the older generation of Hyvärinens began forestry work way back in the mid-1960s, and it was on these foundations that the present company was established, in 1977. Managing director of Metsä-Multia Aki Laaja says the company’s history also begins in the 1960s, when the two founders, Reijo Laaja and Reijo Vuorinen, started their forestry operations. “Our company officially turned 40 in summer 2017,” Laaja says.

METSÄ-MULTIA OY

Location:

Multia

Machinery:

42

Personnel:

76

METSÄKULJETUS HYVÄRISET OY

Location:

Pielavesi

Machinery:

8 forest machines, 7 other machines

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 two 40-year-old companies been doing right all these years?

“The key to our success has always been our professional and committed staff. We are fortunate to have built up a great team of employees, who work well and develop profes-

24

sionally together,” says Aki Laaja. “Of course the machinery must be so good that it can withstand the operating conditions year in, year out. We bought our first PONSSE forest machine in 1987, and ever since then we’ve cooperated closely with Ponsse. This was a wise decision that has paid

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 customers 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

off handsomely for us, and continues to do so.”

Reijo Hyvärinen also believes that having skilled personnel is essential, as is close cooperation with committed subcontractors and Ponsse. “We received PONSSE´S machine number 500 in 1993. Our two companies have a long shared history, and Ponsse’s dedication to customer service and after-sales service are especially important for a small company. Although Ponsse is now a global success story, smaller customers are every bit as important to Ponsse as they always were,” Hyvärinen says. “Each PONSSE machine is tailored to the specific needs of each customer.”

WORLD-CLASS AFTER-SALES SERVICE

It’s particularly important in such a capital-intensive industry that the machines remain in good working order, without production being hindered through breakdowns. “Nowadays it’s very rare that a machine will be out of production for more than 24 hours due to some malfunction or other disturbance,” says Aki Laaja. “Ponsse’s spare parts and mainte-

Hyvärinen and Laaja are both second-generation entrepreneurs, 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,” Hyvärinen laughs. “But computing technology is here to stay, and in its various forms is taking on a bigger role all the time.”

“Well-planned logistics are also extremely important nowadays. We have three operations supervisors, whose job it is to ensure correct route planning and optimization of mobility,” says Aki Laaja.

ONWARD TOGETHER

The future looks bright for both companies, but there is still much to be done.

“The most recent machine we’ve bought is a PONSSE Scorpion, which we got in autumn 2017,” says Reijo Hyvärinen. “And our collaboration with Ponsse will continue, there’s no doubt about that.”

Aki Laaja reckons that Metsä-Multia’s main strength is the comprehensive service it offers. “Customers want to buy more and more from the one place. That means we also need to be able to offer tillage and planting, for example. In short, we need to provide all-round forestry service,” says Aki Laaja.

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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 Randalls, a Ponsse dealer. The company that is now the longest serving forestry equipment company in Australia celebrated its 50 years in business and opened a service centre in the city of Mount Gambier. The story of Randalls began in 1957 when young Ken Randalls migrated from Britain to Australia after serving in the Middle East with the British Army as a corporal in the Royal engineers during World War II. Filled with energy and enthusiasm to start a new life in Australia, Randalls did what he knew best and started designing and fabricating excavator buckets from a small shed in the suburb of Maidstone, Melbourne. As this business grew Randalls found himself supplying buckets to equipment manufacturers such as Caterpillar who at that time were

26

manufacturing in Tullamarine.

TURNED FOCUS TO LOG HANDLING

Randalls’ break into heavy duty forestry equipment came in 1987 when they were able to secure the rights to sell and support Prentice log loaders, a product from the USA. Since that time, many loaders have been sold in Australia. By this time, Peter Randalls (on the left in the picture), the son of the company’s founder Ken Randalls, was becoming increasingly involved in the management of the business and it was decided in 1991 that Peter would assume the role as managing director at the age of 30.

The move to build a service centre in Mount Gambier started back in 2016. “With the addition of Ponsse to our product line-up and the suitability of these harvesters and

”

“We have a great range of products on offer and it’s our belief that we are now in a position to be able to offer higher levels of customer service than our competitors”, Davin Frankel says.

Peter Randalls, Ricky Hann, James Clowes, Janne Kangasniemi (above), Anthony Muliett, Davin Frankel, Jamie Heiniger, Joanna Walsh, David Herrewyn, Juha Pukkala, Kegan Powell and Janne Tarvainen

forwarders to the harvesting conditions in the Green Triangle it was decided that we would commence planning the construction of a branch in Mount Gambier”, says Davin Frankel, Randalls sales and service manager.

BUSINESS GROWTH

“The objective is to offer our many customers in Mount Gambier and its surroundings a real and competitive alternative to the existing forestry suppliers in Mount Gambier.

Our customers demand the best service and support”, Frankel adds. Forestry customers can now purchase parts for PONSSE forwarders and harvesters, Sany excavators, Indexator rotators and parts, Clark tracks and of course the full range of Randalls grapples directly through its Mount Gambier facility. “We can also offer field service support for any

brand of forestry equipment or machines that can also be brought to our workshop for larger jobs requiring a workshop or crane.”

David Herrewyn is the branch manager in Mount Gambier. Herrewyn has more than 25 years of involvement in the forestry business in the Green Triangle. “We have a great range of products on offer and it’s our belief that we are now in a position to be able to offer higher levels of customer service than our competitors. My personal objective is to prove this point each and every day as we work closely alongside our customers”, says Davin Frankel.

At Ponsse, area director Janne Tarvainen (on the right in the picture) is responsible for the markets in Australia. In addition, Tarvainen is in charge of machine sales in Spain, Portugal and South Africa.

27

PONSSE NETWORK / SCORPION TOUR

FIVE-COUNTRY

SCORPION ROAD SHOW

During the winter, Ponsse arranged the PONSSE Scorpion Road Show on which the Scorpion was presented in five countries. The road show began from Poland and continued from there to Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia.

I

n addition to Scorpion harvesters, other Ponsse products were presented on the tour, including maintenance services and Collection products.

Harvesting demonstrations were arranged in different countries, attracting hundreds of people interested in forest management. The demonstrations featured the PONSSE ScorpionKing harvester with a H7 harvester head.

The conditions during the tour varied considerably. There was about 50 cm

28

of snow in Pokljuka, Slovenia, which was the last location on the tour, so PONSSE had the chance to present the winter features of PONSSE Scorpion­ King and PONSSE Buffalo. The trees in the felling demonstrations in the mountains of Pokljuka were as much as 40 metres long. It was also possible to demonstrate harvesting in areas damaged by storms in Central Europe in the autumn. People attending the felling demonstrations were especially

enthusiastic about the chance to see harvesting from the cabin and personally witness the unique features of PONSSE’s harvesters. “The road show was very popular and we closed dozens of deals. There were more participants than expected in all the localities, and the schedule also allowed us to arrange customer-specific demonstrations when moving from one public harvesting demonstration to another”, says Jussi Hentunen, Ponsse’s area manager.

RECORD VOLUMES HARVESTED IN SLOVENIA Mechanised harvesting in Slovenia began to develop quickly after 2014, when the forest industry met with a catastrophe caused by icy rain. There was a freezing rainfall on several days in January-February, which covered everything under a layer of ice that was over 10 cm thick in places. The rain covered a forest area of more than 600,000 hectares, destroying 9.3 million cubic metres of trees.

As a result, the forest areas suffered from broad insect damage caused by bark beetles. The damage increased by a five-fold to more than 2 million cubic metres in just one year. To repair the damage, a programme was prepared that among other things obliges forest owners to collect insect-damaged trees from the forest. Harvesting has reached a new record in the last few years, totalling about 5 million cubic metres a year.

POLAND OBORNIKI LIDZBARK PRÓSZKÓW

THE CZECH REPUBLIC HOLOVICE SLOVAKIA LUATÍN

HUNGARY ZIRC

SLOVENIA POKLJUKA

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LOGGING NEWS / 2018

LOGGING NEWS

FIRST INTERNATIONAL MECHANIC COMPETITION

PONSSE AND EPEC ESTABLISH A PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT UNIT IN TAMPERE Ponsse and its subsidiary Epec have jointly established a product development unit in Tampere for the design of software and automation for mobile work machines.

Tampere was chosen as the location of the new product development unit, since the city has become a growth centre for the work machine industry.

“Ponsse’s product development will continue to focus mainly on Vieremä and Kajaani, so there will still be close communication between customers and manufacturing and product development. Our aim with the Tampere product development unit is to ensure the continued availability of a skilled workforce,” says Ponsse’s director of technology and R&D Juha Inberg.

30

Twelve mechanics from around the world arrived in Finland to take part in a competition for mechanics that is being held for the first time. The competition was held in the Ylä-Savo technical college in Iisalmi, central Finland.

“Nowadays the work of mechanics is extremely diverse, because forest machines are far different than they were in the past.

Today, mechanics have to be skilled in hydraulics and IT as well,” says service manager Terho Tanskanen, who organised the event.

Jaroslav Shevnin from Russia was declared the winner of the international competition for mechanics. Tero Savolainen from Finland came in second, and Per Andersson from Sweden placed third. Jaroslav Shevnin has been working at Ponsse’s Russian subsidiary OOO Ponsse since 2010.

“It’s great to win of course, everyone wants to be a winner, after all,” Jaroslav says of his victory. “I like to develop my technical knowledge, which is exactly what I’ve been able to do with PONSSE machines on the long work spells in the forest.” First prize was a two-person trip to any of Ponsse’s locations.

“Let’s see where the wife wants to go,” Jaroslav laughs.

PONSSE ADOPTS SOLAR POWER IN THE VIEREMÄ FACTORY Nearly 2,000 square metres of roof surface area of the Ponsse Vieremä factory has been fitted with solar panels. The solar equipment was supplied by Savon Voima, and the system has 640 solar panels.

Under optimal sunlight conditions, the panels will deliver around 200 kWp for the factory’s electricity needs. Annually, the system will produce an amount of electricity equivalent to the annual power consumption of approximately one hundred apartments. “For Ponsse, this investment in solar power is a natural extension of our goal of taking account of sustainable development in all our operations. We will be able to use all the electricity produced by the solar system in the factory, which will reduce our electricity bills nicely,” says Ponsse supply chain director Tommi Väänänen.

EXPOFOREST FAIR IN BRAZIL PONSSE K121 loader was launched at ExpoForest fair in Brazil, Ribeirão Preto area, 11-13 April 2018.

Read more – www.ponsse.com

PONSSE UK LTD’S NEW FACILITY NOW OPERATIONAL Ponsse UK Ltd, a subsidiary of Ponsse Plc, has opened its new facility in Annan, Scotland. In the new premises, four machines can be serviced at the same time. As well as spare part sales and warehousing, the service centre has training facilities for customer, driver and staff training. PONSSE UK’s machine fleet has been growing in recent years, making the new facilities necessary. At the same time, work safety and working comfort have also developed in leaps and bounds. “The new premises are specifically designed for servicing forestry equipment, and will also enable future growth,” says Ponsse UK’s managing director Dean Robson.

Ponsse’s first customer in the UK in 1994 was M.G. Harvesting Ltd, based in North Wales. The company was founded in 1980 by Michael Gillet (pictured).

31

LOGGING NEWS / 2018

LOGGING NEWS

13,000TH PONSSE MACHINE CELEBRATES EXTENSION OF PRODUCTION FACILITY

Ponsse celebrated two important milestones in January. The biggest extension project in the company’s history has reached the topping-out phase, and the factory has produced the 13,000th forest machine made in the Vieremä facility in Finland.

PONSSE machine number 13,000, a PONSSE Ergo 8w, was delivered to the company’s German customer FoWi GmbH & Co. This also marks the beginning of Ponsse’s and German distributor Wahlers Forsttechnik GmbH’s jubilee year: 25 years have passed since Ponsse and Wahlers signed their contract on distribution and service collaboration in the German-speaking regions of Europe. The seeds of this collaboration were sown already in the early 1970s when Einari Vidgrén, Ponsse’s founder, was logging on a storm devastation sites in Germany.

QUALITY AND FLEXIBILITY THROUGH INVESTMENTS

The current production facility investment is the biggest in Ponsse’s history: the facto-

32

ry will expand from the current 2.7 hectares to 4 hectares. Most importantly, the investment contributes to ongoing improvement and development of quality, flexibility, safety and productivity of Ponsse’s operations.

The extension of production facilities enables the company to respond to changing market situations with more flexibility, and to tailor machines to customer requirements more efficiently in a serial-production environment. The new facilities in Vieremä will be completed by the end of the year, and will be the most advanced forest machine production facility in the world.

- Our strong focus on the development of cut-to-length forest machines requires constant development of our production operations. That is the only way we can fulfil the needs of our customers and stay at the forefront of technology in the demanding forest machine market. A safe, modern factory is also an important investment in our employees’, says Ponsse’s President and CEO Juho Nummela.

The Ponsse factory in Vieremä currently employs 570 employees, 390 of whom work in production tasks. All PONSSE forest machines are made in Vieremä, Finland.

NEW FACTORY IN OPERATION BY END OF YEAR

New assembly lines and storage facilities housed in the new extension will be phased in gradually during 2018. Relocation to new facilities started in March with warehouse operations. New smart warehouse technologies make production warehouse logistics more efficient and increase the degree of automation considerably. Warehouse automation covers 15,500 storage slots for small items and components and 3,900 pallet positions.

After the warehouse relocation, a new harvester head assembly line will move to the new facilities. A new assembly line for base machines will be in operation by the end of the summer, and by the end of 2018 cabin and crane assembly lines will also be renewed. The amount of production-time testing used to support quality control will increase in all production lines.

HIGH-QUALITY WORK FROM LOCAL EXPERTS

Starting with earthworks, most of the factory extension has been built by local companies. The massive project was split into several smaller parts to enable local companies to offer their services.

INNOVATION / VR360 ENVIRONMENT

MODERN TRAINING TOOLS

GUARANTEE HIGH QUALITY Ponsse trains its customers’ and its own personnel in the use of forest machines

“T

oday, Ponsse is a significant training provider, even measured by the number of training days. We wish to continue to be the best in the industry in providing superior training. To this end, we have developed a new training environment based on VR360 technology,” says Esko Havimäki, training manager at Ponsse.

“VR360 is a virtual reality that uses a computer-modelled artificial environment to simulate the real environment. For example, we can simulate a harvester head’s structure, maintenance and repairs for training purposes,” says Havimäki.

ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES

The objects in the VR360 environment, anything from a single spare part to a complete forest machine, can be taken apart. This allows users to be trained on the equipment’s structure and maintenance. For structural training, the virtual environment offers nearly endless possibilities, as components can be freely viewed from different angles. Furthermore, taking a look inside one is as simple as sticking your head in it. The system can be used in classroom training; the instructor will cover the component or machine that is the subject with the class following along on a screen.

Alternatively, the training may be held as group training where all participants enter the virtual reality and participate in handling the object.

SELF-STUDY IS POSSIBLE

”

Trainees may also use the VR360 environment for guided self-study. Virtual reality training is free from the limitations set by location and enables trainees to take part even over great distances. “Currently, the VR360 training environment is already used in harvester head training. We see a lot of future potential in the virtual training environment, and we are continuously mapping new areas for virtual training,” says Havimäki.

Training manager Esko Havimäki points out that virtual reality also allows group training in an artificial environment.

Training manager Esko Havimäki uses new VR technology for training.

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DRIVERS / UNITED STATES

PART 2: THE UNITED STATES

CHRIS AND HER SCORP The United States has the fourth largest forest estate in the world, including about 8 percent of the world’s forests. Just over 751 million acres (304 million hectares) of forestland covering about a third of land area. These lands range from boreal forests in Alaska; to deciduous forests in the eastern United States; to pine plantations in the southern United States; to dry coniferous forests in the western United States; to temperate rainforests on the West Coast; to the tropical rainforests of Hawaii. 56 percent of United States

forestlands are in private ownership. Local, tribal, state, and federal governments manage the rest. The forest economy in the United States, directly employing about 1,000,000 people in all aspects of the forest industry including: logging, paper, lumber, and panel. Annual production in the U.S. is more than 37 billion board feet making the U.S. the largest producer and consumer of lumber. The United States remains the second largest exporter of wood products in the world. Its primary markets are China, Canada, and Mexico.

T

he occupation of forest machine operator is mostly seen as a male domain.

But there are exceptions.

Chris Burnis, who works at Heidtmann Logging, is one of the few female operators of PONSSE ScorpionKing in the world. Chris has been driving a ScorpionKing for two years now, and is very fond of it.

“This was the first Ponsse harvester our company bought. “At first I was afraid that operating it would be like driving a roller coaster, but I was pleasantly surprised,” Chris says. In her view, the controls and harvester head were generally easy to operate.

“The delimbing function of the harvester head is really effective. “Everything stays well under control, so the work feels more relaxed and lighter than with other machines,” she adds. Most of the trees that Chris Burnis harvests are hardwood.

Hardwoods often grow densely, and the trees to be felled must be individually selected. In the densest parts, Chris first

she says. “Last fall I was in Spain and Portugal, where the first international Ponsse Ladies convention was held. It was great to meet people from different countries, including Finland, Sweden, Germany and the United States. I made some lifelong friends there.”

FOR THE FUTURE

Chris Burnis

cut the trees at a height of 2.5 meters to prevent the flange from getting stuck, and cuts down the remaining part only after that. Chris Burnis has met hardly any other female forest machine operators at events in the forestry industry. The few women she has met are usually forwarder drivers. That’s why being part of Ponsse Ladies events is really important to Chris.

“Other companies have nothing like this,”

Although driving a ScorpionKing is easy for Chris Burnis, who works in Michigan, she would like more training in the use of Ponsse machines. “It’s precisely women who want more training. For me at least, it’s nice to take advantage of all the training and guidance possible,” Chris says. “When men buy something, they generally don’t look at the user instructions at all. That’s why they have to try the thing two or three times before everything works right. I prefer to read the manual first.” Chris takes care of the oiling, refueling, and light daily maintenance herself. She used to sharpen the chains herself, but not anymore. “I can outsource that.”

NAME OF THE COMPANY: Heidtman Logging • LOCATION: Marquette, Michigan, USA • PONSSE SCORPIONKING OPERATOR: Chris Burnis

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PION

�

Everything is well under control, so the work feels more relaxed and lighter than before.

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DRIVERS / UNITED STATES

PART 2: THE UNITED STATES

MASSIVE PINK MACHINES

”

We use pink machines to improve people’s awareness of cancer, and at the same time to raise funds for cancer research. “Cancer has affected our family very severely, and we want to help others.

n Jerry and Chris Shamio

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S

hamco is a family business owned and run by the brothers Todd, Scott, Eric and Ryan Shamion, together with their father Jerry. The company carries out felling in Upper Michigan and Northern Wisconsin, using the cut-to-length method. Shamco’s most important partner by far is Ponsse, since all the forestry machinery, harvesters and forwarders Shamco uses in implementing the cut-to-length method have been manufactured in Vieremä, Finland. The company was founded in 1997, and has worked with Ponsse since the beginning. “Working with Ponsse has been really easy,” says Scott Shamion. “Ponsse’s machines are just first class when it comes to reliability and usability.” Shamco currently has all the types of PONSSE machines that are designed for the cut-to-length method: six harvesters (four Ergos, one Scorpion and one Bear) and four forwarders (two Buffalos and two Buffalo Kings).

“Ponsse stands out from other companies in the quality of its after sales service to its custom-

ers,” says Scott. “Ponsse is totally committed to parts delivery and overall service.” “I could give you a hundred examples of how Ponsse has gone to great lengths to ensure that customers get the parts they need. The service is just unbelievably good.” Shamco buys land and tree stands, and makes wood harvesting agreements with mills.

The company receives about 90 percent of its income from selling wood from its own land or tree stands, and the remaining 10 percent from felling. The teams usually work within about 130 kilometers of Iron River. This area includes western Upper Michigan, Northern Wisconsin and two national forests, one of which is Chequamegon-Nicolet. The terrain varies, from swampland to hilly areas. The company logs hardwood, especially aspen, and coniferous wood such as pine, spruce and balsam. Aspen accounts for 40% of the company’s production, other hardwood trees make up another 40%, and the remainder is softwood.

Our family was involved in launching the first Relay for Life event in our home region.Ponsse and many of our other forestry partners support us in our battle against cancer.

PINK MACHINES?!

”We have pink harvesters, forwarders and timber transport trucks,” Scott Shamion reveals. “We chose pink because we are involved in a war against cancer. In our opinion, pink is the color most closely associated with the fight against cancer – and the color you would least expect to see on enormous work machines! In this way, we use the machines to increase awareness of cancer, and at the same time to raise funds for cancer research.”

“Our family has been badly hit by cancer, so we want to help others. All of our employees are really enthusiastic about the pink machines and harvesters,” Scott says. “Our family was also involved in launching the first Relay for Life event our home county of Iron County, Michigan, in 2015. We have received a lot of support in our anti-can-

cer campaign from many of our other forestry partners, including Ponsse.

The Shamco company is part of both the Great Lakes Timber Producers Association and the Michigan Association of Timbermen. The company provides financial support for employees to make it easier for them to participate in forestry industry events. “We have a great team and first-class equipment – our oldest model is from 2012 – so we’re ready for everything,” Scott says confidently. Despite the good work situation, he also sees some causes for concern. “The business environment is uncertain at present. Things are going well in the construction sector, but the paper and pulp industry is struggling with overcapacity and the downturn in the market. When you add the large factory stocks to this, then the negative effects have been felt

throughout our industry over the last couple of years,” says Scott. However, he also points out that the forest industry has both upswings and downturns, just like any other industry. As long as it has qualified staff and equipment in good working order, an agile company will be able to take advantage of a variety of upcoming opportunities. “We have developed a unique relationship with Ponsse over the past two decades,” Scott says. “This is more of a partnership than just a business relationship. Ponsse has strongly supported our success. This is where the philosophy of Ponsse’s founder Einari Vidgrén comes through. He said that it’s the customers who must be helped to succeed – the machines will succeed by themselves. This approach comes across throughout the Ponsse organization,” Scott Shamion concludes.

From the left: Scott, Eric, father Jerry, Ryan and Todd Shamion.

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DRIVERS / UNITED STATES

PART 2: THE UNITED STATES

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT

C

harles Williams Osterman visited Mitch Ives’ logging site in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, at the age of eighteen. Ives had a PONSSE HS15, and when Charles saw it in action it was love at first sight. Charles thought, “Can there really be a machine like this?” He got into the cabin to talk to Mitch. After their discussion, Charles was offered a job as a forest machine operator. Charles’ father was not

keen on his son accepting the job, since he would have liked Charles to complete his education and should stay at General Motors, where he had a good position.

Charles decided otherwise, and took the job as a forest machine operator for Mitch Ives. The first weeks were tough, and to make things even tougher Mitch left for Finland on business, leaving Charles to get by on his own in the new position. Charles knew how to repair the machines, but not

how to drive them. Jouni Viitikka, a Ponsse trainer, visited the site a few times to help Charles. Charles used Jouni’s visits as the perfect opportunity to learn everything he could about forest machines.

Later Charles worked some time at Ponsse as a trainer, but all the time he had his dream of setting up his own business and operate forest machine.

When Charles was 21 he went back to Mitch Ives and shortly after that he bought his very first forest machine, it was a Franklin. It was difficult to get spare parts to Franklin and lack of air conditioning made the working conditions uncomfortable.

Charles bought his first PONSSE forest machine in 2004, the same day as his first child was born. The 1991 model PONSSE HS15 is an early model of the PONSSE Ergo. Since then, he has bought the machines as a new one.

He continues to operate another Ergo, which he purchased new in 2012. Charles has worked hard to make his company the success that it is today. Ponsse forest machines are now a natural part of his everyday life. His normal routine is to wake up at 5 am to work out and stretch. His normal working day takes about six hours. Because of a serious back injury, he can’t work any longer than this at a stretch. Owing to his condition user comfort is essential to Charles, and he greatly appreciates Ponsse’s comfortable cabin and seat. The markets are stable, and Charles is confident about the future. “Wood is always needed. Trees will always grow, and we will always use them.

We may need to look for new ways to use wood, but it will always be there for us,” Charles says. When asked what he thinks of Ponsse, Charles doesn’t hesitate: “There is no better company to work with. That’s what I’ve always said, and Ponsse’s overall approach to its customers is awesome.”

NAME OF THE COMPANY: CTO Logging • LOCATION: Rhinelander, Wisconsin, USA • PONSSE ERGO OPERATOR: Charles Williams Osterman

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PONSSE COLLECTION

NEW ARRIVALS IN THE PONSSE COLLECTION www.ponsseshop.com

www.ponsseshop.com

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PONSSE machines make your work more efficient. We have made significant improvements to our machines for the year 2018. New features in software, operator working environment and improved technical features are making PONSSE machines the most modern tool on the market for logging operations. Thanks to these new features, you can gain fuel savings, uptime and better reliability. This means efficient and even more productive logging!

Save fuel and boost your operations.

This is our philosophy for significant savings. With modern products, information systems, training and proper service, you can improve productivity, fuel efficiency, and reduce environmental impact. We are constantly striving to improve the fuel efficiency of all our products and services.