IFI Magazine Feb March 2019 International Forest Industries Magazine Feb March | Page 10

LOGGING & BIOMASS NEWS
The 14,000th Ponsse machine built in Vieremä
The 14,000th forest machine
manufactured in Vieremä was
handed over to the customer
at Ponsse Jan 30 2019. The
completion of the machine that
will be delivered to Uruguay
also offered the opportunity to
celebrate Ponsse’s successful
factory extension.
The PONSSE Elephant King
machine at the centre of the
celebration was manufactured
on Ponsse’s new production
line, which was introduced last
autumn. The last stage of the
factory extension was completed
machine was completed at
the factory, and a topping-out
ceremony for the factory extension
was celebrated at the same time.
This large investment increased
the factory’s area to four hectares
and completely renewed the
factory’s assembly and warehouse
operations. The change involved a
major effort in terms of scope and
impact from all production workers.
The change has now been brought
to a conclusion, and Ponsse’s
factory is in excellent shape with
respect to safety, productivity and
flexibility.
(L/R) 
• J  uho Nummela, CEO & President
Ponsse Plc
• J  uha Vidgrén, Chairman of the
Board, Ponsse Plc
• J  ussi T. Penttilä, UPM
• S
 auli Brander, UPM
• A
 melia Vidgrén
• J  armo Vidgrén, Sales &
Marketing Director, Ponsse Plc
• M
 artin Toledo, Managing
director, Ponsse Uruguay
local staff in customer relations,
commitment and company
development is outstanding. In
a field requiring perseverance,
Ponsse Uruguay has succeeded
in establishing operations in a
relatively short time which our
customers can trust,” says Jarmo
Vidgrén, Sales and Marketing
Director of Ponsse Plc.
at the beginning of this year when
a new assembly line for cranes
was commissioned at the Vieremä
factory.
The completion of the machine
also offered the opportunity to
celebrate Ponsse’s successful
factory extension.
At the beginning of last year,
the 13,000th PONSSE forest
Ponsse’s operations
in Uruguay
The 14,000th PONSSE
machine is the largest model in
Ponsse’s forwarder range. PONSSE
Elephant King equipped with the
new PONSSE K121 crane, designed
SkogsElmia is held every fourth year and attracts
about 30,000 visitors and 300 exhibitors. The new
fair manager for SkogsElmia is Mattias Pontén, a
certified forester with great expertise and solid
experience of the forest industry.
8 International Forest Industries | FEBRUARY / MARCH 2019
for the most demanding conditions.
In early February, the machine
started its journey from the
freezing weather of Northern
Savonia to the summer heat of
Uruguay. The machine will harvest
timber at UPM Uruguay’s
plantations for local pulp
production needs. UPM Uruguay
has been Ponsse’s full service
customer since 2014.
Ponsse has been operating in
Uruguay since 2007 and opened
new service centre in 2017. Local
customer support is handled
by Ponsse’s subsidiary Ponsse
Uruguay. The subsidiary employs
96 people, and its managing
director is Martin Toledo. In
Uruguay, timber is harvested
almost entirely with modern and
environmentally friendly cut-to-
length harvesting equipment.
“In Uruguay, the work of our
In a field requiring
perseverance, Ponsse
Uruguay has succeeded
in establishing
operations in a relatively
short time which our
customers can trust
Jarmo Vidgrén, Sales &
Marketing Director of
Ponsse Plc.