The celebrations of Ponsse’s 40th anniversary continued with an open house at the factory on Friday 13 August 2010. The sunny day attracted approximately 1000 visitors to get acquainted with the factory and Ponsse people. The Martha organisation prepared 1500 pancakes in the steaming hot weather, and the factory tours and logging demonstrations were crowded. 

We were delighted to see that many families with children took part in the day. The pony ride and the pedal car track, in particular, were big hits with the young ones. The simulator also proved popular, with long lines all day. Nine-year-old Antti Säisä was one of the many Ponsse people putting in long hours during the day. Antti worked as a trainer for the simulator, instructing the young machine enthusiasts in how to use the simulator. Antti had been eagerly practicing the use of the simulator during the summer. “I had never driven a harvester simulator before this summer, but I have driven a real harvester, “ Antti explains.

Ponsse’s 40th anniversary was celebrated in a relaxing atmosphere in the spirit of the 1970s at Einari’s home farm in Mäkelä, Vieremä. The atmosphere was warm and friendly.

Speeches were given by Juho Nummela, President and CEO, and Seppo Kääriäinen, Deputy Speaker of Parliament. Ismo Apell, who acted as a presenter, interviewed Einari and Jouko Kelppe, the first ever engineer at Ponsse. Jaakko Teppo was also seen at the site. Jamppa Kääriäinen, Kaukolasipartio, Agents and Paula Koivuniemi took care of the evening’s entertainment.

During the party, the winner of the sideburn competition was also selected. The finalists came to the stage and Marita Kelppe, the former hostess of the Ponsse Club, selected the winner. The competition was indeed hairy, but in the end Petteri Härkönen’s bushy ‘burns took home first prize.

The 7,000th PONSSE forest machine was manufactured at the Ponsse Vieremä factory on Friday, 27 August 2010. Koneyhtymä Randelin Oy received the new PONSSE Ergo 8 w harvester at the FinnMETKO Trade Fair on Friday, 3 September. The machine has equipped with gold-plated exhaust pipe.

Einari Vidgrén, the founder of Ponsse Plc and Chairman of the Board of Directors, passed away suddenly at the age of 67 years on 26 October 2010. The Board of Directors of Ponsse Plc reorganised due to the sudden loss of the chairman. Juha Vidgrén was unanimously elected as the new chairman of the Board. Jarmo Vidgrén acts as the company's sales and marketing director, Janne Vidgrén as area director in Central Europe, and Jukka Vidgrén as a member of the Board of Directors. The family Vidgrén is the company's primary shareholder with its share ownership of more than 60%.

The values and operating methods set up by Einari Vidgrén for Ponsse lay a strong foundation and a firm set of values for the company's operations, also in the future.

The Kajaani-based forest machine application and product development unit of Epec Oy, a subsidiary of Ponsse, is transferred to Ponsse Plc, enabling an even stronger development of information system products for PONSSE forest machines.

PONSSE forest machine number 8,000 was manufactured at the Vieremä factory on 6 February 2012. Wood Roack & Roads AB, a Swedish harvesting company, receives the new PONSSE Ergo 8w at the factory.

Ponsse presents its Model Series 2012 at the FinnMETKO exhibition, introducing new easy-to-maintain frames and the new PONSSE Comfort user interface.   

Upgraded service centres are opened in Tampere and Mikkeli.

Sauli Niinistö, President of Finland, visits Ponsse.

Ponsse Ladies is established in Sweden.

PONSSE ElephantKing, the new 20-ton load bearing category in forwarders.

A new logistics centre in Iisalmi.

New service centers are built in Pitkäranta in Russia and in Laukaa in the Jyväskylä region.

The whole new PONSSE Scorpion harvester is introduced at the Wood Elmia exhibition in Sweden.

Ponsse launches Model Series 2015, where the focus is on efficiency, structural endurance and ease of maintenance and use. The new EU Stage IV engine technology and the improved hydraulics have enabled extending the service intervals from 600/1,200 hours to 900/1,800 hours.  The model series also includes the new PONSSE Buffalo ActiveFrame cabin suspension system for forwarders.

Ponsse Plc manufactures 10,000 PONSSE forest machines at its Vieremä factory. Einari Vidgrén delivered the first Ponsse Paz forest machine to machine entrepreneur Eero Vainikainen in Karttula in 1971. The PONSSE forest machine number 10,000 will also be working at logging sites in Karttula as the 10,000th PONSSE was delivered to Karttulan Metsätyö Oy.

At the same time Ponsse informs about investments in production and the development of its service network. This year Ponsse invests EUR 8.5 million in value in manufacturing, including three new machining centers. The latest expansion of 1,600 m² to Ponsse's Vieremä factory was completed in the beginning of the year. The new facilities are home to a boom and crane welding unit. These investments in component manufacturing serve to increase capacity and better secure the needs of maintenance services for various parts.

The serial production of the new PONSSE Model Series 2015 is underway.

Ponsse invests in a new service centre in Rovaniemi, Finland. The 1,350 m2 facilities will be opened on 20 February. Ponsse has operated in Rovaniemi since 1998, and aims to secure services for its growing machine base.

Ponsse’s Director, Technology and R&D, Juha Inberg receives CTO of the Year 2015 award. The award recognises chief technology officers who through their work have added value to their companies’ technological expertise and growth potential, are inspiring leaders and have an active role in societal networks. The jury thanked Inberg for under Inberg’s leadership Ponsse’s R&D team has produced innovations that have transformed the forest machine market.

New production development facilities are completed. The 1,300 m2 building is intended for prototype production and testing.

Ponsse Plc and Timber Forest Equipamentos signed a retail agreement on the sale and maintenance of PONSSE forest machines and equipment in Brazil. Timber Forest operates in the three southernmost states of Brazil: Parana, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. In other states, PONSSE services are provided by Ponsse Latin America Ltda. Operating under Rodoparana, Timber Forest Equipamentos is a forest machine company which started operations in 2001 by focusing on various harvester and felling head solutions installed on track-based forest machines.

PONSSE Scorpion harvester won over the 38-member jury of the Red Dot Award: Product Design 2015. Ponsse proved its design excellence in the most important competition for product design, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. From 4,928 participants, Scorpion stood out and was awarded the Red Dot: Best of the Best for top quality and innovative design.

At the event organised in Vieremä awards amounted to EUR 87,500. In the ten years since the foundation was first established, awards totalling EUR 877,000 have been granted to some 240 harvesting and forestry specialists and 200 students.  As the main recognition, the Foundation gave the Einari Award to two distinguished forest machine contractors. The criteria of the award emphasise a long-term approach and professionalism in this highly challenging industry. The Einari Award of EUR 15,000 was received by Veljekset Knuutinen Oy from Pattijoki and Toropainen Oy Metsäkoneurakointi from Kitee.

This corporate acquisition promotes Ponsse's services and strategy in Northern Sweden. Located at Haparanda, AN Maskinteknik Ab is Ponsse's most long-standing retailer. It has been reselling and servicing PONSSE forest machinery in Norrbotten County of Sweden since 1989. The Swedish subsidiary of Ponsse was established in 1994 and it takes care of service and sales of PONSSE forest machines both in Sweden and Denmark. AN Maskinteknik's business owned by Veli and Kimmo Niskala will be transferred to the ownership of Ponsse AB and all the employees will be transferred to Ponsse AB as old employees.

Established in 1935, the family-owned company has acted as a Ponsse dealer in Germany since 1993. Wahlers Forsttechnik has two service centres in Uffenheim in southern Germany and in Stemmen in northern Germany, as well as five smaller service centres. The company employs more than 80 professionals in harvesting technology.

Ponsse's French subsidiary, was established in 1995 in Gondreville, in north-eastern France, where its head office is still located. Currently, Ponsse's French operations are run by Clemént Puybaret, together with 27 employees. In addition to Gondreville, the company provides services for its 300 customers from PONSSE service centres in Peyrat le Chateau in central France and Labouheyre in north-eastern France, as well as through eight contractual service partners. The company is responsible for sales, not only in France, but also in Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland (French speaking).

In 1995 when the company was established, only one Ponsse forest machine was sold in France. The French Ponsse pioneer was Mr. Arnaud, a harvesting company based in Limoges, which has been a customer of Ponsse SAS ever since the company's establishment. The company operates in Limoges with eight PONSSE machines.

The anniversary is celebrated with 500 guests at the Great Lakes Logging Expo in Escabana (MI). Established in 1995, the company has sold more than 600 machines in the US, most of which operate in the traditional Great Lakes forest region. The first PONSSE machine came to the United States in 1991 and was delivered to Earl St. John in Spalding, Michigan. The pioneer of the cut-to-length sent a letter to Ponsse's founder Einari Vidgrén in 2010: “I have believed in your honesty, saying we would be taken care of with first class parts and service. Einari, you were a man of your word. Today, the first machine still runs with over 36,000 hours,” he wrote.

Ponsse’s North American operations are run by Pekka Ruuskanen and it employs 59 people. Ponsse North America is operating in Rhinelander (WI), Gladstone (MI), Gaylord (MI), Grand Rapids (MN) and Coburg (OR) on the west coast. In addition, Ponsse North America has four contractual service partners: Al's Mechanic Service in Glidden (Wisconsin), Berg's Service in Tigerton (Wisconsin), Arnie's Repair in Hayward (Wisconsin) and, the most recent addition, 906 Truck Service in L'Anse, Upper Michigan. On the east coast, full-line dealer Chadwick-BaRoss is responsible for machine sales, maintenance and spare parts.

Ponsse came in second place in Trust & Reputation survey behind lift company Kone. Ponsse received the highest score in administration, interaction and sustainability in the survey organized by T-Media. 

The prize was awarded for the new generation of harvester, the Scorpion, which utilises the properties of high-strength steel. “Ponsse has not only significantly improved operator ergonomics, but also enhanced functionality and safety, and increased productivity with this new design,” says Gregoire Parenty, chairman of the jury and Executive Vice President and Head of Market Development SSAB. “High-strength steel gives several benefits. We have been able to reduce the total weight which, in combination with the low surface pressures, makes harvesting with Scorpion more environmentally friendly especially in soft terrain. Our machines are used under extreme conditions, including very low temperatures, where steel needs to offer high impact ductility and reliability,” says Juha Inberg, Ponsse’s Director of Technology and R&D. The Swedish Steel Prize was established by SSAB in 1999 to inspire and disseminate knowledge about high-strength steel and how it can be used to develop stronger, lighter and more sustainable products.

Ponsse came in second place in Pohjoisranta Burson-Marsteller's and Arvopaperi magazine's reputation survey, right behind lift company Kone. “This is a wonderful recognition for all of us at Ponsse for our hard work. At the same time, this is a recognition for the entire industry dealing with forest machines and harvesting," says Juha Vidgrén, Chairman of the Ponsse Board of Directors. The reputation survey assessed the reputation of Finnish listed companies.

Both long-term family-owned companies operate as Ponsse's dealers in Canada.
ALPA Equipment, the PONSSE dealer of the year, has been Ponsse's dealer since 2000, covering eastern parts of Canada in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, as well as Gaspé Coat in Quebec. Founded by Armand Landry 40 years ago, the company is currently under the leadership of the next generation, son Serge Landry and daughter Linda Landry-Firth. The logging conditions in the region vary significantly from coniferous to hardwood-dominated forests, from level ground to steep slopes, from natural mixed forests to large planted coniferous areas. The annual harvesting volume in the region is approximately 15 million m³. The company  has a total of 120 employees in four different locations, with new facilities being completed in Edmundston, New Brunswick, in autumn 2016.

Ponsse's global service business network is assessed and rewarded annually based on the results of Ponsse's service business development and audit system ESW (Effective and Safe Workshop). Based on the ESW results, the service centre of the year 2015 is Hydromec Inc from Quebec, Canada. Marcel Trottier established the company in 1975, and it is currently managed and owned by his son, Jean Trottier. The annual harvesting volume in Quebec is approximately 35–40 million m³, and the conditions of harvesting are extremely demanding.

The Full Service project of the year award is granted at the same time to Ponsse Uruguay for Full Service cooperation with UPM. The award for best developer of local operations is granted to FC Ventas y Servicios in Chile. The award is granted to the service centre that has improved its ESW audit result the most compared to the previous year.

11,000^th PONSSE Machine Manufactured In Vieremä and delivered to a customer from Hungary.

Einari Awards, the main recognitions given out from the Foundation, were granted to veteran harvesting professionals. The awards were received by Lahtinen Forest Oy from Viitasaari, Finland and Väinö Kela from Metsäkone Kelat Oy from Suomussalmi, Finland.

In addition to the new facilities, Ponsse will increase the level of automation in its production. The purpose of this investment is to manufacture products of an even higher level of quality, heavily improve productivity and offer a safe working environment.  “This investment secures the quality of our products and production in every situation. We are looking for more productivity and flexibility. Demand for PONSSE machines is high and the future of the forest industry is looking bright in many of our market areas,” President and CEO of Ponsse Plc Juho Nummela says. In the past five years, Ponsse has invested a total of EUR 87 million in facilities and machinery.

Ponsse Group employs some 1,400 people, of whom 650 are working in the Ylä-Savo region at Ponsse's factory in Vieremä and in service businesses and at the logistics centre in Iisalmi.

The year of record-high investments is seen at Ponsse's logistics centre in Iisalmi. The expansion started in spring will add another 2,500 m² to the logistics centre. The logistics centre serves Ponsse's entire international service network, which currently consists of 160 service centres.

The model series has been supplemented with solutions that focus particularly on improving the operator's driving comfort and working efficiency, as well as increasing the efficiency and management of forest machine companies. The new PONSSE Manager operations management system for forest machine entrepreneurs and PONSSE ActiveFrame suspension system for the PONSSE Ergo harvester will have their premiere at the exhibition.

Ponsse launches a new harvester head PONSSE H8HD at the DEMO International 2016 held on the west coast of Canada in British Columbia. The new PONSSE H8HD harvester head is specifically designed for harvesting and processing big timber in demanding conditions. Ponsse has been developing harvester heads since the 1980s. The extensive harvester head range offers applications from first thinning to heavy-duty regeneration felling, as well as models from debarking eucalyptus heads to processing. Larger harvester heads can also be fitted on track-based solutions.

The Finland Growth Award is given to a company annually that shows extensive success towards exports, job growth and innovation, as well as positively affecting Finland’s economy. The award was meant to honor the founder of Ponsse, Einari Vidgren, who spent his life having Ponsse grow into what it is today.

Ponsse Chairman Juha Vidgrén wins Finland's EY Entrepreneur of the Year award for 2016 and is also selected as the winner of the Production category. "This award is recognition especially to all of us at Ponsse and my brothers Janne, Jarmo and Jukka. Together we have succeeded in driving forward the work that my father Einari started. The EY Entrepreneurship award is a recognition for the whole branch where forest machine entrepreneurs are doing a valuable job in challenging conditions”, Juha Vidgrén said.

Sarl NC Bois, that received the 12,000th PONSSE forest machine in Vieremä is a harvesting company established by two brothers, Nicolas and Mickael Cuny: “Being a family company is an important asset for us.” The company started operating in 2007 with a used PONSSE HS16 harvester and it can be described as a pioneer in machine acquisitions in France. In 2009, the company acquired the first eight-wheel Ergo in France, and the PONSSE ScorpionKing harvester acquired in 2014 was one of the first in France. At the moment, NC Bois is logging with ten PONSSE machines. In total, Ponsse has manufactured about 450 PONSSE Scorpion harvesters that came into production in 2014, and has delivered machines into 20 countries.

Maintaining the life's work of Einari Vidgrén, the Einari Vidgren Foundation gave out EUR 157,700 in recognitions. Einari Awards, the main recognitions given out from the Foundation, were granted to veteran harvesting professionals Ahti Annala of the company Kone Annala Ky, and Jan-Erik Oldenburg of the company Puistometsäpalvelu Oldenburg Oy.

Ponsse and Ponsse subsidiary Epec Oy jointly establish a product development unit in Tampere for designing the software and automation of mobile work machines. The aim is to ensure the continued availability of top experts in the fields of software and automation.

This award is given to companies that reach a global scale, and who have reached high profitability and innovation in international markets. This award also is given to companies that have a positive impact on society. Ponsse won this award back in 2003, and never in history has a company achieved this goal twice. Other reasons why Ponsse won this award is because of the amount of innovation and growth it has gained, as well as the willingness of Ponsse to give back to its community.

Ponsse established a subsidiary in the Guangxi Region of China in 2007. Ponsse´s operations in China are run by Risto Kääriäinen and Ponsse China currently employs 28 employees.

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.

The first PONSSE forest machine was seen in UK forests in 1994, and two years later the first PONSSE service centres were opened in the UK: one in Beattock, Scotland, and the other in Neath, Wales. Both operations were transferred to Lockerbie, Scotland at the turn of the millennium.

Ponsse’s first customer in the UK in 1994 was M.G. Harvesting Ltd founded in 1980 by Michael Gillet, which is based in North Wales.

Ponsse celebrates two important milestones on the same day. The biggest extension project in the company's history 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 factory expands 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.

- 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.

The driving forces of the Fox are the accurate and powerful crane, good visibility, machine stability and low surface pressure for demanding conditions and soft grounds. The eight-wheeled PONSSE Fox is tailor-made for thinning and soft grounds.

The completely new PONSSE K121 loader offers a new level of efficiency and speed for load handling in tough conditions.The new PONSSE K121 loader extends Ponsse’s loader series to a completely new size range.

Deserving forestry professionals were rewarded in Vieremä, Finland. Carrying on the life’s work of Einari Vidgrén, the Einari Vidgrén Foundation gave out a total of EUR 143,000 in awards. The Einari Awards, the main form of recognition, were awarded to Janne Mutikainen of Koneurakointi Mutikainen Oy, and Janne and Tuomas Paakkola of Iin Metsätyö Oy for exemplary business operations and for bringing about a successful generation change.

The new Mercedes-Benz / MTU Stage V emission engines feature the latest engine technology, and are an excellent solution for forest machines that require productivity, reliability and fuel economy while at the same time being environmentally friendly. The New engines are available in three different power classes for PONSSE forest machine models.

Founded in 1941, the family-owned business has its headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The company has 4.345 staff in 40 locations around Brazil. Ponsse’s Brazilian subsidiary, Ponsse Latin America, was founded in 2005. In addition to Sotreq, Ponsse also has another dealer, Timber Forest Equipamentos, in Brazil, responsible for PONSSE services in the three southernmost states, Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul.

The factory investment is the largest in Ponsse’s history, expanding the production facilities from 2,700 m² to 4,000 m². Above all, the investment means a leap forward in terms of production technology. The new factory uses new smart storage technology that enables a smooth flow of components to production lines. This has significantly increased productivity of storage logistics and reduced manual handling of components. The storage automation includes 15,500 storage places for small goods and 3,900 pallet places. The construction of the new factory started in early 2016.

The PONSSE Bison Active Frame forwarder and PONSSE Cobra and Fox harvesters are launched at the fair. The new products are part of the Boost/Save philosophy enabling customers to improve the productivity and cost efficiency of harvesting through the right products, information systems, training and servicing.

Ponsse Plc’s President and CEO Juho Nummela is named businessperson of the year in an annual event held by Suomen Liikemiesyhdistys in cooperation with Kauppalehti and Aalto University.  This marked the first time when the second person from a single company has received the recognition. Ponsse’s founder Einari Vidgrén was presented with the recognition in 1997.  “Juho Nummela’s leadership exhibits a simultaneous respect for the company’s roots and the creation of something new” said the statement given by the jury.

Ponsse is the most reputable company in Finland According to T-Media’s Reputation&Trust survey, Ponsse is the most reputable company in Finland in 2018. Ponsse receives a higher score in the survey than any company ever before.  Ponsse was evaluated to be excellent in all eight dimensions of reputation that were measured in the survey.  In addition to the total score, the company was assessed to be historically good in responsibility and the ability to renew itself. According the Reputation&Trust survey “Ponsse is an example of a company that has been successful in all dimensions and remained at the top of the industry’s development. The company is committed to developing the well-being of its employees and the whole surrounding community. Ponsse has also taken care of dialogue and interaction in a comprehensive way.”

In the Private investor's choice competition, small-scale investors cast their vote for Finland's most reliable and attractive listed companies. Ponsse is voted the winner on the list for medium-sized enterprises. In their assessments, small-scale investors especially appreciated Ponsse's competent management, strong ownership and a personnel-centred approach. The investors considered the company a developing, growing top player in its field, with outstanding innovation management.

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 at the beginning of the year when a new assembly line for cranes was commissioned at the Vieremä factory.

-Ponsse is growing fast, and the need for services is increasing. We hope that we can meet future needs for maintenance even better than before, says after-sales manager Urban Folkesson.

This year mechanics from 13 different countries from all over the Ponsse network took part in the challenge. The other prices in the two-day competition went to Russia. The second highest scores got Andrey Izyurov who is working as a mechanic at Ponsse´s dealer OOO Lespromservis in Komi region and the third highest scores got Nikolay Kovalenko from Ponsse Groups subsidiary OOO Ponsse.