Industrial Coun­sel­lor Einari Vidgrén, foun­der of Ponsse Plc, establis­hed a foun­da­tion bea­ring his name on 8 April 2005 with the aim of inc­rea­sing the att­rac­ti­ve­ness
of mec­ha­ni­sed har­ves­ting, especially in young people’s eyes. The Foun­da­tion
also sup­ports research and deve­lop­ment rela­ted to mec­ha­ni­sed har­ves­ting, as well as industry trai­ning and educa­tion, both in Fin­land and inter­na­tio­nally. The Foun­da­tion can also reward indi­vi­duals who have become shown merit especially in cut-to-length har­ves­ting.

“Work done in mec­ha­ni­sed har­ves­ting should be rai­sed to the fore, as today the work of mac­hine ope­ra­tors is very deman­ding. The advanced tech­no­lo­gies of har­ves­ting
equip­ment, com­bi­ned with strict qua­lity and envi­ron­men­tal requi­re­ments, also require sig­ni­ficant exper­tise from other people enga­ged in the industry, inclu­ding forest mac­hine mec­ha­nics,” said Industrial Coun­sel­lor Einari Vidgrén 20 years ago, desc­ri­bing why he wan­ted to establish the Foun­da­tion. Even after deca­des, this is still rele­vant.

The Foun­da­tion grants scho­lars­hips to stu­dents of Fin­nish forest mac­hine schools each
year. The reci­pients of scho­lars­hips are deci­ded by teac­hers in each school. In addi­tion
to aca­de­mic success, a cri­te­rion for recei­ving a scho­lars­hip is that the stu­dent has a job as a forest mac­hine ope­ra­tor or mec­ha­nic when finis­hing school.

“Over the years, the Foun­da­tion has also expan­ded the cri­te­ria for grants so that inter­na­tio­nal work to pro­mote the cut-to-length met­hod is also recog­ni­sed. Simi­larly, it is
con­si­de­red impor­tant to high­light the work of various orga­ni­sa­tions in pro­mo­ting the forest sec­tor and forest pro­fes­sions,” says Juha Vidgren, Chair of the Foun­da­tion.

The Foun­da­tion distri­bu­ted its first awards on 26 June 2006. The value of the grants and scho­lars­hips awar­ded during these 20 years totals approxi­ma­tely EUR 2.5 mil­lion.

Recog­ni­tions and scho­lars­hips

Einari Award
The Foundation’s main recog­ni­tion of long-term work in the deman­ding har­ves­ting industry.
Einari Recog­ni­tion
Recog­ni­tion of a party enga­ged in research and deve­lop­ment acti­vi­ties in the field of har­ves­ting, a deve­lo­per of educa­tion in the industry or a party that has gene­rally impro­ved the industry’s awa­re­ness and apprecia­tion.
Einari Ope­ra­tor Award
Recog­ni­tion awar­ded to meri­ted forest mac­hine ope­ra­tors for high-qua­lity work and atti­tude as well as good coo­pe­ra­tion with forest owners and other sta­ke­hol­ders.
Einari Scho­lars­hips
A scho­lars­hip for stu­dents in the field of forest mac­hi­nes who are finis­hing school. In addi­tion to aca­de­mic success, a cri­te­rion for recei­ving a scho­lars­hip is that the gra­dua­ting stu­dent has a job as a forest mac­hine ope­ra­tor or tech­nician.
Glo­bal CTL
Recog­ni­tion of pro­mo­ting Cut-To-Length har­ves­ting met­hod inter­na­tio­nally.