Accor­ding to his emplo­yer, 29-year-old har­ves­ter ope­ra­tor Antti Kor­ka­lai­nen is a key mem­ber of Rautavaara’s most depen­dable har­ves­ting team. The other mem­bers of the team are Antti’s brot­hers Veeti and Eelis.

Somet­hing in the forest air must have rub­bed off on the seven Kor­ka­lai­nen siblings, as four of them have ended up wor­king in fore­stry, speci­fically as forest mac­hine ope­ra­tors. Their fat­her works as a log­ger, and Antti recalls tag­ging along to the forest as a young boy to help make firewood.

After finis­hing secon­dary school, Antti hea­ded to Toi­vala to study fore­stry. His goal was clear from the start: he wan­ted to be a har­ves­ter ope­ra­tor. He secu­red a work place­ment with his cur­rent emplo­yer, Koneu­ra­kointi Luk­ka­ri­nen, during his stu­dies, and has remai­ned with the com­pany for ten years since gra­dua­ting. He still tho­roughly enjoys the job, as Antti desc­ri­bes it as an inte­res­ting and inde­pen­dent pro­fes­sion.

Inde­pen­dence is also emp­ha­si­sed by Antti’s brot­hers Veeti, 25, and Eelis, 22. For them, the best parts of the job are the oppor­tu­nity to work in the peace and quiet of the forest, and the free­dom to do their work wit­hout someone cons­tantly watc­hing over their shoul­der.

The brot­hers recom­mend the industry especially to those who enjoy inde­pen­dent work and nature.

Veeti and Eelis both gra­dua­ted from Val­timo as forwar­der ope­ra­tors, Veeti in 2019 and Eelis in 2022. They both comple­ted their work place­ments at Koneu­ra­kointi Luk­ka­ri­nen and stayed on with the com­pany after gra­dua­ting. Accor­ding to the brot­hers, they had a very posi­tive expe­rience during their place­ments: gui­dance was always rea­dily avai­lable, and the emplo­yer didn’t expect too much too soon, allowing them the time to learn at their own pace.

The Kor­ka­lai­nens are highly prai­sed for the qua­lity of their work. Accor­ding to their emplo­yer, both forest owners and part­ners frequently request their speci­fic har­ves­ting team time and time again. Antti belie­ves that the sec­ret to their success comes down to atti­tude and a genuine inte­rest in the work. Accor­ding to him, what mat­ters most is to always strive for a high stan­dard of work and do your best.

Accor­ding to his emplo­yer, Antti excels at hand­ling even the most chal­len­ging sites, where a keen eye for envi­ron­men­tal res­pon­si­bi­lity is requi­red. He is known for acti­vely obser­ving sen­si­tive natu­ral sites.

The entire Kor­ka­lai­nen team is also highly com­men­ded by their emplo­yer for their res­pon­sible envi­ron­men­tal approach. Veeti and Eelis handle even the most deman­ding ter­rain with great care, kee­ping rut­ting to a mini­mum.

With the right atti­tude and strong moti­va­tion, not even the sea­so­nal fluc­tua­tions typical of the forest industry seem to bot­her the brot­hers. Win­ter days can be hec­tic and run late. Eelis notes that as win­ter is all about wor­king hard, taking a couple of weeks off in the spring and autumn feels like a welcome pause rat­her than a problem.

Koneu­ra­kointi Luk­ka­ri­nen is based in Lapin­lahti and pro­vi­des fore­stry ser­vices across the Upper Savo region. The Kor­ka­lai­nens’ sites are mainly loca­ted in Rau­ta­vaara and the sur­roun­ding areas, as well as in Nil­siä, Kaavi and Var­pais­järvi.