The forest industry is in a chal­len­ging situa­tion. The con­sump­tion of paper, board and pulp has dec­rea­sed in the uncer­tain financial situa­tion, and demand for sawn goods has fal­len as con­struc­tion pro­jects have been sus­pen­ded.

Ope­ra­tions and goals must be straight­forward amidst all the chan­ges and dif­ficul­ties. We need to make deci­sions that are sus­tai­nable in the long term. To keep up with the com­pe­ti­tion, we need to focus on what is impor­tant, make sen­sible invest­ments, and take good care of our emplo­yees and cus­to­mers.

Loo­king ahead when facing chal­len­ges has always come natu­rally to Ponsse. Inves­ting in research and deve­lop­ment and ope­ning the new Epec fac­tory in Sei­nä­joki are good examples of invest­ments reac­hing far into the future. In main­te­nance ser­vices, we are inves­ting in a new ser­vice centre in Cent­ral France, and our dea­ler network is making sig­ni­ficant invest­ments in its ser­vice network.

The inten­si­fied geo­po­li­tical ten­sions have had the most dra­ma­tic impact on the chal­len­ges faced by the forest industry. Expan­ding to new mar­kets used to be prac­tically self-evi­dent, but the world has chan­ged. Examples include our deci­sion to discon­ti­nue our ope­ra­tions in Rus­sia and Bela­rus. We had ope­ra­ted in Russia’s mar­kets for more than 20 years, and the discon­ti­nua­tion had a dras­tic impact on our ope­ra­tions. The deci­sion was a heavy one for the com­pany, both con­si­de­ring our finances and our local per­son­nel. We are now adap­ting to the cur­rent situa­tion. We need to look ahead and seek growth in areas where the ope­ra­ting envi­ron­ment is stable, and busi­ness is sus­tai­nable.

In the Uni­ted Sta­tes, we deve­lo­ped our ope­ra­tions excep­tio­nally by ente­ring into a dea­ler agree­ment with PacWest Mac­hi­nery, inclu­ding the sale of our ser­vice centre in Ore­gon to PacWest. As a result of this part­ners­hip, our main­te­nance ser­vice network expan­ded and we gai­ned new ser­vice cent­res on the West Coast. While we have never made a simi­lar solu­tion before, it was the best pos­sible deci­sion for our cus­to­mers. Through the part­ners­hip, the avai­la­bi­lity of Ponsse’s ser­vices on the West Coast impro­ved, also enabling future growth.

Com­pe­ti­ti­ve­ness is mea­su­red during chal­len­ging times. Ponsse has always been at its best in chal­len­ging situa­tions. Throug­hout our his­tory, we have deve­lo­ped our ope­ra­tions and belie­ved in what we do. In this glo­bal situa­tion as well, I am cer­tain that we are in the cor­rect and growing industry.

We also need to look ahead for the future of our emplo­yees. Our goal is to pro­vide a safe and moti­va­ting work envi­ron­ment for Ponsse’s emplo­yees, in which eve­ry­one has the oppor­tu­nity to improve them­sel­ves and feel well. Every Ponsse emplo­yee is an impor­tant part of our wor­king com­mu­nity.

The com­mon goal of Ponsse’s emplo­yees is to always serve our cus­to­mers bet­ter than before. In the fiercer com­pe­ti­tive situa­tion, our cus­to­mers’ trust in and satis­fac­tion with Ponsse is what mat­ters most. This is at the core of eve­ryt­hing we do.

Jarmo Vidgrén

Chair­man of the Board