Harri Toit­tu­ri’s career isn’t easy to sum­ma­rise. He has stu­died to mar­ke­ting and res­tau­rant cate­ring, but hasn’t wor­ked in eit­her fields. At Ponsse, he has wor­ked in spare parts and mac­hine deli­very, and he cur­rently recei­ves mac­hine orders from around the world. Howe­ver, cus­to­mers and sales­people know him best as the host of trade shows, fac­tory visits and hunts.

”“In 1995, a friend asked me to help move the spare parts ware­house for two weeks. Two weeks became 30 years. I’ve never applied for any posi­tion but have been asked if I
would do this or that. And I’ve never refused.”

From spare parts, the job led to the mac­hine deli­very of forest mac­hi­nes lea­ving the fac­tory and then to the actual export sales of spare parts. In recent years, he has
been recei­ving orders coming to the fac­tory.

“For example, when a pri­vate dea­ler orders a mac­hine, the order must be chec­ked to ensure it doesn’t con­tain impos­sible equip­ment com­bi­na­tions, deficiencies or other oddi­ties. Then a sui­table place is found for the mac­hine in the pro­duc­tion queue. “In principle, new orders always go to the end of the queue. When the mac­hine is comple­ted, it is mar­ked for invoicing and recor­ded in the main­te­nance and spare
parts sys­tems, for example.

Toit­turi lived in Swe­den as a child, which gave him strong lan­guage skills. These skills have been use­ful in the export sales of spare parts, recei­ving orders and hos­ting visits.

“The cus­to­mers are the same as before, but the con­ver­sa­tions have chan­ged. In the past, eve­nings were spent asking very detai­led ques­tions about mac­hi­nes and tech­no­logy. Nowa­days, the con­ver­sa­tion revol­ves more around com­pa­ring work and
con­di­tions as cus­to­mers share expe­riences with each other. If neces­sary, I act as an interpre­ter and answer ques­tions about Ponsse.”

At the Club­house, they often eat elk shot by Harri

Guest groups are often ser­ved elk at the club­house din­ners. The kitc­hen staff always jokes to the guests that the elk was shot by Harri, especially if Harri is the host. Some­ti­mes the elk really has been shot by Toit­turi – but not always.

“Foreign cus­to­mers are brought here for elk hun­ting, and Finns are taken abroad to hunt wild boar, deer, roe deer and bears. Trans­port, accom­mo­da­tion, food and even wea­pons are arran­ged for those who come here. The meat stays here, but the trophy is sent to the shoo­ter. We’ve orga­ni­sed many hunts, but only twice has there been no catch.”

Toit­turi also fis­hes and hunts on his own and spends time in nature. His sum­mer cot­tage is less than two kilo­met­res from the Ponsse fac­tory, and his home is less than 200 met­res away.