Steady growth in Sweden, Norway and Denmark for several decades
The committed staff and comprehensive service network in Sweden, Norway and Denmark have developed over the years to respond to customers’ needs. Anniversaries in Sweden and Norway are celebrated according to the Ponsse way – with customers!
Ponsse Sweden 30 years
This year, Ponsse’s subsidiary in Sweden will celebrate its 30th anniversary on the forest machine market. Managing Director Carl-Henrik Hammar has held the reins of Ponsse’s operations in Sweden for the last nine years. He says
that the forest machine market and industry have changed along the years.
“There were not many PONSSE forest machines in Sweden when the company
was established in 1994. Our market share has grown steadily ever since. For the last three decades, we have slowly but surely built and strengthened the Ponsse brand,” Hammar says.
Seeking to provide first-rate service
During the last decade, the company has focused on its service network and the smooth delivery of spare parts.
“When I started here at Ponsse AB, we only had two service centers. Now we have eight, and we also work with 17 service dealers across the country. Our head office is in Surahammar, and we already have 73 Ponsse employees in Sweden. Improving our service network has been one of our priorities, along with spare parts logistics.”
Hammar adds that, alongside our service offering, products are still at the core of Ponsse’s operations.
“We should not forget the importance of excellent products. Our machines undergo continuous development to ensure their reliability and technical performance.”
There are roughly a thousand PONSSE forest machines in Sweden, and significant growth is expected, as it is the world’s largest market for cut-to-length forest machines.
“Sweden’s forest industry is fairly stable, and we expect the forest machine market to grow. We also aim to improve our service network further. The network’s coverage has been improved during the last ten years, and now we seek to provide the best service in the industry for our customers,” Hammar says.
“Developing services in Sweden, Norway and Denmark is important to us. We also have a large machine stock in Denmark, and our service dealers keep customers’ machines up and running,” Hammar says in summary.
Celebrating the anniversary with customers
We want to celebrate our 30-year journey with the people who have made it possible – our customers. In celebration of our anniversary, we will host the two-day Ponsse Show Sweden event on 14 and 15 June. The event will feature forest machine demonstrations, evening activities and possibly a few surprises.
Ponsse Norway 25 years
Ponsse’s Norwegian subsidiary was established in 1998. Its head office in Kongsvinger in Southern Norway is home to 14 employees who serve customers in cooperation with seven service dealers across the country.
Celebrating with customers
The 20,000th PONSSE forest machine completed at the Vieremä factory at the end of last year was delivered to Lågen Skogsdrift AS in Norway. The PONSSE Bear machine equipped with the PONSSE H8 harvester head was received by brothers Harald and Gunnar Evju, owners of Lågen Skogsdrift AS. The company is based in Svarstad in the south of Norway.
Ponsse Norway’s anniversary was celebrated with Lågen Skogsdfrift and Ponsse’s
people in Vieremä.
“We have served customers in Norway for 25 years now. We have grown with our customers and gained a fairly large market share. Our service dealers are close to customers, and we have incredibly committed staff,” says Carl-Henrik Hammar, Managing Director of Ponsse AB and Ponsse AS.
The company’s sense of community and forest machines inspired Jan Erling Yri to start as a Country Manager
“I have always found forest machines interesting and considered Ponsse an innovative and advanced company. When I saw that Ponsse was looking for a Country Manager in Norway, I thought that I could be the right choice. As I have understood thus far, the company’s communal, customer-driven and down-to-earth approach is at the core of daily activities,” says Jan Erling Yri, Country Manager of Ponsse AS.
Currently, there are some 350 PONSSE machines in Norway, Scorpion Giant and Elephant King representing the majority. According to Yri, the popularity of Scorpion Giant in Norway is based on its ability to operate on steep slopes and its versatility in challenging terrain conditions. When it comes to the properties of Elephant King, Norwegian customers think highly of the machine’s operations in difficult and steep terrain, as well as its excellent performance.
“Norwegian customers appreciate, above all, the performance, reliability and flexibility of PONSSE machines. According to feedback given by contractors, Ponsse’s machines are also economical,” Yri says.
Yri will learn more about the forest industry and pave the way for the company towards even better growth.
“We expect to maintain and strengthen our position in Norway and increase our presence in new regions that we believe to have sales potential.”
However, Yri’s primary goal is to make Ponsse the leading forest machine company in Norway.
“Even though I cannot wait to learn more about the forest machine industry, my key objective is to make Ponsse – with the excellent employees of Ponsse AS – the preferred partner of forest machine contractors in Norway.”