Delivering world-leading forestry machinery – and a service to match! – Ponsse Machines Ireland continues to go from strength to strength, with steady growth recorded over the past six years. We popped into their County Laois HQ and interrupted Marketing and Account co-ordinator Louise Jones’ busy schedule to get an update.
Ponsse manufactures the most technologically-advanced, sustainable and robust forwarders and harvesters on the market, with a strong presence in forests across the island of Ireland. Since its inception in 2017, Ponsse Machines Ireland has been serving the needs of an ever-expanding customer base, consistently offering Irish forestry contractors access to a full suite of services (sales, service, parts and repairs) for this internationally-renowned, industry-leading range of forestry machines.
Marketing and Account co-ordinator Louise Jones is pleased to report that Ponsse Machines Ireland are experiencing increased demand for their products and services. “Over the past six years, Ponsse Machines Ireland has grown at a steady pace. We opened the doors in 2017 and both customer and machine fleet numbers have expanded more and more each year. We started with just two members of staff and now we have ten, which accurately reflects the increase in demand throughout the years.”
The Ponsse business is forever looking forward and moving forward, not just in Ireland but all around the world. This is due to both the exceptional service levels provided and the constant improvement of the machines themselves as the Finnish manufacturer invests heavily in the crucial areas of innovation, R&D and of course sustainability.
“Ponsse as a company will always adapt to change and develop with the customers. We focus heavily on R&D, Health & Safety and sustainability (carbon footprint). The future for Ponsse looks bright in Ireland and worldwide.
“With the effects of climate change and its impact on the environment, Ponsse want to do their bit for the environment and for the forestry industry going forward. The EV1 concept was a great success and Ponsse will be growing and developing further with considerations for our carbon footprint and the environment.”
The forward-thinking, award-winning Ponsse EV1 is an electric forest machine technology concept developed by Ponsse in conjunction with its technology company Epec. It was launched in August 2022 and will be commercially available soon. Epec’s technology can already be used in electric or hybrid-electric commercial vehicles and non-road mobile machines.
The Ponsse EV1 concept took its first steps in 2019 when Ponsse and Epec began to investigate responsible power source solutions in line with sustainable development. Featuring Epec Flow (Epec’s electromobility system solution), the concept was developed by a team whose work is strongly linked to promoting the green transition and ensuring the competitiveness of the Finnish mobile work machine industry.
Ponsse has been successfully researching and developing innovative technology solutions for several years and the Ponsse EV1 technology concept is part of a tangible step towards the ultimate goal of carbon neutrality.
Ponsse is of course synonymous with the iconic, operator-friendly Scorpion – a real beast of a harvester. The design of the Ponsse Scorpion focuses on the operator, who is literally the centre point of the machine. The cabin is located in the middle of the machine, making it easier to see its extremities when working at dense thinning sites. What is more, the operator is situated in the middle of the cabin’s turning radius: when the cabin turns, the operator does not feel like he / she is on a carousel.
This has a significant impact on comfort and wellbeing at work. The unique crane solution offers excellent visibility in every direction. Good visibility on both sides of the cabin enables efficiency without any limits. The operator can select trees and felling directions and place trees into piles efficiently, resulting in optimal harvesting quality.
When launched in 2013, the Scorpion changed the forest machine industry. Today, the improved Ponsse Scorpion offers outstanding visibility in both daylight and low light, high stability in difficult conditions and excellent ergonomics, making it a firm favourite among operators. Increased space, high-quality materials and a stylish design raise the comfort of the machine’s cabin to an entirely new level.
“Our Scorpions are our biggest selling point, they attract many contractors because of the high production rates and the strength of the machine in general,” Louise confirms. “Our Wisent forwarder is also a strong and sturdy machine. Elsewhere, we can see more interest in the Ergo harvester over recent years, which is also really good to see.”
A stable machine for slopes and uneven terrain, the Ponsse Ergo is already a true classic despite its young age. An excellent all-around harvester, it is a stable and ergonomic powerhouse with a growing reputation for reliability, comfort and performance.
A proactive company, Ponsse is at the cutting edge of the forestry industry when it comes to developing new technologies and products. “In recent months, we have had a few product launches, such as the Scorpion Giant harvester, the Mammoth forwarder, the new H8 head with multispeed rollers and the 360-degree rotator for harvester heads. The response to all Ponsse product launches is always positive because we take customer feedback very seriously and like the product to live up to customers’ expectations as they are always the forefront of the business,” reveals Louise.
“In relation to the business, Ponsse Machines Ireland has grown in recent years and is moving at a steady pace. Our team has grown from eight members to ten recently, including our Managing Director Gary Glendinning, who is based in the UK but oversees operations in Ireland too. This year alone we have invested in our building here in Emo, adding office space and new bathrooms. We hope to continue with these renovations later on in the year. We would also hope to be in a position to hire more staff in the not-too-distant future.”
Is forestry a growing industry in Ireland these days? “We have noticed in recent years that the industry itself is very busy but there don’t seem to be any new faces working in forestry. We would like to see some of the younger generation becoming involved to help the industry grow.”
The customer is king at Ponsse Machines Ireland, where unbeatable aftersales service is a key part of the overall business model. “Our aftersales is what helps us sell machines, we have a good response rate in service and we put a lot of focus on aftersales,” Louise concludes. “We are committed to offering a memorable service and dedicated to making our customers happy.”
Ponsse Machines Ireland Ltd.,
Unit 3,
Capakeel,
Emo,
Portlaoise,
County Laois.
Tel: 057 8633762
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.ponsse.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/PonsseIreland
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 11 No 5, October/November 2023
