FOREST machine manufacturer Logset is celebrating after 2019 was deemed a record-breaking year. Turnover was €48.0 million (up on €40.1 million in 2018) and the operating profit landed on €2.5 million (up from €1.6 million in 2018) – both record numbers for the company.

During 2019, Logset invested in growth and developing its distribution network, establishing a subsidiary named Logset Inc in Ottawa, Canada. Three employees moved from Finland to Canada to get the business started. Also, Logset established a sales company in Sweden named Logset Sverige Filial. The sales company is responsible for the sales in southern Sweden and Denmark, as well as supporting all dealers in Scandinavia.

Logset and Pesa CAT deepened their cooperation in Brazil by including two new Brazilian states to the Pesa CAT sales area. The market areas that developed the most globally were Canada, the USA, Brazil and Spain, as well as the Czech Republic and United the Kingdom.

In 2019, Logset launched the medium-sized hybrid harvester model Logset 8H GTE Hybrid and expanded the Stage V engine family to machines under 130 kW. During the year, the hybrid harvester won two significant prizes. In France it was selected as the Forest Machine of the Year and in Austria the machine won a prize for innovation.

However, Logset said that during the first months of 2020, the market situation has clearly weakened. In the beginning of the year it was observed that the demand for forest machines decreased. In Finland, the demand was affected by labour disputes. The global market suffered from the amounts of force-cut timber due to storms in Central Europe and insect damage in North America and Europe.

The price of timber had already dropped before the outbreak of the global coronavirus pandemic. Nevertheless, Logset believes its growth target for 2020 is still within reach, even when taking into account the disturbance in the market.

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