MANUFACTURER Ponsse has reached a significant milestone - by producing the 20,000th machine at its Finnish base. 

The Bear harvester with H8 harvester head recently rolled off the production line in Vieremä and will head to work in the Norwegian woods for two long-term customers. 

Harald and Gunnar Evju have been using Ponsse for several decades, with the new harvester becoming their eighth machine from the household name and fifth Bear. 

Harald bought his first Ponsse HS 15 in 1996. He already started working in the forest with a chainsaw in 1978, and his first harvester was a Logman, bought in 1993. In 2001, the brothers bought their first forest machine together. It was a Ponsse Ergo with six wheels and an H73 harvester head.

Their company, Lågen Skogsdrift, is based in the south of Norway. 

“It’s great to see that machine number 20,000 is coming to Norway and to a customer with whom we have good and long cooperation," Carl-Henrik Hammar, managing director Ponsse AB and Ponsse AS, said. "Our market here in Norway is growing, and this year will be a new record year.

"The Bear harvester is an impressive machine – and now even more so with its new H8 harvester head. This contributes to our strength in the most demanding harvesting operations in Norway." 

Tom Sundby, Ponsse AS salesman, south and west Norway, said: “Thank you for your trust from my side, too.

"We delivered the first PONSSE Bear harvester to Harald and Gunnar in January 2008, and this machine we are handing over today is their fifth PONSSE Bear. 

 “I think Harald could be the person in Norway who has cut the most timber in his working life. He has cut something between 1.1 and 1.2 million cubic metres so far." 

The news comes at a time of uncertainty for staff at Ponsse's Finnish home. As we have reported, due to a drop in demand, workers will have to take forced layoffs next year of no more than 90 days at a time.