Ponsse Historical Timeline

One of the first machines built by Ponsse.

1970       Local government council in Vieremä, Finland approves by a single vote building a factory hall that will be used by machine entrepreuer Einari Vidgrén. It is completed by the end of the year.

1971       Vidgrén recruits a production manager through an ad in a local newspaper, eventually hiring Jouko Kelppe in February 1971. The first machine is driven out of the factory by Einari in the fall of 1971.

1974       Ponsse premieres in the international market following a massive storm in Germany

1983       Ponsse becomes nationally known with the introduction of the S 15 forwarder, in a class of its own with its cross-terrain performance

1986       Measuring devices are added to harvester grapples

1988       Ponsse ownership is transferred to Interpolator Oy of the SKOP Group; Einari joins board of directors.

1992       Einari receives the Finnish National Inventor Prize awarded by the Ministry of Trade and Industry in recognition of his persistent work in forest machine development

1993       becomes the first forest machine manufacturer in the world with a PC-based measuring device system.

1993       Einari and a group of investors purchases Ponsse back from the SKOP Group

1995       Subsidiaries are established in the United States, France and the UK

2000       30^th anniversary, and launch of machines with Mercedes-Benz engines.

2001       Einari receives a golden medal for merit by the Finnish Forest Association

2003       3,000^th forest machine is manufactured

2004       Einari accepts an award for Ponsse’s achievements in international business operations from the President of Finland

2004       Subsidiary established in Russia

2005       Ponsse Latin America is established in Brazil

2007       Subsidiary established in China

2010       Ponsse celebrates 40^th anniversary

2010       Einari Vidgrén dies in October at the age of 67. Juha Vidgrén elected chairman of the board; the family is company’s primary shareholder owning more than 60%

2012       8,000^th Ponsse forest machine is produced

2015       10,000^th Ponsse machine is produced

2019       U.S. launch of the Cobra harvester in Crandon