International career stories from Ponsse

Where in the world has Ponsse sent its employees to work? Get to know five Ponsse career stories.

In his free time, Marko Turunen plays American football: he is a linebacker for the Mikkeli Bouncers.

MARKO TURUNEN

AREA SERVICE MANAGER, EASTERN FINLAND / PONSSE PLC, MIKKELI, FINLAND

Marko Turunen’s first role at Ponsse was as a summer employee in Mikkeli’s service centre back in 2005. After a few years with the company, Turunen mentioned to his supervisor that he would be interested in working abroad as well.

“I got a phone call from a co-worker in 2013, and he asked if I would like to go for a threemonth-long trip to Brazil. That rather short trip turned into four years”, Marko says.

The original purpose of the trip was to go to Brazil and train the locals on how Ponsse’s harvester heads peel eucalyptus better. During Marko’s trip to Brazil, a Full Service project was launched which Marko was asked to join.

“Along with the new Full Service customer, we established a new location in Brazil in Ipantiga. Almost immediately, close to a hundred local employees were hired. Most of my time was spent working in that project, as well as with other Full Service-related tasks,” shares Marko. He returned to Finland in 2017.

“Working abroad taught me patience and perseverance. I also learned a new language. I learned how to look at the bigger perspective, and of course, the journey to Brazil taught me how things are done elsewhere. All of this is important in my current role.”

“The best part about working at Ponsse is the great atmosphere and the fact that the company wants to develop constantly,” Turunen says.

”It is important to be open to a new culture, customs and people to be able to integrate,” Pekka Terävä says.

PEKKA TERÄVÄ

SPARE PARTS MANAGER / PONSSE S.A.S, PEYRET LE CHÂTEAU, FRANCE

It was in the late 90s in Finland that Pekka Terävä noticed a job posting in a newspaper. Quite quickly, he found himself working as a mechanic in France for Ponsse. Pekka was first to be hired to work for a year in France, but the trip grew longer and longer. Now over two decades have passed.

Today Pekka works as a spare parts manager in central France, at Peyrat le Chateau. Pekka says that it is important to be open to a new culture, customs and people to be able to integrate. ”At the beginning, learning French was difficult. But I managed to learn a new language while working and living in France,” Pekka recalls and adds that the Finnish accent can still be recognised in his speech, but it’s not an issue he gets along well and is understood in French.

A big factor for staying in France was family. In France, Pekka met his wife and eventually their family grew bigger, with two boys. The older son is now an adult and works for Ponsse as well.

“Every day is different in the role of a spare parts manager,” shares Pekka. He travels monthly between different Ponsse locations in France. Different events and partnerships also bring variety to his work. The Ponsse spirit is important to Pekka. People work together, and everyone can have an impact on their own work.

”Even though Ponsse is a big company these days, the family business feel is still there, as is the Ponsse spirit – those are the things I like most about this company,” notes Pekka.

Eeva-Liisa Salonen and her husband Jouni in Salida, Colorado in the summer of 2021.

EEVA-LIISA SALONEN

SALES COORDINATOR / PONSSE NORTH AMERICA, COBURG, OREGON

Eeva-Liisa Salonen has been on her Ponsse journey for over 26 years, of which 19 years was at Ponsse North America. It all started back in 1995 when Eeva-Liisa’s then-boyfriend Jouni Viitikka was asked to start the parts and service center in Rhinelander, Wisconsin for Ponsse – and Eeva-Liisa was asked to come along.

“We had to start everything from scratch! There was just an empty space without electricity, phone lines, furniture, parts, and so on,” recalls Eeva-Liisa.

A few years later, Ponsse’s journey took them to Sweden, then to Ponsse’s dealer A.L.P.A Equipment in Canada, then to Finland, back to Rhinelander in 2006, and finally, in 2016, to Coburg, Oregon.

Eeva-Liisa enjoys her independent job as a sales coordinator. It’s an interesting mix of dealing with brokers, shipowners, truckers, and of course, with our customers and salespeople.

Even though life has been in the States for almost two decades now, Eeva-Liisa returns to Finland regularly.

“We usually spend our summer holidays remodelling our lakeside summer house in Finland, and we sometimes even have a few moments for relaxing.”

“Working at Ponsse feels likebeing a member of a big family!” Felipe says.

FELIPE CERPA

TECHNICAL SUPPORT SPECIALIST & SERVICE TRAINER / PONSSE PLC, IISALMI, FINLAND

Felipe Cerpa’s story aligned with Ponsse in 2014 when he was working for a Ponsse dealer in Chile. He worked in after-sales and took care of training and technical support. One day he got a hint from a friend to apply for a job – which was based in Finland!

“The reason I applied is because I really like the Ponsse environment, the concept that the customer comes first, the values of the company and the opportunity to develop in my career while enjoying what I do every day,” Felipe recalls.

Felipe accepted the work offer and a few steps later, he moved from Chile to live in Iisalmi, Finland with his wife and two young children. This was in the autumn of 2021.

Now he works as a technical support specialist and service trainer for Ponsse. In his work, he enjoys solving problems with his team and having the opportunity to work with different people from many different locations.

“The Ponsse spirit and customer closeness are very important to me. Working at Ponsse feels like being a member of a big family!”

Diana Olkowski with her husband Matt.

DIANA OLKOWSKI

MARKETING MANAGER / PONSSE NORTH AMERICA, RHINELANDER, WISCONSIN

Diana Olkowski has worked for Ponsse since 2006. She joined the Ponsse team right after her graduation from Finlandia University, which is located in Hancock, Michigan, USA. She also became familiar with Finland during her studies as she studied in Jyväskylä during her junior year in college.

“I still have some distant relatives in Finland. My grandparents spoke fluent Finnish, and I’m very proud of my Finnish heritage. My dream growing up was to work for a Finnish company in the USA, and Ponsse made that dream happen,” she continues.

She currently works as a marketing manager for Ponsse North America.

“My husband also works for Ponsse, so we are a true Ponsse family,” Diana, who is also a mother of three boys, says with pride. While working for Ponsse, Diana has travelled for work to several countries.

“I’ve travelled to Finland many times while working for Ponsse for meetings, customer trips and media visits. I’ve also travelled to Sweden, Estonia, Spain, Portugal and Canada while working for Ponsse.”

“Ponsse really does have a lot of great people working for them. Ponsse also treats its employees well, so the respect goes both ways,” shares Diana,, who has been working for Ponsse for 16 years.

Want to join the Ponsse team?

Check out our job openings at career.ponsse.com