Ponsse Celebrates 15th Year in Brazil: Innovative Solutions are Developed with Customers

Ponsse is celebrating 15 years of operation in Brazil. The company has been serving its customers in Brazil with more than 300 employees at 11 different sites across the country.

Excellent production capacity and potential growth of cultivated forests were the main reasons that took Ponsse to Brazil in the first place. The area’s possibilities are still attracting the Finnish forest machine manufacturer.

The 15-year journey is filled with success stories and product development. The company has been able to distinguish itself through sustainable solutions that meet the requirements of local customers.

“It wasn’t an easy task to start operations in a huge market, where Ponsse’s major competitors are already present. After 15 years, we have secured our position in the market area: we keep growing and learning together with our customers and partners,“ says Ponsse Latin America Ltda’s managing diretor Fernando Campos.

Ponsse’s years in Brazil have accelerated the R&D of forest machines. Market demand in the area creates opportunities for the forest machine manufacturer to develop new solutions.

Ponsse Established itself in a Central Location

The company’s story in Brazil began in 2006, when a factory was established in Mogi das Cruzes. The factory focused on manufacturing harvester heads suitable for harvesting eucalyptus. The country’s biggest timber producers are in the vicinity.

The operations changed in 2008, and Ponsse concentrated its harvester head production in Finland. Regardless of the changes, Ponsse rooted itself in Mogi das Cruzes, a strategic location close to São Paolo. An industrial area was built in the vicinity to support operations.

At the Brazilian market Ponsse has large industrial customers with PONSSE Full Service agreements and they need versatile solutions.

“Machines run about 5000 hours per year, around the clock every day of the week. The operations demand a strong service network near the customers. On top of Ponsse’s industrial customers, together with our partners in Brazil, Timber and Sotreq, we can support the different sized companies and loggers,” Campos says.

Since 2006, more than 800 Ponsse forest machines and harvester heads have been supplied to customers in Brazil. The market area has seen major investments in recent years, and fast-growing forests are certainly meeting the needs of the pulp industry. Managing director Fernando Campos says that the promising development in the cultivated wood sector in Brazil strengthens the country’s position across the globe.

“Sustainable alternatives intended for the consumer sector are based on renewable resources. We are following this development and creating solutions that are more responsible than ever and meet the strict requirements in the sector.”

Steep Slopes in Brazil have Promoted Ponsse's Product Development

The PONSSE Synchrowinch solution has been developed further with customers. The solution offers new possibilities for harvesting steep slopes. Harvesters and forwarders can be used on steep slopes which previously were harvested manually or with semi-mechanical systems.In addition, productivity and safety are improved with other solutions such as the inclination leveler of the crane stand, sliding boom crane and eight driving wheels.

Compared to other international sites, operations in the area are very intense. A lot of useful data and details about the performance of the devices are received from Brazil. This is accelerating the development of even more efficient solutions to tackle practical needs in the network.

The Brazilian market and customers’ wishes also advanced the development of the PONSSE H9 harvester head. More than 75 per cent of commercially cultivated wood in Brazil is eucalyptus (Source: Brazilian Tree Industry Ibá, 2020). Growing demand for debarked wood has increased the need for harvester heads that can strip the bark from trees and provide high-quality wood for industry. The H9 harvester head can handle various cultivated tree species in large numbers.

The capacity of the Ponsse Elephant King forwarder was initially increased to meet the needs of the Brazilian market.