Ponsse Oyj : The President awards Ponsse for internationalisation

Sauli Niinistö, the President of the Republic of Finland, gave Ponsse Plc a
special recognition from the annual Internationalisation Award. The
Internationalisation Award is a recognition granted to Finnish companies that
have gained international success and to the communities behind them. 

The special recognition was based on Ponsse's long-term profitable and
sustainable international growth and modernisation. According to the jury, the
aim was to give this recognition to a company that has had a significant impact
on the success of an entire industry and other companies operating in the same
field and, through its activities, has had a significant long-term impact on
society. 

The special recognition Ponsse received today was granted for the first time to
celebrate the centenary of Finland's independence and the 50th anniversary of
the Internationalisation Award. Ponsse received the President's
Internationalisation Award last time in 2003. The Internationalisation Award
has never before been granted twice to a single company. Since 2015, the
proposal for the companies and communities to be recognised has been made by
the Board of Directors of Team Finland. 


Recognition to the entire industry

- We are extremely proud and humble for this recognition. This means the world
to everyone at Ponsse and our industry,' says Juha Vidgrén, Chairman of the
Board of Directors of Ponsse Plc. 

- It is wonderful that, with regard to this recognition, we can also represent
our customers, forest machine entrepreneurs and all of our stakeholders in the
fields of machine manufacturing, harvesting, training and the forest industry.
This supports the idea Einari Vidgrén, the founder of Ponsse who had limited
educational opportunities as a young man and started his career at logging
sites as a 14-year-old boy, put into words: Alone you can´t reach anything, you
need to surround yourself with good people, Juha Vidgrén continues. 

Ponsse has operated in its birthplace in Vieremä since 1970 and, today, it is
one of the world's largest manufacturers of forest machines based on the
cut-to-length method. The jury stated that Ponsse's story reflects Finland's
growth from an agriculture- and forestry-dominated country into an information
society that fearlessly makes use of digitalisation and the bioeconomy, not
forgetting the company's roots lying deep in forests and its aim to take care
of all members of its community. Einari Vidgrén, the company's founder, was
originally a forest machine entrepreneur, and the company continues to focus on
the needs of contractors. 

The jury also stated that Ponsse has held the reins of its key functions and
kept them closely linked together. In Vieremä, there is a village of partner
companies next to the Ponsse factory where cooperation helps to develop various
expertise and to spread it outside Ponsse. Ponsse is a pioneer in applying
digitalisation, using industrial design and developing service operations. The
jury also stated that Ponsse's operations are notably customer-driven. 

From 2003 to 2016, Ponsse increased its net sales from EUR 150 million to EUR
517 million. Its operations have increased profitably in all of its market
areas. Ponsse has 1,525 employees and it operates actively in 40 countries.
Roughly 77 per cent of its net sales come from exports. 

Further information:
Juha Vidgrén, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ponsse Plc, tel. +358 40
518 6286 
Hetta Huittinen, Communications Manager, Finpro, tel. +358 40 033 9597