Ponsse on logging sites for 40 yearsfOr ThE irON haNdSiT’S ThE aTTiTudE ThaT cOuNTSPonsse still employs many staff members who have contributed to the company's successsince its inception. A trio working at the welding shop, for instance, represents a perfectexample of the kind of employee Einari liked to talk about: "Our success is based onhaving the right people in the right places." All three men can boast a 25–40-year career atPonsse and a few years more in terms of life experience. And still they continue to have adisposition towards life and work that many would do well to emulate.28Ponsse <strong>News</strong> 1 • <strong>2011</strong>
Ponsse on logging sites for 40 yearsThE PicTurE Of hEalThThe senior member of the team, Osmo Saastamoinen,has worked at Ponsse for nearly40 years, Aimo Ruotsalainen for 30 years andthe novice of the team, Kalevi Tikkanen, for25 years. Although a welder's work has, particularlyin the past, entailed heavy labour, itdoes not seem to have left its mark on thesemen. Or, at the very least, it will not be easyfor you to get these three jovial natives of theSavo region to admit to any such thing. Noneof the three has spent more than a few dayson sick-leave throughout their entire careers.The sceptic needs to seek verification fromthe supervisor."It's true. I don't think Kalevi's 25-year careerincludes a single day of sick leave. Aimohas had two short periods of being away sickduring a career spanning three decades andOsmo's 40 years of service for the companyhave included only a few days of sick leave,"says Ilkka Toitturi, the supervisor of the weldingshop, and himself a nearly 20-year veteranat Ponsse.The secret of such health may largely residein the men's positive outlook on life;something an outsider can spot immediately."If the job was still similar to what it wasa little more than twenty years ago, I'm sureour health would have suffered. But nowadaysthe tools are good, air conditioning takes careof welding gases and occupational health requirementsare followed to the letter. Thework can't get any cleaner than this," claimsAimo Ruotsalainen, who works on the frontframe welding line, with a slight twinkle inhis eye.Kalevi Tikkanen, who also works on weldingfront frames, confesses that on manyoccasions in the past one's health was safeguardedby sheer luck."<strong>In</strong> the past, the frames were suspendedon trammels during welding and movedaround with bridge cranes. The risk was considerable.Now the frames are welded on theline with remote-controlled welder's jig/conveyorsets designed specifically for that purposeand the welding is done using a robot."Osmo Saastamoinen's current job is to workas the so-called robot operator of the weldingrobot. The men do not frown upon the partialtransfer of duties to the robot.According to the group of three, havingthe heavy labour done by the robot has beena relief: keeping up with the competition andrunning long weld seams is demanding, evenfor experienced welders."For the most part, health is really a questionof taking care of oneself and one's basicfitness. <strong>In</strong> addition to physical fitness, onealso has to have goals and a healthy lifestyle.Work itself, of course, forms a part of an individual'shappiness," says Kalevi Tikkanen.He used to spend his leisure time skiingand on track and field sports, nowadays hishobbies include weight-lifting on the nationalchampionship level for seniors. According toAimo Ruotsalainen, he keeps physically activemainly for his own pleasure and concentratesmainly on jogging. After a little prodding,however, he modestly admits to havingaccumulated some 7,000 km on his bicycleduring 2009, for instance, when lay-offs lefthim with more time on his hands. OsmoSaastamoinen used to play badminton, butnowadays he prefers jogging and skiing.TEam SPiriT iS ThE kEy – rEGardlESS OfThE jOBLengthy careers have naturally entailed a colourfularray of experiences, but team spirithas always helped the men pull through."We did have our work cut out for us duringthe early days of Ponsse. At the time ofthe first machinery plant, the pipes could befrozen when you came to work in the morningand you'd have to start the day by gearingup the iron heater stove. Once it even blew upwhen we ended up throwing too much woodin there in our enthusiasm to get warm. Duringquiet periods, when business was slow,we passed the time by making hay for Einari'shorses, among other things," recalls OsmoSaastamoinen. The long periods of temporarydismissals and staff reductions in 2009 representeda serious lesson to the whole company.But in the same breath the trio is mindfulof how one has to pull through in hard times.A sense of humour is what helped the menovercome the most recent difficulties.It would be safe to say that we are all proudof our professional skills, say the men. We areso-called first generation iron hands in the regionof Ylä-Savo. Nowadays, the region of Ylä-Savo is known for a strong competence in themetal industry and back in the day we werecommitted to making the region the strongholdof an industrial job pool. We didn't havea lot of options around these parts then. If theagricultural sector could not support you, youeither had to go away to study somewhere elseor get a job in the industrial sector.But what is it that has kept the men loyal toone employer all these years? The small turnoverof employees at Ponsse is not explainedaway merely by the traditionally long employmentrelationships in the region.According to the trio, one of the factorswhich really motivates is the excellent dailyflow of information. "The staff needs to beaware of what they are expected to do and ofhow the company is doing. Otherwise thepulling together part just does not work,"adds one of them."Also, one is not too keen to change jobs ifhe is surrounded by a good crew and attachedto that community," says Aimo Ruotsalainen.maTTi hilTuNEN iN ThE SErVicE Of<strong>PONSSE</strong> fOr 40 yEarSMatti Hiltunen has worked for Ponsse for40 years. To be precise, he started workingfor the company as a machinist on 1 December1970, and is still a machinist today. Theduties of a machinist have changed considerablyas technology has developed overtime. <strong>In</strong> the early years, tasks were carriedout at a manual lathe, whereas nowadaysMatti uses a fully automated machiningcentre.When Matti started at Ponsse in the 70s,the company had fewer than ten employees.However, according to Matti, there is somethingthat still remains unchanged: ”Ponssehas always appreciated the working man.Employees have been respected and theirvoice has been heard. My sincere wish isthat this will always be the Ponsse way ofworking," says Matti.Ponsse rewarded Matti Hiltunen for his40-year career with a trip to China and anintroduction to the local operations.Ponsse <strong>News</strong> 1 • <strong>2011</strong> 29
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