Longer life cycles for forestry equipment

Problem

The manufacture and purchase of forest machines involves making large investments. The requirements related to the harvesting of forests and the specifications of forest machinery develop quickly, which means that new machine models are constantly being produced for the markets. New spare parts aren’t always available for older machinery, and even with spare parts they may not always remain up to date. The manufacture of new machines and spare parts uses up a great deal of metals and other resources.

Solution: a customer needs-specific spare-parts range

Ponsse has productised a range of spare parts for various customer needs. In addition to selling new original spare parts, Ponsse’s solution extends the service life of forest machines in three ways: the company offers its customers parts serviced at factories, budget parts and performance packages. Parts that are serviced at factories are used, but have been refurbished so they are as good as new. These are given the same warranty as new parts. Ponsse also sells unserviced, used budget parts at a more affordable price than new parts. And performance packages are larger spare-part packages or ready installation packages that can be used to maintain an older forest machine or update it to meet modern requirements. According to various estimates, factory servicing decreases energy consumption by 50 to 85%, materials use by between 26 and 90% and greenhouse gas emissions by between 46 and 93% compared to the manufacture of new parts.

Revenue logic and benefits for Ponsse

In addition to forest machinery, Ponsse sells its own parts and maintenance packages. Additionally, the company repairs old parts it buys back from its customers so these parts are reusable, and their resale benefits both the company and its customers. The company has authorised suppliers around the world that sell spare parts and maintain the company’s machines. The services offered to customers have been formulated in ready packages which make the work of the global maintenance network easier.

Benefits to customers and end users

A customer can extend a machine’s service life by updating it with performance packages so it is up to date or by purchasing budget parts or parts serviced at factories. The latter make it possible to also offer an extensive range of spare parts for older machines. Additionally, the customer is compensated for old machine parts, which Ponsse buys back from its customers for servicing and resale.