Ponsse Oyj is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of forest machines designed for the cut-to-length method. The company is still situated in Vieremä in the same location in which it was established in 1970. The cooperation between S&N Oy and Ponsse began towards the end of the 1970s, and S&N currently supplies all of the cardan shafts that Ponsse needs in its production. Ponsse’s Procurement Manager Tiina Haapalainen says that one of the preconditions for the long partnership has been the ability of S&N’s production to respond to Ponsse’s increasing cardan shaft needs over the years. According to Haapalalinen, Ponsse focuses on the line production of forest machines that are customised for specific customers, which means that the number of variations is high. This also requires a lot of S&N’s product development. At present, S&N supplies thousands of cardan shafts each year for Ponsse’s production activities.
 
Ponsse is one of the leading manufacturers of forest machines in the world. To this day, its customer-oriented operations have been steered by the wishes and needs of forest machine entrepreneurs. S&N, too, adheres to the same customer-oriented principles. Haapalainen emphasises that Ponsse appreciates how well S&N has studied Ponsse’s operations, which ensures smooth production development cooperation with Ponsse, starting from the design of new machines. S&N’s cardan shafts are products that are customised for Ponsse. The shafts are always manufactured according to Ponsse’s production needs and delivered flexibly according to the production programme. S&N supplies cardan shafts to Vieremä for production and as spare parts to the logistics centre in Iisalmi. Thanks to good quality control, S&N’s finished cardan shafts only have a marginal number of quality deviations, in addition to which the security of supply is excellent and there are no unnecessary interruptions in Ponsse’s production, Haapalainen says. This means that S&N is already an essential part of Ponsse’s production chain.
 
“A wide variety of cooperation also takes place in production around the necessary accessories, such as cardan shaft support bearings,” Haapalainen adds. S&N serves as an intermediate storage for Ponsse, which supplies cardan shafts and bearings for forest machine production in a cost efficient and flexible manner. In addition to bearings, S&N provides Ponsse with belts and wiper system components. As a local supplier, S&N can provide the various products needed from one location quickly and easily.
 
“The cooperation between S&N and Ponsse is based on good interpersonal relationships. The key people in each organisation know each other, and it is our shared goal to achieve success in our areas of operation,” Haapalainen says. A good range of products and trusted relationships with customers and partners are operational cornerstones for both Ponsse and S&N Oy, in addition to strong values, committed employees and a long history rich with tradition.