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Business Finland funding boosts product development of Ponsse and Epec

Forest machine manufacturer Ponsse and technology company Epec believe that the emissions and environmental impact of mobile work machines can be significantly reduced with new technology. In the field of mobile work machines, there are several development targets towards sustainable development.

Business Finland has granted EUR 10 million in funding to Ponsse’s FORWARD’27 programme in its challenge competition for leading companies. The funding is used to accelerate the product development of mobile work machines.

The aim of Ponsse’s FORWARD’27 programme is to significantly reduce emissions from mobile work machines, reduce their energy consumption and improve productivity. Improving operator working conditions with auxiliary functions and automation are also among the key components of the programme.

“Ponsse aims to be a technological pioneer in CTL forest machines and it aims at producing carbon neutral, sustainable and increasingly competitive solutions. With funding granted by Business Finland to leading companies, we can accelerate our development of sustainable and digital solutions for mobile work machines,” says Juho Nummela, Ponsse’s president and CEO.

In addition, Business Finland has granted EUR 20 million in funding to the ecosystem companies associated with the programme.

Towards sustainable mobile work machines

Ponsse and Epec will implement the FORWARD’27 together and will invest more than EUR 25 million to developing sustainable mobile work machines in the next few years.

The companies will create an extensive ecosystem around the development work. The first partners have already been selected.

“Epec innovates and develops technological solutions for future work machines to enable zero emission. The joint competence of Ponsse and Epec develops continuously and FORWARD’27 programme will take our abilities even further. The group of companies and partners included in the ecosystem created also play a key part”, says Jyri Kylä-Kaila, Epec’s managing director.