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Trimble Forestry acquires Fifth Element

March 10, 2015 - Trimble announced that it has acquired privately-held Fifth Element, a leader in forestry enterprise and mobile software solutions for logistics and harvest operations.  Based in Espoo, Finland, Fifth Element expands Trimble Forestry's presence in Northern Europe, one of the largest forestry regions globally.

Financial terms were not disclosed. 

Fifth Element provides integrated, scalable software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions to some of the largest global forestry companies. The product portfolio includes:

LogForce™ solution:  An enterprise-wide planning and logistics solution designed to plan delivery of remote roadside inventory stock. Hauling companies benefit through visibility of all available roadside inventories from multiple providers enabling them to plan efficient, cost-effective delivery schedules and fulfill delivery orders consistently. 

WoodForce™ solution:  Will provide remote inventory location and availability data to forest management companies through integration with on-board harvesting and forwarder machine telematics, as well as human resource management through mobile inspection and planning apps. The solution is expected to be available in the third quarter of 2015.  

Fifth Element addresses the challenges of tracking and delivery of remote forest inventory and creates backhaul opportunities for hauling companies to reduce costly empty travel miles. A common platform is leveraged to manage remote inventories, which allows hauling companies to provide services to many forestry companies without having to change systems.

"By adding Fifth Element solutions to Trimble's Forestry portfolio, we can better address operational forestry challenges around the world," said Ken Moen, general manager for Trimble's Forestry Division. "Trimble's enterprise forest management solutions are used by some of the largest landowners and wood consumers in the world. Our fundamental focus is to provide solutions that drive integration of business data, improve efficiency and provide better visibility into forest operations to maximize productivity and profitability."

"Joining Trimble is a great opportunity. The addition of Fifth Element's solutions to Trimble's portfolio extends our collective ability to deliver more powerful and robust forestry solutions," said Jukka Sonninen, CEO and co-founder of Fifth Element. "In addition, we can leverage Trimble's international footprint to extend our global reach in the industry. As part of Trimble, the commitment to our customers remains unchanged as we continue to deliver best-in-class solutions and services."

Fifth Element complements Trimble's Connected Forest strategy through the addition of advanced logistics and harvesting solutions, which are key components in the lifecycle of a working forest. Trimble's Connected Forest enables better decision making at every step from the forest to mill, from land acquisition to product delivery, by combining industry-specialized software and state-of-the-art hardware into solutions for land, forest and fibre management. As part of the Connected Forest, Trimble's enterprise forest management solutions can help organizations analyze options and priorities, optimally allocate resources, track progress and provide sound results for management.

March 10, 2015  By  Andrew Macklin