Einari Vidgrén Foundation, named after the founder of Ponsse Plc, was established to reward forestry experts. This year in total, the awards amounted to EUR 212,300. The main recognition the Einari Award, was presented to Kimmo Kulojärvi Oy and Metsäkone Pirinen Oy. Source: Timberbiz
Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to Olavi Kauhanen, Pekka Poikolainen and Mikko Rysä.
At the same time, 39 forest machine operators and 33 harvesting graduates were presented with awards.
“The Foundation’s awards are the high points of the year although the ceremony had to be postponed to 2021. It’s been great to read applications received from customers, forest owners, and harvesting entrepreneurs who have wanted to thank forestry experts for their diligent work and high-quality results. There are so many skilled forestry experts who we can be proud of in this industry,” Juha Vidgrén, Chairman of the Einari Vidgrén Foundation said.
Mr Vidgrén established the Einari Vidgrén Foundation in 2005 in order to increase appreciation for the work carried out in the field of mechanical harvesting. The foundation’s aim is to heighten awareness of entrepreneurship related to mechanical harvesting and to make the mechanical harvesting sector more attractive as a potential workplace, especially among young people.
Einari Awards, the Einari Vidgrén Foundation’s annually distributed key recognitions, are granted for long-term professional entrepreneurship in the forest machine sector.
Every year, Foundation gives Einari Recognitions to research and development organisations active in the field of mechanised wood harvesting, developers of training in the sector, and parties that promote awareness of the sector and increase its appreciation. This year, the focus point was the promotion of the visibility and stories of the forest industry.
The Foundation gave Einari Operator’s Awards of EUR 1500 each to 39 forest machine operators. The award criteria included the high quality of work and customer-driven attitude, as well as cooperation and communication with forest owners and other stakeholders.
The Foundation also granted student scholarships of EUR 600 to 33 students studying programs related to the forest machine sector. In addition to success in studies, it was required that the student has a job as a forest machine operator or mechanic when finishing school.
