Ponsse has found a new home on campus

A new product development unit shared by the forestry machine manufacturer Ponsse and its subsidiary Epec, which develops control systems, has settled in well in its new home in Tampere.

Encounters create opportunities

The goal of the companies is to gain access to better opportunities to recruit top talents in the field of software development and automation. Tampere has become a growth centre for the mobile work machine industry, and the city is also home to high-level software and automation training and business.
Having the right location is essential for successful recruitment. At the beginning of 2018 there were five people working at the Kampusareena unit, but the aim is to increase that number to 20 by the end of the year.
“From a recruitment perspective, Kampusareena has proved to be the right choice for us. There is a tremendous number of suitable talents around here. We also engage in good cooperation with the Tampere University of Technology, and being on campus makes it natural for us to meet with professors, researchers and students on a daily basis. We can also visit Kampusklubi to get to know people from other businesses located here on campus. All of these encounters create opportunities for closer cooperation,” says Kalle Einola, Technology, Product Safety & IPR Manager at Ponsse.

Services in a prime location

The new tenants are impressed by the premises and the location. The office space is modern with regard to its technology and the use of space. The four circular soundproofed rooms within the open space provide privacy for Skype meetings or tasks that require peace and quiet.

In addition to the newly opened unit in Tampere, Ponsse has product development units in Kajaani and Vieremä, while Epec has one of its own in Seinäjoki.

“We have a lot of movement between these units. That makes it important for us to have good railway links between the cities, as well as convenient connections between the Tampere railway station and the office in Kampusareena.

At the start of the next decade, the new light rail system will provide direct access from the railway station to Kampusareena.

We haven’t had a chance to use all of Kampusareena’s services yet, but the lobby services are good and the social facilities make it easy for our employees to commute by bicycle when that season comes. The lunch restaurant makes it easy to order catering services for meetings,” Einola says.

“If we need to organise larger events, we can make flexible use of the facilities in Kampusklubi. We don’t need to have surplus space in our own office that is not fully utilised,” Einola adds.

Speed and agility

The companies started to look for business premises in Tampere for a new product development unit in September 2017, and the new space was already in use at the beginning of November. An information and recruitment event was held at that time, and the first product developers began working in the new office in Kampusareena soon after.

Even after the quick start, interaction with SYK has been smooth and communication has been active.

Our contact person Jaana Hanninen is the perfect person for her job. We have received fantastic support and assistance from SYK, and things have moved along really nicely on both sides,” Einola concludes.