Komatsu Forest celebrates 50 years

We reflect on the 50 year existence of Komatsu Forest.

In 1961 in Sweden, the company Umea Mekaniska was founded by Lennart Bergholm in Umea, Sweden. Umea Mekaniska had a special interest in mechanising manual industrial work for safety and productivity. They ventured into forest machines by building a slash-bundler type of machine called the Skruven. At the same time in Tampere, Finland, the state-owned Valmet’s tractor division, with the engineer Olavi Sipila in charge, was selected by the Brazilian government to produce tractors for the South American market.

The first forwarders were produced in Finland, but later all production was moved to Umea in Sweden. This is where harvester development and production began. Umea Mekaniska soon became known as suppliers of high quality forestry machines. The two organisations eventually became Valmet. Seven years ago, the Japanese company Komatsu took ownership of Valmet, and the organisation became known as Komatsu Forest. The company has been at the forefront of harvesters, combi machines, forwarders, computerised measurement systems, telescopic booms and harvester heads. Komatsu Forest has traditionally specialised in cut-to-length systems, and most innovation has taken place in these systems.

A website dedicated to the 50th birthday celebrations has been created, and contains interesting information on Komatsu Forests’ history. Source: www.komatsuforest50.com