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The Scorpion model series meets all the demands of today’s forestry. It takes productivity and ergonomics to the next level and sets a new standard for the operator’s working environment.

The most popular harvester

The development of Scorpion has not stopped. At the same time as Scorpion, Scorpion King also entered production to meet demanding forest management needs. In 2021, Scorpion was given a completely redesigned cabin, and the product family grew with Scorpion Giant, a powerful and effective harvester for large trees and difficult terrain.

In addition to its agility and strength, the machine’s design is in a league of its own. You can often hear someone say “I never get tired of looking at the Scorpion” at the factory.

”Scorpion has been developed and will be further developed based on the feedback from the users of the machine. It’s the popularity has been growing all the time and currently there are already Scorpions in about 30 different countries.”

Jan Kauhanen, Product Manager, Harvesters

Production required major investments, as Scorpion was a product like no other. The machine entered serial production during the first half of 2014. All machines planned to be manufactured during 2014 had already been sold by the end of 2013, and by February 2014, Scorpions were already in operation in 11 countries. In 2014, 111 Scorpion harvesters were manufactured. Scorpion was also adopted by initially sceptical Finnish customers, and the model has become Ponsse’s most popular harvester.

At the end of the 2000s, the first rotating forest machine cabins were launched on the forest machine market. Ponsse also decided to respond to the challenge, although experienced users of PONSSE forest machines were a little sceptical about the idea.

Patsi, the first conceptual prototype, was completed in 2011. The idea for the harvester crane came from Ponsse’s first PAZ forest tractor, in which the loader was on the roof of the machine’s cabin. “A crane on the roof, that’s an optimal place – the boom is never in the line of sight,” thought Scorpion’s principal designer Pentti Hukkanen.

New design with operator ergonomics in mind

Scorpion was a completely new model and from a completely different world than Ponsse’s previous models, also in terms of design. Of the machine’s technical solutions, 80 per cent were completely new. Einari Vidgrén wanted the new machine to make Ponsse stand out from its competitors.

“Without Einari’s strong support, the new model would never have been made,“Hukkanen said. Einari had firm belief in the machine’s success, although he was not there to see it.

In autumn 2011, the testing of the new machine model started in Mäkelä, near Einari’s home estate. Even though the new type of a machine took its time to get used to, it felt good to test drivers from the start. Operator ergonomics and coping played an important role in the design of the machine from the very beginning.

During 2012 and 2013, Scorpion was tested by customers, and based on customer feedback, the new number one of forest machines was finalised. PONSSE Scorpion was launched to the public on 5 June 2013 at 1 pm at the Elmia Wood trade fair in Jönköping in Sweden.

The most popular harvester

Production required major investments, as Scorpion was a product like no other. The machine entered serial production during the first half of 2014. All machines planned to be manufactured during 2014 had already been sold by the end of 2013, and by February 2014, Scorpions were already in operation in 11 countries. In 2014, 111 Scorpion harvesters were manufactured. Scorpion was also adopted by initially sceptical Finnish customers, and the model has become Ponsse’s most popular harvester.

The development of Scorpion has not stopped. At the same time as Scorpion, Scorpion King also entered production to meet demanding forest management needs. In 2021, Scorpion was given a completely redesigned cabin, and the product family grew with Scorpion Giant, a powerful and effective harvester for large trees and difficult terrain.

In addition to its agility and strength, the machine’s design is in a league of its own. You can often hear someone say “I never get tired of looking at the Scorpion” at the factory.

”Scorpion has been developed and will be further developed based on the feedback from the users of the machine. Its the popularity has been growing all the time and currently there are already Scorpions in about 30 different countries.”

Jan Kauhanen, Product Manager, Harvesters

Award-winning PONSSE Scorpion

2013
VIVA AUTOMATION! PRIZE for he development of the stabilising and levelling system

2014
QUALITY INNOVATION OF THE YEAR AWARD – a new design that improves operator ergonomics and machine efficiency
FENNIA PRIZE GRAND PRIX FOR INDUSTRIAL DESIGN – new design solutions and users’ contribution to R&D
FIRST PRIZE IN THE PRODUCTIVE IDEA COMPETITION – innovation and use of digitisation

2015
SWEDISH STEEL PRIZE – new design solutions that significantly improve user ergonomics, functionality, safety and productivity

2021
REDDOT WINNER – best of the best, prestigious international design award for PONSSE Scorpion King
FENNIA PRIZE 22 –new PONSSE Scorpion King — Cabin of the future
IF DESIGN AWARD 2022 – new PONSSE Scorpion King cabin

To read previous Ponsse related posts click here

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The post PONSSE Scorpion – The icon of modern forest machinery. appeared first on International Forest Industries.