Ponsse opens a new service centre in France to celebrate its 30-year journey

 Monday, November 10, 2025

The global forestry machine manufacturer Ponsse officially opened its largest service center in France on September 19th, 2025, marking three decades of forestry machinery operations in the country. This notable investment, located in Peyrat-le-Château, aims to dramatically enhance service capacity, streamline logistics, and bring advanced operator training directly to a key forest region.

The Peyrat area sits at the heart of one of France’s most important forest regions, necessitating a high-capacity, modern service infrastructure. The new facility represents the largest investment in Ponsse’s French history, designed to meet the growing demands of a pivotal fleet of high-tech forestry machines operating nearby.

“The Peyrat area is one of the most important forest regions in France. Ponsse has a significant fleet of forest machines in the area, and we’ve long needed to improve the quality and capacity of our service centre,” commented Ville Mansikkamäki, Vice President, Europe, Ponsse Plc. The expansion not only targets improved customer support but also provides Ponsse’s team with superior, high-quality working facilities.

The new centre is poised to become a strategic focal point for forestry machinery support in Central France. Its enhanced capabilities focus on three key areas critical to maximising customer uptime:

• Modern services and capacity: The expanded workshop space ensures that maintenance and complex repairs on large-scale harvesters and forwarders can be conducted more efficiently, reducing machine downtime for local contractors.
• Spare parts availability: A larger, comprehensively stocked inventory means quicker access to essential components. For high-tech, computer-controlled forestry machines, immediate parts availability is often the deciding factor in operational continuity.
• Advanced operator training: Crucially, the Peyrat depot is now equipped to provide simulator-based operator training. This cutting-edge method allows both new and experienced operators to hone their skills in a safe, controlled environment, optimising machine efficiency and productivity—a vital component for the industry’s future workforce.

The local team of 12 employees based at Peyrat-le-Château is responsible for servicing customers in this central part of France, reinforcing the company’s commitment to being close to its customers.

Beyond new machine service, Ponsse has leveraged the new facility’s size and strategic location to centralise its used machine hub for France. The storage and renovation of used Ponsse machines will now primarily take place in Peyrat.

This centralisation strategy offers several benefits to forestry companies, which often include small operators running fleets of only one to three machines:

• Ease of comparison: By having used machines primarily in one location, customers can easily view and compare options before making a significant investment.
• Quality assurance: The organisation has refined its renovation processes to ensure every used machine undergoes a reliable and thorough inspection before being sold to its next owner.

The most popular Ponsse models across France—the versatile Ergo and the reliable Buffalo forwarder—are highly sought after in the used market. In recent years, the compact and powerful Scorpion harvester has also seen a surge in popularity, reflecting the diverse harvesting requirements of the French forest landscape.

Expanding the French footprint and partnerships

Ponsse’s French operations, led by Country Manager Jean Sionneau, now include a total of 48 employees dedicated to servicing more than 300 customers. The new Peyrat-le-Château centre anchors the network, which also includes service facilities in Labouheyre (southwest) and Gondreville (northeast).

This internal network is supplemented by a collaboration with 11 contractual service partners across the country, ensuring comprehensive geographical coverage. Furthermore, Ponsse’s French entity is responsible for sales and after-sales support in neighboring Belgium and Luxembourg.

To further strengthen its sales reach in the crucial northern and western regions of France, Ponsse recently appointed Dyna-Touraine as a new dealer in May 2024, signaling continued expansion and partnership development within the competitive European forestry market.

Ponsse’s 30-year journey in France began humbly in December 1995 with the sale of just one machine. That pioneer customer was Bernard Arnaud, who runs a harvesting company in the Haute-Vienne area (département 87)—the same region as the new Peyrat centre.

Arnaud has remained a Ponsse customer ever since and now operates a significant fleet of fifteen Ponsse machines in the Peyrat-le-Château workshop area. His commitment to the business is generational, with his son Christophe now a part-owner, demonstrating a belief in the long-term future of the logging industry. This enduring loyalty from key customers like the Arnaud family underpins Ponsse’s decision to make such a substantial investment in the region, ensuring that the latest technology is matched by superior technical support for decades to come.

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Tags: Central France Timber Harvesting, Ponsse Ergo Buffalo Scorpion, Ponsse France Service Centre, Ponsse Operator Training, Used Forestry Machinery Hub