Kauko Vuori has been going from one worksite to another in Helsinki as a Lännen entrepreneur for three decades. The 30 years on the job were celebrated last summer with a new Lännen 8700M multipurpose machine.
In Oulunkylä, Helsinki, the growing season on allotments has ended and the area is quiet, but preparations for the next spring have already started before Christmas. Kauko Vuori, who is a subcontractor of Helsinki City Construction Services, Stara, is cleaning ditches and spreading crushed gravel on the paths so that the city residents can happily start cultivating their garden plots when the season begins.
Kauko uses a new model generation Lännen 8700M purchased in the summer that replaced the previous 8600K in the Lännen multipurpose machine range; even though the names and technology have changed, the basic idea remains the same: The 8600 model’s backhoe is combined with the 8800 model’s loader and larger tires. And this seems to be exactly what Vuori had wanted.
Kauko Vuori, who is a subcontractor of Helsinki City Construction Services, Stara, is cleaning ditches and spreading crushed gravel on the paths so that the city residents can happily start cultivating their garden plots when the season begins.
Development with every exchange
– The previous machine was an 8600i. Last winter, I already thought that there should be more loading height because the sides of the trailers seem to be constantly growing higher, Kauko Vuori says.
– That’s when I decided that the loading has to get easier with the next machine, and now you can reach far enough again. The bigger loader and larger wheels helped, he continues.
Kauko has had several Lännen machines since 1990.
– I have to really think about how many there have been. I guess this might be the eighth? The first one was a C10EX, Kauko remembers.
– And whenever the time has come to replace the machine, the decision’s always been made based on the idea of how the new machine can improve your work, Vuori says. Other makes of a machine have not been considered for the replacement.
– It’s always been Lännen machines, and one of the reasons is maintenance: for an entrepreneur with only one machine, it’s important that maintenance works and is available nearby. And I have been thinking about buying domestic; after all, if we can increase Finnish production, everybody benefits, Vuori notes.
Lännen Tractors in Espoo manages the sales and maintenance of machines with Kauko, with Tuomas Ventomaa as the seller.
Kauko has had several Lännen machines since 1990. And whenever the time has come to replace the machine, the decision’s always been made based on the idea of how the new machine can improve your work. Other makes of a machine have not been considered for the replacement.
Lännen Multipurpose machines are in demand
During all these years, the employer has been the City of Helsinki and the northern construction district in particular. The sites and people have become familiar, and even though the contract always goes through a tendering process, there have been no breaks in the working career.
– There’s been plenty of work to do, and the pricing has been reasonable for the entrepreneur. There’s been a lot of work especially in recent years, even though most of the excavation happens when the ground is not frozen, says Vuori, who mainly does earthmoving work.
Among other things, this says that the City has felt that a multipurpose machine is really needed. We asked Risto Ahonen, Stara’s Project Manager for the northern construction district, to comment on this.
– In the early 2000s we still had a Lännen machine of our own, but after we no longer had an operator for it, we’ve been using subcontractors. Since then, this district alone has always employed two or sometimes even three Lännen machines at a time,” Ahonen says.
It’s always been Lännen machines, and one of the reasons is maintenance: For an entrepreneur with only the one machine, it’s important that maintenance works and is available nearby, Kauko Vuori states.
Others are also interested in the convenient Lännen machines
Using Lännen multipurpose machines is largely about speed and versatility according to Ahonen.
– When we are working on construction in parks, for example, the machines are used for a great deal of carrying and loading in addition to digging. One machine replaces an excavator and a wheel loader. Similarly, the machine can do other things in between loading vehicles, he says.
– And the people on worksites have also liked how fast the machine carries things. You can’t move stuff around at this speed with just a rotating excavator. And the same thing is true for moving between sites. The distances between our sites may be as long as 10–15 kilometers, Ahonen says.
Of course, the skilled operators also receive praise in addition to the machines.
– The contractors we use are experts with plenty of experience, and you don’t need to tell them how to do their job. They know not only their machines but also the sites like the back of their hand, and that’s also a clear benefit, Risto Ahonen says.
The future does not look too bad either; on the contrary:
– We’re mainly doing park construction and working on other similar public areas, but now in the street division, they’ve finally also noticed how convenient a Lännen machine is in doing things like digging sewer lines, working in tough spots, and again with the carrying. So you could say that the downside is that they’ve hijacked one of our machines almost completely for their own use, Ahonen ponders.
Vuori is also happy about this.
– Now they’ve finally given us their stamp of approval for that job too, so to speak, and it only took a few decades, he says, and gets into the machine.
He will not run out of work, but one site after another will be finished nevertheless.
”We’re mainly doing park construction and working on other similar public areas, but now in the street division, they’ve finally also noticed how convenient a Lännen machine is in doing things like digging sewer lines, working in tough spots and again with the carrying.”
Kauko Vuori's Lännen multipurpose machine is mainly used for park construction and working on other similar public areas, but now in the street division, they’ve also noticed how convenient a Lännen machine is in doing things like digging sewer lines, working in tough spots and with the carrying loads.
