Oy Adolf Lahti Yxpila Ab is a diversified company serving the large-scale and mining industries, ports, and trade. It’s part of one of Finland’s largest family-owned companies, the KVH Group. Adolf Lahti is known as a strong player in the forest industry. Its range of services extends from goods handling to various factory services, earthworks, logistical process design and maintenance work. The company currently operates in 20 locations throughout Finland and employs around 150 people.
Weighing data matters – "Customers want more and more information"
Adolf Lahti has around 400 machine units, including all trailers and equipment that move on wheels or rollers. The fleet is tailored to customer requirements. Many machines and equipment to be managed also means that weighing data must be controlled.
The equipment handles various materials during the day, so accurate weighing is vital. The company has around 40 Tamtron scales on its material handling machines and wheel loaders, among others. Today, the data collected and how it is processed and transferred to the cloud are at least as crucial as the scales themselves.
“We do commercial weighing on large material handling machines according to customer requirements. The market is growing all the time, and customers want more and more information about material flows: how the goods move and what tons are moving at which stage of the process and supply chain,” says Pekka Pöllänen, Managing Director of Oy Adolf Lahti Yxpila Ab, and continues:
“We have Tamtron’s cloud service in place. The customers also have their IDs so that they can access their process.”
Responsiveness and product durability are the key
Even for a significant player, flexibility and responsiveness to change are critical today. According to Pöllänen, customer demands come at roughly 24 hours’ notice, and you must be ready to respond. The company has put a lot of effort into this:
“We have our fleet management application, which documents all servicing and maintenance, machine use, fuel consumption and other data. One-quarter of our staff is involved in maintenance and servicing, so we aim to be, and are, in practice, completely self-sufficient. Gearbox and engine overhauls, among other things, are carried out in-house. Our customer promise is to operate 24/7, so it’s important to have these things in place.”
Pöllänen also praises Tamtron’s customer service and attention to detail. Special mention goes to the availability of spare parts and support from the contact persons and, of course, the quality and durability of the scales.
“Of course, it has to be said that Tamtron scales have been very reliable. We have weighed over a million cubic meters of goods on material handling scales with weighing sensors and have had no major problems. The scales are serviced, maintained, and inspected by Tamtron annually during the summer to see how they perform. In addition, control weighing is a daily ritual at our branches,” says Pöllänen.
New opportunities for the future
Adolf Lahti is looking to the future with a bright outlook, even though the supply chain is constantly changing.
According to Pöllänen, domestic wood and Western imports will bring new opportunities for the company: “Large volumes are moving here, and concepts that have never been tried and tested before are being created very quickly. Rail transport of raw timber will also grow significantly in Finland, and there are new contracting opportunities for us as well,” he concludes.
