12.2.2026 Iisalmi, Ponsse service facility, Finland
The kick-off meeting of the FREIMAN project was held in Iisalmi in the middle of a snowy Finnish winter, with the temperature dropping to –20°C outside. Despite the cold, the atmosphere inside was warm and inspiring, as around twenty participants gathered to launch the project together. special thanks goes to Ville from Ponsse and to everyone involved for making the day both productive and enjoyable.
The day started with a visit to the maintenance workshop and warehouse, where participants had the opportunity to see several key remanufactured components, including engines and pumps. The visit also provided valuable insights into spare parts classification, spare part packages, serial numbering, cost structures, and other practical aspects of remanufacturing operations.
In the afternoon workshop, participants jointly created and discussed a value stream map (VSM) of the current return loop and related business processes. This exercise helped build a shared view of the existing state and highlighted key development areas.
As a result of the discussions, several high-level use cases were identified for the consortium to jointly develop:
- Forecasting of remanufacturing return loop supply
- Advanced multisource data based core part condition monitoring
- Future data and AI driven return loop
The main objective of the day was successfully achieved: establishing a common understanding of the remanufacturing business and its core processes. This shared understanding now provides a solid foundation for the project to move forward.
Next, the project will focus on building a more detailed picture of the remanufacturing return loop business and the associated data sources. This work will utilize VTT’s “Product Lens” approach and will be carried out through interviews with the participating companies.
