Juho Kemppainen, also known as Jätkä-Juho, turned 15 at the start of the summer and finally got his tractor driving license. Having started working as a contractor at the age of just 11, he can now drive his tractor also on public roads. “I drive around 500 hours a year with my G115 Active. I mainly use it to transport wood in the farmyard and timber terminal, as we produce firewood, log torches and birdhouses. The tractor is equipped with a front loader, block-pattern tires and usually a Kesla forest trailer with a loader at the back. So far, this tractor has never been in the field,” Jätkä-Juho adds. The firewood, log torches and birdhouses produced by Jätkä Juho are sold throughout Finland in Puuilo stores. The quantities are considerably large, and the store chain highlights the producer’s young age in its marketing. “In practice, this is the main occupation for the two of us. Juho is involved as much as his schoolwork allows. But during busy times, mother, father, uncle, grandmother and one friend have also worked here,” says older sister Taru Kemppainen, referring to her husband Toni Ahokas as the other full-time employee.
Entrepreneurs by chance.
The company was born by chance, when Jätkä-Juho made log torches for a Christmas market and they were then used at an event that was attended by the owner of the Puuilo chain. He really liked the log torches, which were easy to light and burned nicely, as well as the story behind Jätkä-Juho. Later, Jätkä-Juho’s 40-litre firewood sacks and birdhouses were also added to the store’s selection. The birdhouses and log torches are made on Juho’s home farm in Hyrynsalmi, where the forests stretch in every direction as far as the eye can see. The firewood is produced at the timber terminal in the centre of town. Jätkä-Juho’s company is one of the largest firewood manufacturers in Finland that dries wood naturally without heating. Of course, Jätkä-Juho will not be the youngest tractor contractor in Finland forever. So far, however, the company is doing well, and Jätkä Juho always works there in his free time and holidays. “I am now in my last year of my basic education, and after that I thought I would study to become a forest machine operator. A relative has a forest machine company that I could drive for after graduation. Let’s see what the company does after that,” says Juho.
Text: Tommi Pitenius
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How to make a Finnish log torch
1. Cut a log approximately 75 centimetres long from a completely dry tree trunk 10 to 20 centimetres in diameter
2. Place the log vertically and saw it crosswise about 50 centimetres from top to bottom
3. Drill a hole about 20 centimetres deep at the intersection of the cuts, into which a firestarter can be added.
Log torches give light, warmth and atmosphere. A log torch made from a dried conifer also smells good. You can even boil water or grill food on top of the torch, which burns for about 2 to 3 hours.
