Jätkä-Juho is a company with a 12-year-old entrepreneur, Juho Kemppainen, selling lumberjack’s candles, birdhouses and firewood in Hyrynsalmi. The company annually brings up to 5,000 ready-made lumberjack’s candles to the market, thanks to Finnish machinery and high-quality wood material.
“I’ve been making lumberjack’s candles for a few years now. I think that making lumberjack’s candles is fun, and I am saving money for a tractor of my own. A lumberjack’s candle is a log of pine that is crosscut. They are mainly used to create a suitable atmosphere at parties,” says the entrepreneur, Juho Kemppainen.
Original business idea takes off
For Juho, who has done forest work since he was a small boy, starting a business has been a good solution. The brand, Jätkä-Juho, came about when the family realised that the availability of high-quality lumberjack’s candles on the market was poor. Today, the entire Kemppainen family is involved in the operation of the unique company.
“After the company was founded, we visited a customer event, where we happened to meet Markku Tuomaala, the founder of Puuilo. Markku became interested in our easy-to-light lumberjack’s candles and decided to buy an initial 1,000 candles. The candles were surprisingly popular, and later we produced an additional 5,000 lumberjack’s candles for Puuilo,” says Taru Kemppainen.
Easy-to-use products are ideal for a small business
Before starting the business, the Kemppainen family carefully mapped out the best way to make high-quality lumberjack’s candles. Now, they produce thousands of candles using Kesla’s 9T timber trailer and 203T loader to handle the massive pieces of wood material.
“I’ve found Kesla’s machines easy to use, even though I had no previous experience driving forest machines. However, after practising with the forest machine simulator, I was immediately able to start working with an actual machine,” Taru explains.
Juho, on the other hand, has been familiar with Kesla’s machines for years. Today, the machines see extensive use, especially in moving snags and birch pulpwood from one place to another. The Kemppainen family describes Kesla’s machines as a well-proportioned and efficient package – no wonder they have already served the family in forest work for seven years.
“For me, Kesla’s trailer has been easy to use, and most of the loader movements are similar to forest machines. It has helped me to quickly learn to operate those as well,” Juho concludes.
Jätkä-Juho's family is also involved in the business.
Juho Kemppainen is a young entrepreneur producing lumberjack's candles and bird boxes.
KESLA 9T and 203T are working tools of Jätkä-Juho.