Visions from FinnMETKO (Part Two)

Continuing our look back at some of the highlights of my visit to FinnMETKO 2026 in Finland.

FinnMETKO is one of my favourite shows on the circuit and I’m always proud to be a regular international participant at the venue, and increasingly recognised by many of our Finnish friends in the industry. Apparently, the number of international exhibitors and visitors was significantly higher than in previous years, with international guests from more than 30 countries attending the event to learn more about Finnish expertise and markets in the machine contracting industries.

On the Real Machinery Oy stand we encountered the very first Develon DX360LC-9 hydraulic excavator to be sold in Finland to TekniRak Oy who operate in and around the Helsinki area. The owner of the business Jari Kekkonen was upgrading the previous model DX350LC-7 which coincidentally was also a first of its kind in Finland, for the new Dash-9 model.

We were also fortunate enough to be on stand at the time of Jari’s visit, (see below) and to capture the proud owner and his new machine on camera.

Another company that I visited earlier this year was Wille Machines, who were also present on the Real Machinery stand, where they were presenting one of their most popular models the 475Δ. The Wille Machines are now sold in the UK by Multevo.

The Finns are well known for their rock breaker technology, it’s not hard to see why when you travel around the country and you cannot fail to see massive rock faces where they have cut a roadway through. One of those rock breaker brands is Normet X-Rock whose premises I visited briefly in Lahti, before heading to the show. At FinnMETKO they presented a number of breakers from their comprehensive range and other excavator mounted attachments.

Kubota dealer Konesilta Oy had plenty to shout about at this years FinnMETKO, with the new Sumitomo inspired 14.5-tonne zero tailswing U145 on static display with a low ground pressure forestry spec undercarriage.

And a new 9.5-tonne class KW095 wheeled excavator on the demo plot fitted with an Engcon tiltrotator which was constantly busy with visitors wanting to spend some time in the seat.

A friendly welcome always awaits me on the Honka Trading Oy stand, where the Takeuchi dealer had a large display of the famous red & grey machines to show the visitors, among them, the all new TB3150R 15-tonne class reduced tailswing model, the latest machine to receive the 3-Series treatment.

Also, the Takeuchi compact tracked loaders continue to make a big impact in the European market, here at FinnMETKO they presented the TL12 V2 model, a real powerful pocket rocket in the sector.

Lastly in this batch, we visited the Mateko Oy stand, where the JCB dealers had what was the first JCB 370X hydraulic excavator model to arrive in Finland. We connected via social media afterwards and I returned for a photo shoot opportunity. This machine was set to go out on a series of demos with Mateko Oy customers straight after the show.

We will have more on the FinnMETKO show next week on the Digger Man Blog.