Adding value to high-quality timber in Japan

During his 16 years at UPM Timber, Sales Manager Motoki Sasajima has continuously raised the bar for himself. This allows him to deliver quality timber and an excellent experience to Japanese customers even during challenging times.

Who are you and what do you do at UPM Timber?

My name is Motoki Sasajima, but Sasajima is difficult to pronounce for Finnish people, so when I joined UPM, one of my Finnish colleagues gave me the nickname Moto. It comes from my name Motoki, but a forestry harvester is also called a “moto” in Finnish, so I’m like the engine of UPM Timber! Now, everybody in UPM Timber – and even some customers – call me Moto.

I am the sales manager for the Japanese market, responsible for timber sales in Japan. I live in Sendai City about 400 kilometres north of Tokyo with my wife and three boys. I have been with UPM for 20 years: I started in paper sales and switched to timber sales 16 years ago.

What goes into a typical workday for you?

Every morning, I check my emails – especially those from Finland, because of the time difference. Then it is time to discuss with customers, usually by phone. Most customers like to talk, not only about the timber business but also about global economic issues; the Russia-Ukraine conflict or the exchange rates, for example.

Our customers are located all over Japan, and one of the biggest is located about 1000 kilometres from Sendai, so I have to travel quite a lot. Japanese customers prefer face-to-face meetings and do appreciate our visits.

What are you particularly proud of in your work?

I am very proud of our international sales team, led by Mikko Hyvärinen. Even though the team members are scattered around the world; in China, Germany, France, the UK, Denmark, Finland and Japan, we always have a clear target based on a common understanding. We have different cultures and languages, but we are always one team!

Our quality timber, delivery performance and brand image make me proud too. We have visitors coming from Finland several times a year to meet Japanese customers and explain our strategy and sustainability approach, which supports UPM’s good brand image. Timber is a natural resource. It is nature, and not us, who make the wood, so when my colleagues and I can add value on top of that for our customers, I feel very happy.

Our quality timber, delivery performance and brand image make me proud.

What is the most challenging part of your work?

The uncertain times we are living in are challenging. We are facing challenging times in timber business also in Japan. We must be very sensitive to what is going on around the world: for example, shipping routes are changing due to global conflicts, which can delay deliveries, etc.

How can we see your handprint in the final product?

I’m not just a messenger boy between Finland and our Japanese customers. I aim to bring our customers value by providing all the necessary market and delivery information and giving the best possible service.

What does our customer promise, ‘Setting the Standard’, mean to you?

We, at UPM Timber, want to be a sustainable leader in the timber market. I think the Japanese market is a little bit behind in this field, but I have more and more talks about sustainability with our customers here. We have already started joint marketing and sustainability work with a few core customers, which is exciting. I also set the bar high for myself: My target is to keep learning and constantly improve.

In the Setting the Standard series, we feature UPM Timber employees from a variety of job profiles, both at the headquarters and on the production lines. All our employees are committed to our customer promise Setting the Standard to continuously strive for better results. In the series, staff members share their own work and how they raise the bar every day.