The Red Book of Arbonaut: 30 Years of Digital Forestry Innovation
Arbonaut and the Birth of Digital Forestry follows the company from its start in 1994 to its role as a Finnish pioneer. Through the stories of its people, customers, and partners, the book looks back on three decades of innovation, entrepreneurship, and tech changes.
”Among many famous Red Books, such as the ones by Mao Zedong and by Carl Jung, this one is less of a manifest and more of a tale – even fairytale. But I hope it is still worth reading for those who have heard of the Legend of Arbonaut!” — Tuomo Kauranne, founder of Arbonaut
A Collective Effort
The book emerged as a group effort of 30 co-authors that illustrates the wide and very positive response to the request by its main author, Arbonaut’s founder Tuomo Kauranne.
Arbonaut turned 30 years old in 2024, and Tuomo stepped down as the CEO and as the owner soon thereafter. That made it a good time to look back on those years.
A Unique Account of Arbonaut's Path
The book has three main chapters:
- The first chapter covers the founding years and the subsequent great adventure in the world of Venture Capital and Mobile Location-Based Services covering from 1994 to 2003.
- The second, longest chapter tells the story of digital forestry from an Arbonaut perspective. It shows how LiDAR became mainstream and how that led to digital processing of forest information for major forest owners and forest custodians around the world.
- The last chapter focuses on Arbonaut’s key asset: its people, its corporate culture, and its relationship with customers.
A Gift to the Founder
Publication of the book was a surprise gift to Tuomo from Arbonaut’s Board of Directors – and one with a vengeance: Tuomo only needed to provide the text and the photos.
It was published by the Finnish Forest Museum Lusto, with the skillful production by Leena Paaskoski, Marko Ritala and Iris Kankaanpää. Mikael Karlsson, CEO of Arbonaut’s owner MW Group, wrote a very touching foreword.
”The book is a tribute to entrepreneurship, curiosity, and technological development in its most genuine form. But it is also a tribute to the power of ideas, collaboration, and knowledge—and to the role these play in building stronger, more resilient societies at their core.” — Mikael Karlsson, CEO of MW Group
Whether you are interested in forestry, LiDAR, digital innovation, or Arbonaut’s history, the book gives a personal look at how technology has changed the forest sector.
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