The Man Who Conquered the World with Stump Drills – Interview with creator of Dipperfox: Tiit Talvaru

From the practical experience of uprooting tens of thousands of stumps over a lifetime, a world-famous stump drill ships from an Estonian factory to places as far apart as Japan and Barbados.

The Republic of Estonia’s Labour Inspectorate magazine Tööelu interviewed Tiit Talvaru, the creator of Dipperfox, about the need for an efficient tool like Dipperfox, how it has taken over the world, and his philosophy of leading others.

Original Estonian text by: Raigo Jahu

What did you start with as an entrepreneur?

You could say my entrepreneurial journey began with Talvakas, a construction company doing land improvement and dredging work. Later came the metalworking company PlasmaPro, which today operates as Sparker and offers various metal fabrication solutions.

Once you’re in the metal industry, you inevitably start thinking you should create a product of your own. The prototype of the stump drill was completed in 2017, and a couple of years later, Dipperfox began producing them.

When I started, people jokingly asked what stumps had ever done to me. But after twenty years in land improvement, stumps start to get on your nerves, and you wonder whether there’s an easier way to remove them. In a sense, Talvakas, Sparker, and Dipperfox form a complementary whole.

How many stumps did you have to remove in your life before creating the stump drill?

I can’t give an exact number—maybe 10,000 or even 20,000.

The stump drill was developed to meet a practical need. The main problem is the stump itself, not the roots. Excavating and grinding stumps is time-consuming. It’s also difficult to remove stumps in tight spaces, such as in urban environments, near buildings, or on slopes. Using a stump drill, removing a stump takes far less time and can be done even in tight spaces.

Which is safer: uprooting or drilling stumps?

Stump removal has always been a complicated and hazardous task. You probably have to be most cautious with stump grinding, as chips can fly quite far. Excavating, meaning uprooting, often turns into a major operation and requires attention to many safety aspects.

Stump drilling presents the fewest hazards: the machine works calmly but powerfully; chips don’t fly, they mix with the soil; and the job gets done quickly. We’ve tried to demonstrate to potential customers that the stump drill makes the work safer.

I clearly remember wanting to do an in-hall product demo at a trade show in Las Vegas [Conexpo]. That seemed impossible to them at first. In the end, we secured approval, and the demo proved to the organizers and visitors that the device is efficient and safe to use.

By the way, in Japan, the most significant advantages of our stump drill are said to be its quiet operation, the safety for bystanders, and the ability to remove stumps even in locations with difficult access.

What other products have you created, and how do you go about inventing a new product

I used to be heavily involved in building telecom networks, and from that practical need came the idea to create a telecom manhole/handhole. It’s a simple product that’s easy to manufacture and install. The telecom handholes I developed are in use today in Telia’s network.

Once you have an idea, you build an initial prototype, test it, and then start modifying. Sometimes I begin with drawings, ask engineers to run calculations, and then build the prototype. At some point, the product reaches a version that’s suitable for market launch. Development continues in parallel to make it even better.

What matters most to you when developing a new product?

Efficiency, always. For the user, efficiency means speed, which in turn brings profit. In addition to stump drills, Dipperfox also has a log splitter. At first glance, you might not notice a difference compared to similar products, but ours can do the same job four times faster. Every new product needs an “x-factor.”

How do you ensure workplace safety in your company?

From the start at Dipperfox, our stance has been that everything should be environmentally friendly and as safe as possible. I’ve noticed that younger employees, whom you train from the beginning, pay closer attention to proper techniques and to keeping the work environment safe.

For example, the younger generation of welders keeps their helmets on rather than holding them in one hand while welding with the other. The latter is an old-school habit that’s been hard to retrain. Speaking of welding, we ensure the temperature is suitable for welding and, when necessary, cool the workspace so that employees, in their workwear and personal protective equipment, remain as comfortable as possible.

We use a carefully tuned ventilation system that cleans the air of fine welding fumes. We keep production organized so that things are in their place, rather than tidying up only when someone’s coming. That too helps avoid hazardous situations. It’s important to remember that safety doesn’t happen by itself. It’s crucial to notice hazards, call attention to them, and remind people of the rules. Young people leaving school tend to take this more naturally. Ensuring occupational safety is a collective challenge. It’s the responsibility of owners, managers, and employees alike.

How do you train your team in occupational safety?

All our employees are trained for their respective duties. We usually conduct the initial training ourselves, and we’ve prepared thorough manuals for that. For fire safety training, we bring in professionals and use practical examples. Employees involved in hot work have completed the relevant training. Once a year, we review the basics. When a new machine is purchased, the seller conducts the user and safety briefing.

At Dipperfox, we’ve also trained our partners to work more safely with our equipment. The safety of employees, partners, and customers is equally important to us.

Is it realistic for small companies to provide as safe a working environment as large corporations that have more money?

We all start from small steps, and at the beginning, you focus on getting the business off the ground. Everything costs money, and in some respects, safety gets handled after the fact because there are so many requirements and so much bureaucracy. I’ve heard the opinion that start-ups should be allowed to operate for three years and, if they’ve found their footing by then, we can start discussing fine-tuning safety and all kinds of reports.

I tend to agree. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t deal with safety at all in the beginning. No one wants to put themselves or their employees at risk. In a small company, the impact of a workplace accident can be many times greater. For example, if you have two welders in production and something happens to one of them. That’s bad for both the employee and the company.

The employee is off work, and the company’s operations are disrupted. If you handle safety thoughtfully and everyone adheres to the requirements, it pays off many times over. The same principle applies to work equipment. If the entrepreneur is paying out of pocket, you want to give people better tools that let them work more efficiently. I remember when we bought our first large monitors for work, and a team member said they were cool.

When I replied, “You’re actually paying for them yourself,” he asked how. I explained that you can now work more efficiently, and that the additional revenue will cover the equipment’s cost over time.

For example, ergonomic height-adjustable desks arrived in our office fairly recently. They’re not some brand-new invention; the need arose now, so we acted. If people work in the office from morning till evening, you want their alertness and sharpness to last through the day.

Comparing large and small companies, there are many examples of how smaller firms can ensure even better safety. I know of a large company that mandated a specific model of safety footwear. But people (and their feet) are different, and the same model won’t suit everyone. Smaller companies can be more flexible. We also have a principle that we don’t cut corners on safety gear. When a new employee joins, whether in the office or in production, they receive the compliant gear that best fits them. For example, we take a production worker to the workwear shop so they can choose the right size clothing and footwear.

If personal protective equipment isn’t one-size-fits-all but suited to the individual, people will gladly use it all day long.

What are your recommendations for someone who wants to start a business?

If you have an idea and the drive, you should pursue it. Don’t be put off by the fact that, as an entrepreneur, you’re essentially on the clock around the clock, always thinking about how to improve and what else to do. I’ve also had moments when I’d rather just be an employee working fixed hours. But that life isn’t for me- I’d get bored.

I like taking action, developing products, and coming up with new ideas. How are entrepreneurs viewed? My experience has been positive. Especially in rural areas, entrepreneurs who provide jobs for local people are welcomed with open arms. We’ve always been well received. Most of Sparker’s and Dipperfox’s employees live in the same area: Paikuse, Sindi, and the surrounding communities.

How do you assess the state of Estonian industry?

Unfortunately, in the broader picture, things aren’t rosy. Since the war in Ukraine began, many things have gone downhill. There’s a lot of stress, and people are afraid to invest. The exception is the defense industry, which is growing at a tremendous pace.

Yet you’re swimming against the current – developing new products and planning to acquire a more powerful machine for cutting metal?

I dare to make that investment because it will bring us returns. The new machine is necessary to increase the company’s efficiency. It will allow us to cut metal faster so we can do more work in the same amount of time. In addition, the new machine has extra capabilities that save even more time.

What preparations are you making to cope in the future?

You have to keep up with trends and technological developments. Society has changed enormously. It’s funny to think that we once rode in horse-drawn carts and delivered goods that way. Now goods can be flown quickly to all corners of the world.

I’m not saying stump drilling will ever disappear, but perhaps even more efficient methods will be found. It’s possible that one day a nanotechnology solution will be developed, or a troublesome stump will be eliminated with a laser beam. We’re improving existing products and developing new ones.

At Dipperfox we’re also facing digitalization and automation. We already have robots working in production, but they could be more capable still. We’re striving to make digitalization cover the entire product lifecycle – not only production, but also product development, sales, and after-sales service. We’re also working on reaching new markets. You can’t rely on just one market; you have to find new opportunities and thereby spread your risks.

With our stump drills we’ve reached 43 countries. Our biggest markets are Japan and the United States, but you can also find our products in, for example, Sweden, Spain, and Australia. There’s still a lot of work ahead. Dipperfox’s fortunes are strongly influenced by how much infrastructure is being developed – meaning how many stumps stand in the way of development. If you think about Germany alone, each federal state is several times larger than Estonia, which means there are more companies that could increase their efficiency with a stump drill. We have to work hard to reach them. To reach potential customers around the world, we make extensive use of social media.

How do you rest from work?

I don’t really know how to just sit still. I’m always browsing online to see what new machines and devices have been invented and how they work. That’s where new ideas come from. I think them up and build prototypes. For me, attending trade fairs is a kind of rest as well. I’m happy to explain and demonstrate how our products work. At the same time, I can see what interesting products others have come up with and how those work.

Do you take time to switch off from your surroundings?

Fortunately, I have a summer cottage in a place with poor mobile and internet coverage. When I go there, I switch off from the rest of the world, take care of the cottage, and go fishing.

What motivates you in your various activities?

Speaking of the stump drill, I wanted to make a product that didn’t exist in the world – one that is fast and efficient. Getting there took quite a while, because I had to figure everything out myself. If the idea is good and the new product promises to be technologically superior and more efficient than what exists, then it should be brought to life.

Developing a new product has to offer challenges, too. It’s inspiring to see an idea take shape and the product begin to live a life of its own.