The Navigator Company is now one of Portugal’s leading players on the world stage.
The Navigator Company is the leading European manufacturer of uncoated printing and writing paper and bleached eucalyptus pulp.
The forest is one of the most important pillars for the sustainability of The Navigator Company’s business, acting at all times in keeping with a set of principles and rules on responsible management, which conciliate environmental, social and business concerns.
The Company is committed to its growth strategy, supported by an industrial structure that sets international standards for size and technological sophistication.
The Navigator Company's Human Resources and Social Assets Policy is based on a set of values which inform its operations and investment in human capital.
The Navigator Company’s communication policy seeks to cultivate a close relationship with customers, to provide a permanent response to market needs and to build loyalty with fundamental stakeholders.
Projects
The history of the The Navigator Company dates back to the 1950s.
The first major breakthrough was in 1957, when a team of technicians at the Cacia mill were the first in the world to produce paper pulp from eucalyptus using the kraft process.
This was the start of a journey which was to transform a Portuguese company, then known as Companhia Portuguesa de Celolulose, into one of the world’s leading manufacturers of bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp (BEKP) and uncoated woodfree paper (UWF).
The growth we have achieved over more than five decades can be traced to several key moments. One of these occurred in 1975, when Portucel was formed by merging a number of Portuguese pulp and paper mills and packaging factories.
At the start of the 21st century, significant steps were taken towards consolidation. With the acquisition of Papéis Inapa in 2000, and Soporcel in 2001, Portucel effectively consolidated the industry in Portugal. These two acquisitions were decisive, and resulted in the The Navigator Company.
In 2004, Semapa acquired a majority holding in the The Navigator Company. Under new ownership, the company consolidated its leading position in international markets and in 2006 announced the construction of a new paper mill at the Setúbal Industrial Complex.
In 2009, the second paper mill started up on the industrial complex in Setúbal. The new mill in Setúbal – About the Future – was not just a milestone in the history of the The Navigator Company, but also a decisive boost to the country’s industrial capacity.
As a result of this capital project, the The Navigator Company became Europe’s leading manufacturer of uncoated woodfree printing and writing paper and one of the largest in the world.
After a year of studying several options for international expansion in the southern hemisphere, the Company set up Portucel Moçambique.
Work on building a new pellets factory in the United States (South Carolina) is set to start in 2015, due for completion in the third quarter of 2016. This factory will have production capacity of 460 thousand tons and represents estimated investment of 110 million USD (approximately 89 million euros).
Further heavy investment followed at the end of the first decade of the 21st century in the production of renewable energy and reducing consumption of fossil fuels.
Major capital projects in 2009 and 2010 were an important example of this: two biomass power stations (Cacia and Setúbal), a combined cycle power station (Setúbal) and a steam turbogenerator (Figueira da Foz).
This new capacity positioned the The Navigator Company as the country’s leading producer of electricity from forestry biomass. These projects reflect the company’s commitment to an increasingly sustainable future.
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