The Navigator Company invests USD 125M to boost tissue production capacity at Aveiro complex
This strategy is designed to strengthen its long-term competitiveness while cushioning the group from volatility in the traditional pulp and paper market.
PORTUGAL – The Navigator Company has approved a €115 million (USD 125 million) investment to install a new tissue paper machine at its Aveiro industrial complex, marking a major step in the group’s transition beyond traditional printing and writing paper.
The project will add 70,000 tons of annual production capacity, support the company’s converting operations in the United Kingdom, and begin operations in March 2028, with spending phased at €48 million (USD 52 million) in 2026, €53 million (USD 57 million) in 2027, and €14 million (USD 15 million) in 2028, alongside support from the Portugal 2030 program.
The investment reflects a decade of rapid growth in Navigator’s tissue business, which has expanded from about 5% of turnover to roughly 25% today, while the group’s current tissue production capacity stands at 165,000 tons and converting capacity at 310,000 tons.
It also builds on the company’s 2023 acquisition of the Consumer Tissue business of Spain’s Gomà-Camps, a move that strengthened its position in the Iberian tissue market and made it the second-largest player in the segment.
According to the company, the new line is intended to improve industrial integration by supplying its UK tissue operations with parent rolls from Aveiro, reducing reliance on third-party sourcing and improving efficiency across the value chain.
The UK converting business acquired in 2024 can process around 130,000 tons a year but does not have its own jumbo-roll production, which makes the new machine strategically important to the group’s supply chain.
The announcement came alongside 2025 results that showed resilience in a difficult year for the pulp and paper industry.
The company closed 2025 with turnover of €1,970 million (USD2.13 billion), EBITDA of €376 million (USD406 million), and net profit of €145 million, while Tissue and Packaging together contributed nearly 33% of total EBITDA, or €122 million(USD132 million).
The Navigator Company also said it invested €210 million (USD 227 million) in 2025, with 60% of that amount directed to environmental and sustainability projects.
Market conditions, however, remained challenging in 2025 due to historically weak pulp prices, driven by global overcapacity, especially in China, and soft demand in Europe and North America.
Even so, the company said it entered 2026 with signs of recovery already emerging, including a roughly 10% rebound in pulp prices in China and a 16% rise in Europe versus the fourth quarter of 2025, plus Navigator’s own planned 5% to 8% price increases for printing and writing paper in Europe.
Supply-side constraints are also supporting a firmer outlook, with recent natural disasters and the revocation of forest licenses in Indonesia expected to limit global wood availability.
The company added that extreme weather in Portugal briefly interrupted operations at its Figueira da Foz and Vila Velha de Ródão plants early in 2026, but production resumed fully within a few days.
Sustainability remains central to the company’s strategy, with Navigator positioning itself as a leader in environmental performance.
In 2025, 60% of its total investment was allocated to environmental and sustainability projects, and the company aims to decarbonize its industrial complexes by 2035, a target it says is 15 years ahead of national goals.
It also expects direct CO2 emissions in 2026 to be 60% below 2018 levels, while maintaining an “A” rating from CDP for both climate and forest management, a distinction held by only a small share of companies globally.
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