Portugal’s The Navigator Company is to boost its tissue capacity by 70,000tpy after investing in an XcelLine TM.
Supplied by Voith, the line is designed to produce high-quality tissue paper and maximise the usage of slush Eucalyptus pulp.
The tissue facility will be integrated into the company’s existing Cacia site, where it operates one of the biggest pulp production plants in Europe.
The scope of supply includes the latest Voith technologies to minimise energy consumption and achieve maximum efficiency in short fibre usage.
With the NipcoFlex T shoe press technology, the TM supplier said the need for thermal energy can “be substantially reduced”.
The tissue machine is designed for an operating speed of 2,000m/min and will annually produce 70,000 metric tonnes of high-quality toilet and towel paper from pulp with a working width of 5,6m.
Start-up is scheduled for second half of 2018.
With this new investment, the total tissue production capacity of The Navigator Company will raise to 130,000tpy.
The Navigator Company has a total paper capacity of 1.6m tpy, largely integrated with pulp production, and more than 3,000 staff.
As part of its development plan for a new cycle of growth, in 2015 the company acquired AMS-BR Star Paper.
The Navigator Company is the new face of the former Portucel Soporcel group, after its rebranding in 2016.
Having consolidated its position as a leading European manufacturer and the fourth largest in the world of uncoated woodfree (UWF) printing and writing paper, The Navigator Company is also Europe’s top producer of BEKP (Bleached Eucalyptus Globulus Kraft Pulp) and the fifth largest in the world.
It now aims to become one of key players in the continent.
