The Navigator Company has approved the final investment decision of €30 million to convert its PM3 (Paper Machine No. 3), located at the integrated Pulp, Paper and Packaging complex in Setúbal. With this project, the Company reinforces its position in the European market for flexible packaging papers (kraft papers), establishing itself as one of the sector’s benchmark producers.
The new operation is scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2026, with an annual production capacity of 100 thousand tonnes, while retaining the operational flexibility to manufacture printing and writing papers.
The conversion will enable the production of papers in a grammage range between 30 and 90 grams per square metre, meeting the growing demand for sustainable solutions across various food and non food segments, in line with the trend towards natural, renewable and biodegradable alternatives.
The new PM3 will become one of Europe’s largest and most competitive machines for producing low grammage packaging papers, and the biggest in Southern Europe, positioning Navigator as the fourth largest producer in this market. The total investment amounts to €30 million, significantly below the cost of a greenfield investment for similar capacity.
Production costs will benefit from Navigator’s pulp integration and from wood consumption markedly lower than that of competitors, at between 2.35 and 2.85 cubic metres of wood per tonne of pulp, compared with the 5.0 to 5.5 cubic metres typical of European pine fibre, for example. PM3 is a Valmet machine with a sheet width of 4.55 metres and a speed of 1,160 metres per minute. Installed in 1990, it underwent successive upgrades in 1997, 2003, 2007 and 2018.
The project will allow Navigator to consolidate its strategic focus on producing flexible packaging for food service/take away applications or release liners, in which Eucalyptus globulus fibre has proved a differentiating factor. The distinctive nature of this fibre enables the production of kraft papers with a high degree of smoothness—comparable to MG (machine glazed) papers— without loss of caliper and with low permeability, all of which are essential for applications involving coatings or requiring high print quality. gKRAFT™ drives its presence in the global flexible packaging market
The conversion of PM3 will expand Navigator’s portfolio of sustainable products and innovative solutions based on Eucalyptus globulus fibre, as evidenced by the continuous growth of the gKRAFT™ range and the strong performance of low grammage products.
