Heidenheim, Germany 02 August 2017 -- The Navigator Company continues its expansion in the tissue sector and signs a contract with Voith for the supply of a new XcelLine tissue machine. The production line is designed to sustainably produce high-quality tissue paper maximizing the usage of slush Eucalyptus pulp. The new tissue facility will be integrated in the existing Cacia site in Portugal, where the company operates one of the biggest pulp production plants in Europe.

The scope of supply includes the latest Voith technologies to minimize energy consumption and achieve maximum efficiency in short fiber usage. Above all, the NipcoFlex T shoe press was a key factor in choosing Voith. With this technology, the need for thermal energy can be substantially reduced. The tissue machine is designed for an operating speed of 2,000 m/min. and will annually produce 70,000 metric tons of high-quality toilet and towel paper from pulp with a working width of 5,600 mm. 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 130,000 tons per year.

The new tissue production line will be equipped with further energy-efficient, operator friendly components and systems like the Pluralis refining technology, the MasterJet headbox, EvoDry T steel Yankee and the EcoHood T. A core part of the delivery will be the Papermaking 4.0 features including the innovative ComCore automation platform. The Navigator Company is one of Europe's leading producers of pulp and paper. It has a total paper capacity of 1.6 million tons per year, largely integrated with pulp production, and more than 3,000 employees. As part of its development plan for a new cycle of growth, the Navigator Company in 2015 acquired an established tissue manufacturer: AMS-BR Star Paper, S.A.

About Voith Paper

Voith Paper is a corporate division of Voith and one of the leading partners and pioneers in the paper industry. Through constant innovations, Voith Paper is optimizing the paper manufacturing process, focusing on developing resource-conserving products to reduce the use of energy, water and fibers.

About Voith

For 150 years, Voith technologies have been inspiring its customers, business partners and employees all over the world. Founded in 1867, Voith today has around 19,000 employees and earns 4.3 billion euros in sales. It has locations in more than 60 countries and is one of the largest family-owned companies in Europe. As a technology leader, Voith sets standards in the energy, oil & gas, paper, raw materials and transport & automotive markets.

About The Navigator Company

The Navigator Company is the new face of the former Portucel Soporcel group, after its rebranding in 2016. The Navigator Company is Portugal's third leading exporter, and the exporter generating the highest level of national value added. The Group accounts for approximately 1% of Portugal's GDP, around 3% of the country's total exports of goods. In 2016, the Company set a new all-time record for paper output, with an annual turnover of approximately 1.6 billion euros.

Having consolidated its position as the 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), the fifth largest in the world, and has entered the tissue market, where it expects to become one of key players in the continent. As a vertically integrated forestry Company with its own forestry research institute RAIZ, it manages vast tracts of forest in Portugal certified under the FSC® and PEFC™ systems (FSC license C010852 and PEFC license 13-23-001), and boasts annual production capacity for 1.6 million tons of paper, 1.4 million tons of pulp (of which 1.1 million is integrated into paper) and power generation of 2.5 TWh, adding up to annual turnover of approximately 1.6 billion euros.