Navigator é a maior geradora de valor acrescentado e a segunda em volume de negócios entre 2.000 empresas de Setúbal

The Navigator Company leads a group of 2,000 companies operating in Setúbal that have created the most value for the district, reinforcing its position as the third largest exporter in Portugal and the largest generator of National Added Value. Scarcity of raw materials limits even more accelerated expansion of this integrated producer of forestry, pulp and paper, tissue and energy.

It occupies the second position in business volume in that region, and is, for the first time, just 2.8% away from reaching the (unconsolidated) turnover volume of Autoeuropa, the company that leads the "Ranking of the 2000 Largest Companies in the District of Setúbal for 2022", says the Queiroz Pereira family paper company, in a statement, citing the study carried out by the consultancy Iberinforma Portugal.

The dynamics of international prices for pulp, packaging paper and tissue, boosted by the improvement of the product mix and the focus on increasing productivity, boosted the good results achieved by Navigator in 2022, which guaranteed the distribution of the biggest bonuses ever to employees and strengthening your rejuvenation program.

For several years now, Navigator has been one of the companies that stands out most in valuing the crucial role of planted and well-managed forests in the transition from a fossil and linear model to a forest-based, circular bioeconomy model.

The company has been responsible for generating environmental value, from the outset, through this active and professional management of its planted forests, covering around 106,000 hectares across the country, but its forestry activity also generates high economic and social value.

It represents approximately 1% of the national GDP, around 3% of national exports of goods, and more than 30 thousand direct, indirect and induced jobs across the country, in a value chain that impacts the lives of thousands of people. Overall, in 2022 alone, The Navigator Company's investment in the forestry production value chain amounted to 210 million euros.

More than 92% of the group's products are sold outside Portugal and are destined for 130 countries, on five continents, thus achieving the broadest international presence among Portuguese companies.

Lack of raw materials limits greater investments

The forestry sector in Portugal, and in particular the pulp and paper sector, has been responsible for the creation of high added value, the export of tradable goods, the creation of jobs (with a large number of agents involved in the production, transformation and marketing of their products) and for its role as a dynamizing agent in disadvantaged areas.

The vitality of the forestry sector, namely the importance of its manufacturing industries, is today strongly expressed by its relevant export nature, totaling around 9% of national sales abroad. In 2022, the Pulp and Paper cluster alone ensured the equivalent of around 55% of sales abroad for the entire forestry sector.

On the other hand, our forests have also been a source of creating qualified jobs, generating wealth in the rural world and establishing populations. The eucalyptus sector alone generates more than 80 thousand jobs in the Portuguese economy.

The demand for this raw material will tend to grow throughout the world, as a result of the growth of many current uses, but also of new uses in bio products, which The Navigator Company is also developing on several fronts using cellulose. With a corporate purpose and the 2030 Responsible Management Agenda aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the company's strategy is based on strong investment in more sustainable alternatives, from a wide range of packaging solutions to the development of biofuels (bioethanol and biomethanol) and synthetic fuels (e-SAF and e-methanol), alternatives to those currently obtained from fossil raw materials.

The positive externalities of forest valorization represent a reality that The Navigator Company knows well, as a company that manages around 109,000 hectares of forest across the country. However, the raw material deficit has been increasing, threatening the sustainability of the activity and requiring hundreds of millions of euros of wood imports that could be produced in Portugal and contribute to the valorization of the rural economy. By valuing the forest, opportunities for people along the value chain multiply, creating conditions for greater profitability for forest owners and producers and, at the same time, reducing land abandonment and, consequently, the risk of fire. .

EIB 115 million green loan to accelerate investment in decarbonization

The Navigator Company signed a long-term financing contract with the European Investment Bank (EIB), in the amount of 115 million euros, with repayments lasting up to 12 years. The loan is intended to support the construction and operation project of a high-efficiency recovery boiler at the Setúbal Industrial Complex, a fundamental step in the Company's decarbonization roadmap.

The new boiler, which will involve a global investment of around 136 million euros, will allow the Company to reduce direct emissions of fossil carbon dioxide, in the Setúbal industrial complex, by around 136 thousand tons per year, the equivalent of 24,000 tonnes per year. 6% of the Group's emissions recorded in 2022.

This green loan is part of the REPowerEU Plan that aims to boost green energy financing and support the autonomy and competitiveness of the European Union.

REPowerEU aims to end dependence on fossil fuel imports by increasing energy efficiency and intensifying production from renewable energy.

The EIB's total contribution of €45 billion to REPowerEU is expected to mobilize more than €150 billion of investment by 2027 in support of green technologies and Europe's energy independence.

Source: The Navigator Company (release)

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