DS Smith announces major investment in Portugal

DS Smith, the leading provider of sustainable packaging solutions, today announced an ambitious upgrade program to its kraft paper mill in Viana, Portugal. A multiyear €145M package of investments will bring some of the most up to date paper-making machinery to Viana, rebuilding the mills paper machine and reducing CO2 emissions.

Marking the company’s commitment to both growth and the circular economy in Portugal, the investment package will include the rebuild of the existing paper machine and a brand-new state of the art recovery boiler which will be one of the most modern in Europe. The boiler will improve environmental performance by enhancing steam efficiency at the mill by 25%, with steam from the boiler being recycled back into the mill. The start-up of the new boiler, provided by market leader Valmet, is expected to be in early 2025.

This investment package is one of a number of projects across Europe and North America contributing to DS Smith’s target to reduce Scope 1, 2 and 3 Green House Gas (GHG) emissions by 46% on an absolute basis by 2030, compared to 2019 levels, and to reach Net Zero emissions by 2050.

"As one of our larger mills, Viana has a huge role to play in this and the €145M investment is testament to our commitment to remain at the forefront of the market, and to lead the way in the race to net zero in the paper industry."

The new boiler will also support the rebuild of the mill’s paper machine,PM4, increasing both its speed and capacity. This will ensure that Viana mill will continue to play a key role in meeting the rising demand for plastic replacement solutions, with the rebuild allowing for the production of new and innovative papers to support customers' evolving demand for more sustainable packaging solutions.

DS Smith has commissioned suppliers Voith and Valmet to rebuild of the paper machine, with completion being expected later this year.

Viana Paper Mill, situated in northern Portugal, is a market leader in Southern Europe. Following an ambitious modernisation plan in 2017, the mill became one of the most efficient kraftliner paper factories in Europe It was acquired by DS Smith in 2018 and was previously known as Europac Kraft Viana.