Economies of scale, the role of research and increasing capital intensity of production are key features of this short video which pays a visit to the Navigator paper company in Portugal.

Navigator is Europe’s largest manufacturer of printing and writing paper, and the sixth largest producer in the world.

Notice the role of robotic capital equipment in harvesting the genetically modified trees. 12 million tree plants are sown each year in 3 nurseries and it takes up to 12 years for the trees to mature before they are chopped down.

Manufacturing is done at a remarkable scale - sufficient to produce enough paper for 4 million books every day. Output is exported to more than 130 countries.

One of the key challenges for the paper industry is for it to become more sustainable and carbon neutral by 2050.