The company

History

In 2002 the French businessman Olivier Martin, with almost two decades of experience in the family feather and down business created by his forefathers in 1859, which he joined straight after finishing his International Business and Business Administration degree, decided to go it alone and take the helm of Navarpluma, a newly created company (2001).

The idea was to be able to offer duvet, pillow and cushion manufacturers products that were different to the standard products sold by enterprises in the sector. This meant not only uncovering customer needs and transforming them into specific fill products, but also creating a very flexible operation to provide a previously undetected level of service.

With the European processing overcapacity firmly in mind, result of the mass relocations in the sector at the end of the 20th century, Navarpluma’s activity started with buying material processed by third parties and focusing on the final processes involved in selecting, mixing, drying and dedusting, all carried out in a small artisan factory in Zizur Mayor (Navarre). Navarpluma looked for synergies with flexible logistics companies in order to offer its customers a fast and personalized service.

Soon afterwards, Navarpluma began exporting throughout Europe, to the USA and Asia, and the need to innovate processes to satisfy customers became obvious. In 2003 it started to directly collect unprocessed feathers, waste of the food procesing industry, and extended its facilities to install its first washing lines.

In 2004 the family group Martiko, from Navarre, formed a partnership with Olivier Martin to provide Navarpluma with a modern factory in Orcoyen, the same location as suppliers to the highly technical and innovative car industry. The contribution of technologies from other industries allowed Navarpluma to take an important technological and organizational leap forward, unique in the world of feather.

Over the last decade the business has continued to strengthen its position through a significant R&D program, leading to the continual improvement of methods, industrial organization, information technologies and the processes that allow it to make products that are increasingly innovative and differentiated while offering ever more sophisticated services.

Working with the French company Ets Abel Crabos, which over the last few years put in motion an ambitious investment plan, has helped to increase productive capacity and know-how. However, significant business growth meant that in 2014 the need to expand and modernize the Orcoyen plant became clear.

Over the last few years Navarpluma has marketed around 3,000 tons of feather and down per year, the limit with its current facilities. From 2016, with the commissioning of the new facilities and the accompanying technological advances, Navarpluma will initially be able to market around 5,000 tons of feather and down per year.

With the launch onto the market of a new range of brands representing innovative or very differentiated products, such as NEOKDUN®, CAPDUN®, DRYDUN®, and DUVET du FAUBOURG®, there are many development projects under way.

Finally, the DUNTRACK® system, developed to offer traceability, certification of origin and ethical guarantees unique in the world of feather, is another point of differentiation that we will be offering to our customers in the near future.

Many more projects are taking shape in the minds of the Navarpluma team, but we will tell you about these in the next update of this website.