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Vincent Monziols is appointed Chairman of the Tournaire Group and Managing Director of Tournaire SAS

Following the retirement of Luc Tournaire and in agreement with the representatives of the Group’s shareholders, Vincent Monziols (49) has been appointed Chairman of Tournaire Groupe Holding and Managing Director of Tournaire SAS.

After starting his career in venture capital and then in the development of a growth company, Vincent Monziols spent a large part of his career with the Saint-Gobain group. Passionate about business development, the deployment of an organisation’s full potential and the growth of the men and women around him, he has managed highly autonomous international activities for more than fifteen years, including Saint-Gobain’s Engineered Components division and, more recently, Latécoère’s cable division. He is an engineer, graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique and AgroParisTech.

 

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As of 17 January, he joins the Tournaire Group, the historic leader in industrial barrier packaging, to manage growth and take on all the new challenges.

“I am delighted to join this French industrial flagship and I am very honoured to succeed Luc Tournaire. I am part of the continuity of the Tournaire family which, since its creation in 1833 in Grasse, has built this great industrial adventure still full of promise and potential. I would like to thank Luc Tournaire, the Motion Equity Partners fund and the members of the Supervisory Board for trusting me to take up, with all the company’s employees, the many challenges that await us”, explains Vincent Monziols.

 

His objectives are many:

– to consolidate the Tournaire Group’s leading position in its historical markets in Europe

– to accelerate its international development;

– to penetrate new high-potential application markets;

– strengthen its industrial assets and its commitment to environmental protection.

 

About the Tournaire Group :

The Tournaire Group was born with the first perfume plant distillers in Grasse in 1833. Today, it draws on almost two centuries of know-how in the production and marketing of high-performance industrial packaging, mainly in aluminium, used for sampling, storing and transporting high-value-added materials (ingredients & active ingredients, solvents, aromas, essential oils, etc.). The Tournaire Group has a diversified portfolio of more than 900 customers operating in resilient and buoyant sectors such as the pharmaceutical industry, flavours and fragrances, ingredients, fine chemicals and agrochemicals. Historically based in Grasse, the world capital of perfume, the Tournaire Group has its main production site there and has unique industrial know-how. It also has a production site in Fragnes (Saône-et-Loire) dedicated to the production of high-performance plastic packaging, as well as sales subsidiaries in the United States and Vietnam. Tournaire markets its solutions in 80 countries and has almost 300 employees. In 2021, the Group achieved a turnover of over €90m. In October 2022, the Tournaire Group entered into a strategic and financial partnership with Motion Equity Partners, a French private equity firm with a strong entrepreneurial culture.

TOURNAIRE, 190th anniversary in 2023: the brand evolves

As it approaches its 190th year, TOURNAIRE reveals its new brand identity to better present its business refocused on Packaging and also meeting its customers’ expectations and market developments. This subtle identity change will support the Grasse-based company’s responsible growth strategy.

The purpose of this new identity is to energise and strengthen the TOURNAIRE group’s image as the world leader in premium one-piece aluminium packaging solutions with a more humanised typography, a modernised design, and a new signature refocused on the Packaging business and respect for life: “Protecting the essential since 1833”.

1. A shield and new colours, symbolising protection, energy, and recyclability: all the sharp points on the previous logo have been replaced with softer rounded corners that are more delicate and human. The original blue colour has been replaced by a deeper, more elegant blue. By adding a second colour, grey, TOURNAIRE shows it is committed to 100% recyclable aluminium, which is at the heart of its know-how and technical expertise.

2. Humanised typography that is uniform and balanced. A subtle font change that confers a greater status, ensuring continued safety, reliability, and ingenuity. A universal font that maintains TOURNAIRE’s high standards as the unfailing, trusted partner for distributing sensitive products worldwide.

3. A brand signature refocusing the brand on its Packaging business and asserting Tournaire’s mission to protect life: “Protecting the essential since 1833”. TOURNAIRE gives its customers the perfect packaging solution to distribute and promote their sensitive, dangerous, or valuable products worldwide with peace of mind while protecting the environment and life.

As an industrial group at the forefront of complete premium protective solutions since 1833, TOURNAIRE has almost two centuries of expertise in manufacturing and selling high-performance industrial packaging. The group has a diversified portfolio of over 900 customers operating in resilient and buoyant sectors including pharmaceuticals, flavours and perfumes, ingredients, fine chemicals, and agrochemicals.

Tournaire has refocused on the Packaging business but is also committed to protecting the essential: the planet and life.

 

Logo TOURNAIRE 2022

A strategic, financial partnership to drive development at groupe Tournaire

Tournaire, the longstanding leader in industrial barrier packaging, is delighted to announce that Motion Equity Partners has taken out a majority stake in the company, alongside the founding family, to set the firm’s sights ever higher while maintaining its very strong identity, values, independence and the strengths that have made it a success.

 

Additional means to boost growth

The European leader for premium packaging solutions in aluminium monobloc, Tournaire is enjoying steadily-increasing turnover in excess of 90 million euros, and now wishes to boost its development even further. On the eve of Tournaire’s 190th anniversary, the family shareholders’ intention is to secure the extra resources needed to seize feasible growth and development opportunities. In order to continue to cater to the growing needs of customers on especially brisk markets, while holding on to a significant share of the capital, the family shareholders have decided to strike up a strategic and financial partnership with Motion Equity Partners, a French capital investment firm with a strong entrepreneurial culture.

 

An ambitious development plan for the coming years

Opening up the capital in this manner is an opportunity for the management team to gear up to achieve greater growth. The aim for the coming years is thus to consolidate  Tournaire’s leading position in its established markets in Europe, boost development abroad, gain a footing in new, high-potential markets, buttress its industrial assets and its commitments to protect the environment, while continuing to provide its customers with excellent service.

“This project is a great opportunity to step up our organisation and shareholdership via a lasting partnership with a professional shareholder, and scale up our achievements, while remaining true to our values, independence and the strengths that have made our firm a success. This operation will give Tournaire the chance to expand and invest yet further in innovation and its industrial facilities,” explained Jeanne Lions, President of Tournaire.

 

Motion Equity Partners, a spot-on choice

Motion Equity Partners is well-accustomed to handling this type of project, and as a result was unanimously chosen by all longstanding shareholders as their long-term strategic and financial partner. Motion Equity Partners is a major, independent player in capital investment in France and Europe, providing support for top French firms with great potential, alongside the families and managerial teams aiming to expand their firm. As well-rounded experts in the packaging industry, Tournaire’s customer base and markets, Motion Equity Partners will share their know-how to help the management team as they hone and implement their ambitious growth strategy.

Jeanne Lions, President of the Tournaire group, shared that “Motion Equity Partners has ambitious plans for Groupe Tournaire, taking a long-term approach. They soon gained valuable insights into the firm and its markets, convincing us that our choice of strategic partner was spot-on”.

Patrick Eisenchteter and Anthony Baudoin, Associates at Motion Equity Partners stated that “We are especially proud to be supporting Tournaire in this next stage of development alongside the founding family. As a shining example of French manufacturing, Tournaire has set the benchmark for speciality packaging, offering solutions endorsed by its customers. Drawing on our experience in renewable packaging, we will be charting a far-reaching course, leveraging our rich experience and strong corporate values”.

 

About Groupe Tournaire

Founded in 1833, Tournaire was among the first distillers of perfume plants established in Grasse. It now harnesses savoir-faire accumulated over the course of nearly two centuries to produce and market high-performance industrial packaging, mainly in aluminium, for samples, storage and the shipping of premium materials (ingredients & active ingredients, solvents, aromas, essential oils etc.). Tournaire has a diversified portfolio of over 900 clients operating in resilient, promising industries such as pharmaceuticals, aromas and perfume, ingredients, fine chemicals and agrochemicals. Long established in Grasse, the world capital for perfume, Tournaire has its main production plant there, leveraging unique industry knowledge. The firm also has another plant in Fragnes in the east of France, which specialises in producing high-performance plastic packaging, and sales subsidiaries in the US and Vietnam. Tournaire markets its solutions in 80 countries and has a payroll of nearly 300 employees. In 2021, the group posted turnover in excess of €90 million.

 

About Motion Equity Partners

With over 25 years’ experience supporting mid-market companies in France and abroad, collaborating alongside their management teams, Motion Equity Partners has forged a great reputation in capital investment. As an independent entity with €1 billion in assets under management, Motion Equity Partners deploys a seasoned team with a strong entrepreneurial spirit, with a track record of over 50 capital investment operations in France and abroad. Motion Equity Partners has supported the development of 17+ small and mid-market companies and has gained sound experience and know-how in industries such as renewable packaging, health and nutrition, supporting companies such as Omni-Pac Group (European leaders on the market for moulded fibre packaging), Olmix (world specialists for natural farming solutions) EA Pharma (pharmaceutical firm specialising in oligotherapy, nutrition and health) and Diana Ingrédients (world supplier of innovative natural ingredients).

Motion Equity Partners is a responsible, experienced investor with a commitment to sustainable development. As a capital investor in small and medium sized companies, Motion Equity Partners has always made responsible shareholdership a strict requirement. Reconciling economic development, social progress and the need to reduce our environmental footprint is indispensable to the development of a prosperous, sound economy.

Find out more on: www.motionequitypartners.com

 

Press Officer: Sylvie Poillevé, L’ambassade

Sylvie Poillevé : sylvie.poilleve@lambassade.agency – +33 (0)6 69 46 59 24

Issues and challenges for TOURNAIRE in 2022

Interview of Jeanne Lions, Chairman of the Board et Laurent Zeller, Member of the Board

What are the challenges for TOURNAIRE to better respond to customer demands?

Jeanne Lions: We have several challenges ahead of us, many of them, but also some very exciting ones. Firstly, to maintain our presence in Grasse and our industrial role and that of leader in the packaging market and to promote our technological capacity for innovation. This is our fundamental challenge. Beyond that, today we have to face a challenge in relation to the economic situation which is very difficult due to the shortage of raw materials and the rise in raw material prices. We have to demonstrate a completely new agility in a completely new context, and we have to react to serve our customers in the best possible way without endangering the company. And finally, for me, one of the most rewarding and motivating challenges is knowing how to work with all our teams. Knowing how to help them grow and how to promote them.

Laurent Zeller: When people talk to me about innovation, I have to say that our role at Tournaire is to anticipate and to be relevant, especially because we are industrialists with a long-term vision. So, if I had to name the major challenges for the next twenty years, I would name two. The first is recyclability, obviously. What we are seeing in the consumer business is now affecting the industrial world, which is quite normal. The second is traceability, everything that revolves around blockchain and protection against counterfeiting.

ALUMINIUM IS ON THE CUTTING-EDGE OF RECYCLABILITY FOR PACKAGING MATERIALS.

Many types of packaging materials are used to protect products during storage and shipping, both in  mass retail and industrial packaging: paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, wood and metal.

The choice of material varies according to criteria such as product type, the level of protection needed and how it will be shipped.

Compared to these materials, aluminium has some amazing properties: it is highly malleable, lightweight and resistant as well as offering conductivity and full protection from light, oxygen and water. But just how recyclable is aluminium packaging?

 

01. Aluminium, a naturally-occurring element

02. The environmental impact of using aluminium in packaging shrinks over time

03. Infinite recycling and all-aluminium packaging

04. Aluminium, the most environment-friendly packaging material

05. Aluminium is low-carbon

06. Aluminium recycling in France creates jobs:

07. Great room for improvement for the recycling industry:

 

Aluminium, a naturally-occurring element:

Aluminium has been in use since ancient times. It occurs naturally, although only in compounds such as alum (the best known). Much later, in 1821, French mineralogist and engineer Pierre Berthier[1] analysed a mineral found near Baux-de-Provence and pinpointed a high concentration in alumina. This red mineral, later named bauxite, was later to become the main mineral in aluminium.

Ranking third among the most common chemical elements, aluminium is the most abundant element, making up 8% of the earth’s crust.

 

The environmental impact of using aluminium in packaging shrinks over time:

For one tonne of aluminium, you need to extract two tonnes of alumina and around four tonnes of bauxite. For an accurate environmental footprint, you need to analysing the product’s full life cycle. This type of analysis is the most comprehensive  because it factors in extraction, manufacturing, shipping, use, recycling and related operations involving the use of energy, secondary materials, and shipping. The standards ISO 14040 and 14044[2] set out the rules and method, factoring in all steps in the material’s life cycle.

Nowadays, global annual production of primary aluminium stands at 60 million tonnes. “The stock of aluminium for recycling is ever growing and is an important resource for the future given its alleviated energy cost”. Source Aluminium France.

You can find out more, and get the low-down on why “Aluminium packaging contributes to the rational use of resources…” and how “aluminium preserves more resources than it uses” from the European Aluminium Association[3] brochure.

 

Infinite recycling and all-aluminium packaging 

The recycling of aluminium packaging is essential to protect the environment, saving on both resources and waste volume. Packaging is recyclable when it can be transformed into a new raw material used to produce new items. Aluminium can be recycled infinitely, to the point that 75% of aluminium produced in 1920 is still in use today. Aluminium is fully recyclable without any deterioration in its initial physical and chemical qualities.

Used, all-aluminium packaging (secondary aluminium) is of great economical value. This contributes to its being effectively recycled: the more aluminium a product contains, the more chances it has of being recycled! Aluminium packaging can be used to produce new packaging and other premium products such as engine blocks, building material and bicycles. For example, you can make 300 racing bike frames from a tonne of recycled aluminium.

 

Aluminium, the most environment-friendly packaging material

According to an ACV Bio Intelligence survey on behalf of Tetra Pak, published on 25 June 2019: “Aluminium has the lowest impact on nature and can thus claim the title of most environment-friendly packaging material[4]”.

This means that it is highly likely that most aluminium packaging used to protect products you buy, especially food packaging, will be recycled. To be precise, some 47% of aluminium used in France has been recycled, For example, cans made of aluminium contain three times more recycled matter than glass or plastic bottles, as the Aluminium Association[5] points out.

 

Aluminium is low-carbon

Very little energy is needed to recycle aluminium: only 5% of that used to produce the primary metal. In other words, recycling aluminium packaging (to make secondary aluminium) saves up to 95% energy compared to producing primary aluminium and an equivalent amount of GHG emissions (source AAA). Indeed, recycling secondary aluminium helps to reduce CO2 emissions by at least 100 Mt a year (evaluated, in 2015, on a basis of 30 Mt of secondary aluminium produced).

Aluminium is not only lightweight (its density being three times less that of steel) it also contributes massively to decarbonation, since it is infinitely recyclable. Weighing only half as much as steel, aluminium helps to reduce load weight for example, for shipping over land, sea or air, when used as substitute for many other, heavier packaging materials such as glass or steel, for equivalent technical performance.

 

Aluminium recycling in France creates jobs:

Lastly, 92% of aluminium packaging is recycled in France (8% in Europe). In 2015, 472,000 tonnes of aluminium were recycled in France. In comparison, the production of primary aluminium stood at 450,000 tonnes the same year.

Aluminium recycling creates both jobs and value. With a dozen or so refineries and recycling plants in France it accounts for some 1,500 direct jobs.

 

Great room for improvement for the recycling industry:

Today, in France, 47% of aluminium packaging is recycled, so there is still plenty of room for improvement. Click here to learn about all the steps to recycle aluminium packaging in France[6].

Click here to find out about Tournaire’s commitments in terms of Environmental Management Systems [7].

 

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[1] https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Berthier

[2] https://www. iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:14044:ed-1:v1:en

[3] https://www.european-aluminium.eu/media/1320/packaging-brochure_fr.pdf

[4] http://castilloje. ree.fr/1sti2d/1sti2d_ett_tp/2_cycle_vie/tp6d_tetrapak/synthese_acv_tetra_pak.pdf

[5] https://www.aluminum.org/aluminum-advantage/facts-glance

[6] https://www.citeo.com/le-mag/infographie-tri-et-recyclage-des-packaging-en-aluminium-fait-le-point/

[7] https://www.tournaire.fr/le-recyclage-comme-le-monde/

From 1833 to the present, a company standing the test of Time

While the busy merchant city of Grasse was already doing brisk business in olive oil, leather and gloves, it still added yet another line of business, that of “perfume oil” and “floral extracts”, leading to a new corporation: that of distillery. This in turn led to the development of boilermakers who were to expand their skills to include the making of stills. And so, in 1833, Joseph Tournaire, son and grandson of millers, set up shop in premises of 40sq.m on Place de la Roque. By the late 19th century, no fewer than six boilermaking workshops catered to the perfume industry in Grasse.

01. 1833 – THE BEGINNING OF AN ADVENTURE

02. 1920 – A FUNDAMENTAL SHIFT

03. 1950 – OPENING TO OVERSEAS

04. 2010 – ROBOTICS FOR QUALITY

05. FAMILY PICTURES

Scan de la revue scientifique "La Parfumerie Moderne", numéro d'avril 1930
La Parfumerie Moderne – Avril 1930
Article journalistique sur les nouveaux emballages aluminium vitrifiés - La Parfumerie Moderne janvier 1930 p.277 et 279
La Parfumerie Moderne avril janvier 1930 p.277 et 279

1833 – THE BEGINNING OF AN ADVENTURE

The growth of this industry, the activity of which depended on the season, fostered new needs: reliable storage, without any alteration of sensitive materials and shipping without damaging it. Perfume makers naturally turned to those with expert knowledge in materials and their various properties: the manufacturers of stills.

Thus, driven by client demand and based on the success of their stills, for which they received a medal at the 1884 Nice exhibition, the firm Antoine TOURNAIRE Fils soon diversified, expanding into the design and manufacture of tin-plated copper vats. At the time, tin-plated copper was also used for stills.

With the arrival in 1900 of the first steam factories in Grasse, and elsewhere in the west, arrived on the scene, Gustave Tournaire moved his ancestor’s workshop to premises of 600sq.m in Font-Laugière. As an engineer from the prestigious Arts & Métiers school, he developed the manufacture of tin-plated copper stills and vats for manufacturers in Grasse, French liquor-makers and the perfume-makers from all over Europe.

Publicité Tournaire paru dans “La Parfumerie Moderne” de 1925 à 1932

1920 – A FUNDAMENTAL SHIFT

From 1925 to 1930, with Marcel Tournaire at the helm, Tournaire S.A. harnessed progress in aluminium technology, to spearhead a revolution, introducing a range of packaging in state-of-the-art monobloc aluminium. Type 1 was born. Vitrification with firing and glazing was soon added to the range.

1950 – OPENING TO OVERSEAS

In the 1950s, the firm now directed by Jean Tournaire started catering to new markets. Tournaire packaging was used by the pharmaceutical industry to wrap sterile active ingredients, and also chemicals.

The development of the pharmaceutical and chemicals industries stepped up and in 1960, Marcel Tournaire invested in a plot of land in Plan-de-Grasse on which to build a new plant, still operating today. In 1965 René Tournaire industrialised the production of aluminium packaging with the introduction of the first extrusion presses and swaging machines.

With Gilbert Tournaire as president and Jean-Pierre Forestier as CEO, packaging became Tournaire S.A.’s core business in the 1970s. Exports boomed: Sales Director Jean Tournaire expanded into Asia and the Middle East. Hugues Thibaud analysed and opened up the North American market with Tournaire S.A. partnering the firm O.Berk in New Jersey, and Xavier Arnoult became the first Exports Director, developing the European market.

In 1978, Tournaire S.A. introduced to the market its first tamper-proof mounting screw, designed by Jean Tournaire: Système Plus®. In 1980, Tournaire S.A. set up a plastic injection workshop to better control the performance of the closing mechanisms for its aluminium bottles.

in response to client demand, Tournaire S.A. expanded its savoir-faire in the 1990s to include co-extrusion blow moulding. The production of multilayer plastic jerry cans started up, adding further to the range of aluminium packaging. In 1993, Tournaire S.A. improved yet further the cleaning procedure, setting up an automated stripping and oxidation unit for aluminium packaging for active ingredients used in pharmaceuticals. This also helped to boost production capacity maintaining top quality. Further to several acquisitions, the site in Grasse was extended by 50% in 1995, with new premises being built to further develop the packaging business.

In 1999, Director Luc Tournaire founded the sales subsidiary TMM in partnership with a family business from the Jura, Millet Marius, in order to better serve clients working in agrochemicals. In 2003, the US subsidiary Elemental Container was created with the buyout of the subsidiary O.Berk International in New Jersey.

Tournaire S.A. earned ISO 9002 certification in 1996, then ISO 9001 certification in 2002 and lastly, ISO 14001 certification in 2003.

With a view to greater client proximity and to provide the best possible service, Tournaire S.A. created the industrial subsidiary Tournaire Plastic S.A.S on the former Kodak site in Chalon-sur-Saône in 2005. Thanks to this central location, Tournaire S.A. could quickly deliver its barrier packaging in coextruded plastic to its clients. This manufacturing subsidiary obtained ISO 9001 certification in 2008.

Lasting success, alongside social and environmental responsibility are major values underpinning S.A. Tournaire’s development. In 2011, Director Luc Tournaire set up the firm’s school, with the aim of documenting and teaching the firm’s very specific savoir-faire. This school also fosters the professional development of staff, helping them gain professional qualifications recognised by the French government, while maintaining jobs.

2010 – ROBOTICS FOR QUALITY

In 2013, the first robots came on the scene and the manufacturing lines were modernised, facilitating routine tasks and making them more reliable.

On the strength of its 185 years’ experience serving its clients, Tournaire S.A. created, the sales subsidiary Tournaire Asie Pacifique in Bien Hoa City, Vietnam in 2018, to reach out to its partners and boost its international footing.

From a tiny boilermaker’s workshop in Grasse in 1833 to the international group of today, Tournaire S.A. has ever developed and reinvented itself, lasting through two world wars, recessions and pandemics. Tournaire S.A. remains a family business with a rich and unique experience, ever adapting to its clients and its environment to remain a privileged, innovative partner to industries for sensitive materials.

FAMILY PICTURES

Joseph Tournaire
Antoine Tournaire
Gustave Tournaire
marcel tournaire ta
Marcel Tournaire
Gilbert Tournaire
Gilbert Tournaire
Jean-Pierre Forestier
Jean-Pierre Forestier
Jean Tournaire
Jean Tournaire
Luc Tournaire
Luc Tournaire

Grasse, world capital of perfume.

Overlooking the French Riviera from foothills resplendent in the colours of Tuscany, between the sea and the mountains, the town of Grasse has prospered since the early Middle Ages.

01. Grasse, doing brisk business in a traditional industry: tanning

02. The birth of the perfume industry

03. Founding of Tournaire to serve Perfume makers

04. Emblematic family businesses in the perfume business in Grasse

05. Grasse and nature, consecration and a new boom since 2018

Grasse, doing brisk business in a traditional industry: tanning

It became a powerful, independent city in the 12th century, controlling access to the entire hinterland and doing brisk trade with Italy. In the early 15th century, the tanning industry developed considerably, for which the town was reputed all over Europe. Grasse leather was famous for its quality and green hue obtained by macerating it in myrtle. Further to the unification of Provence with the French kingdom in 1482, Grasse was able to expand its flourishing tanning business (gloves bags and belts) even further afield. The magnificent fortified city also started large-scale production of jasmine, the May rose, tuberose and lavender in 1560,.

The downside to tanned leather was its unpleasant smell. To better cater to the requirements of the aristocracy, a tanner from Grasse hit on the idea of adding perfume to his leather gloves. He is said to have offered a pair to Catherine de’ Medici, who loved them so much, she launched a new fashion for perfumed gloves at the French court, thus sparking Grasse’s global reputation. In 1614, Louis XIII created the glove and perfume makers guild, which developed such delights as marzipan gloves “à la provençale”.

 

The birth of the perfume industry

Hit by heavy taxation and competition from across the Alps in Italy, the tanning industry then suffered gentle decline through to the late 18th century. However, this coincided with the wearing of perfume being increasingly included in beauty routines. While the two lines of business were intertwined, perfume started to boom. With perfume makers growing many different aromatic plants and flowers in the Grasse country’s unique climate and soil, the perfume business ousted tanning in Grasse, soon to flourish and carve out the city’s reputation worldwide.

In the 19th century, the perfume business scaled up from craftsmanship to industry. Large family businesses started up, some of which are global leaders today.

 

Founding of Tournaire to serve Perfume makers

The craftsman’s workshop founded in 1833 on Place de la Roque in Grasse by Joseph Tournaire, also came about thanks to those glove-makers who started selling perfume.

As this industry was taking off, the need to distil natural products developed, ushering in the arrival of the first boilermakers, specialising like Tournaire in the manufacture of stills. With the introduction of steam in manufacturing in the early 1900s, large quantities of raw materials could be handled. Gustave Tournaire harnessed this development to upgrade his boilermaking workshop into a factory.

Along with stills, perfume makers also sought sturdy, waterproof packaging to ship their precious essences as far as Australia without any alteration. So Tournaire designed tin-plated copper packaging, including vats in which to ship perfume. Aluminium packaging first took off in the 1930s, driven by Marcel Tournaire, as copper became too expensive, and aluminium processing technology became more effective. Switching from soldered copper to monobloc aluminium, aluminium flasks would be used worldwide.

From 1833 to the present, a company standing the test of Time

 

Emblematic family businesses in the perfume business in Grasse

The perfume business of course included the growing of plants used to make perfume and their processing, and the composition and creation of finished products (perfume and aromas for the perfume business, cosmetics, hygiene and food products). It also drove imports and exports, trade, and the processing of raw materials.

Many family businesses still operate in this industry today, including Mane, founded in 1871, and Robertet founded in 1850, Payan Bertrand founded in 1854, Argeville in 1955 and Jean Niel in 1779.

Like Tournaire, these firms have been directed from the outset by generations of leaders who have managed to preserve their independence, innovating and developing profitably for nearly 200 years now.

According to Philippe Massé, head of the national association of manufacturers of aromatic products (Prodarom) “The Grasse perfume industry boasts 64 firms employing 4,600 staff and a turnover of 2.9 billion euros” (Source Capital – January 2021 – in French only).

“The Grasse basin has played a crucial role in the perfume business, accounting for almost half the perfume business and aromas and something like 7-8 % worldwide”. The family businesses in Grasse have developed a long-lasting heritage, unique in this world. (Source: Wikipedia, in French only).

The war years, the 1929 crash and the boom in international trade have all chipped away at the  20th-century expansion of the industry in Grasse, facing off the spectacular growth of synthetic aromas, propelled by multinational giants based in Switzerland, the US and Germany.

 

Grasse and nature, consecration and a new boom since 2018

However, the Grasse families have not had their last word.

All players in the Grasse country ecosystem have teamed up with local elected officials to invest heavily in the past years, to promote natural products and a large-scale return to growing perfume plants.

A quarter of Grasse’s territory has been classified as a “protected nature reserve”. Along with other Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Rhône-Alpes regions, it became a national business cluster in July 2005, boasting its own label called P.A.S.S (Parfums-Arômes-Senteurs-Saveurs).

The association “Fleurs d’Exception du Pays de Grasse” (Amazing flowers in Grasse country) created in 2006 to promote plant production in Grasse country, is an umbrella organisation for 25 perfume plant-growers. Its president, Armelle Janody, confirmed: “Fleurs d’Exception du Pays de Grasse is an association of perfume plant-growers in Grasse country, who have chosen to go organic. They have all signed a charter encouraging solidarity and sharing. The aim of the association is to promote perfume plants and local production”.

In August 2013, the Association Patrimoine Vivant du Pays de Grasse (Living heritage in Grasse country) was created to apply for “the skills related to perfume in Grasse country: the cultivation of perfume plants, the knowledge and processing of natural raw materials, and the art of perfume composition” to be classified as  “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”. Chaired by former French Senator and Mayor of Grasse Jean-Pierre Leleux, this very active association represents all industry players and has gained unanimous approval. It aims to “make a representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, including the entire heritage of the Grasse country, encourage its preservation, and promotion, help to raise awareness among the public, by way of publications, websites, meetings, facilitate access to this heritage to as many people as possible by all means, and apply to be listed as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Lastly to encourage recognition of Perfume making as an art form”. Click here to find out more.

In 2018, the Grasse country received UN consecration  with the listing of its skills related to perfume as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

In 2020, elected officials modified the Local Urbanism Plan to multiply possible farmland by more than five, from 178 to 928 ha, i.e. 20% of the town’s territory!, to develop the growing of rose and jasmine.

Major luxury brands placing great importance on the use of natural products are established in Grasse: Chanel, Dior, Lancôme and Louis Vuitton…

From the outset, the Grasse glove and perfume makers used locally available natural raw materials including lavender, orange blossom, rose and mimosa to perfume their gloves.

Synthetic perfumes and aromas by mainly foreign firms had been making inroads for years, yet the entrepreneurs and elected officials in Grasse country have demonstrated a new sense of initiative, and reasserted Grasse as the territory spearheading the revival of natural ingredients in industry, in anticipation of newfound consumer enthusiasm for natural products.

As the birthplace of family businesses in trading and processing of perfume plants and aromas, the composition and the creation of perfume, Grasse country is ever proud of its ranking as the world capital of perfume, quality and natural products worldwide.

Following the success of lavender, orange blossom, rose and mimosa, other plants too are making a comeback: tuberose and jasmine, unique authentic fragrances. All Tournaire staff are proud to help ship these precious, sensitive perfumes the world over.

THE TOURNAIRE GROUP HAS JUST SOLD ITS SUBSIDIARY TOURNAIRE EQUIPEMENT SAS TO GROUPE ADF TO ACCELERATE THE GROWTH OF THE GROUP AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF ITS FORMER SUBSIDIARY

 

In order to better serve its customers, to remain efficient, to meet the new requirements of regulations and environmental issues and to face the increasing competition from Asia, the Tournaire Group is changing its model by selling its subsidiary Tournaire Équipement SAS to Groupe ADF. The purpose of this transfer is to implement ambitious projects by both groups for both activities (Equipment and Packaging).

A new strategy for the Tournaire Group

This change of model is the result of a need to invest more and more heavily in order to deploy its two activities in parallel, which have different R&D objectives, industrial tools and sales forces in distinct markets and life cycles.

Tournaire Équipement SAS will change dimension

Tournaire Équipement SAS has redeployed itself well over the last five years and the order book for 2021 is excellent. The “processes and engineering” activity is a pole of excellence boosted by the success of WiNatLab. It is becoming necessary to industrialize the manufacturing workshop for boiler-made equipment for which it is strategic to exceed the critical size of ten million euros in turnover.

The Groupe ADF, a new relevant shareholder as of July 1, 2021

It was while searching for partners to industrialize the Equipment activity that the Tournaire Group met the ADF Group. This major European player in industrial services offers all the guarantees for the development of this activity by becoming a 100% shareholder in Tournaire Equipement SAS. The Tournaire Group selected Goupe ADF for the quality of its management and its entrepreneurial profile, which is close to the values of the Tournaire Group – family-owned, French and from the Southern Region.

Luc Tournaire explains: “It is also for its knowledge of the business, its mastery of project activities, its complete range of services, its international sales force, the capacity of its industrial tool, its financial solidity, its sound management and its ambitions for Tournaire Equipement SAS that we have chosen the Groupe ADF.

Marc Eliayan, Chairman and CEO of Groupe ADF adds: “We are going to continue the investment and redeployment plan we have started, by taking advantage of synergies with our production and services activities, but also by relying on our international sales force and our local teams, to accelerate the influence and reach of Natural in the Health and Chemicals sectors, which are in strong demand.

Groupe ADF

Groupe ADF, independent and anchored in the South of France, deploys its services throughout the world with more than 3200 employees, and in related fields: process engineering and services to industry. ADF Group offers solutions for the production and testing of industrial customers through a TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) approach, to enable them to sustainably improve their performance.

Marc Eliayan, Chairman and CEO of Groupe ADF said: “The development of Natural is essential to the transformation of our economies, responding to the now unavoidable challenges of ecological transition in our leading industrial sectors. We will keep the entire team under the operational management of Franck Bardini and will remain based in Grasse, at the heart of the Natural ecosystem. 

A new direction for the Tournaire Group

This sale allows the Tournaire Group to concentrate fully on the Packaging activity. The Tournaire Group will invest more than 6 million euros in 2021 in this activity and double this investment over the next three years. The ambition is to exceed the 110 million euro mark in 2025. This strategy involves developing R&D activities, launching new innovative ranges, optimizing traceability, strengthening its presence on the American market and, in all likelihood, doubling its production capacity through the expansion of its production site. Luc Tournaire: “The increasing demand for recyclable packaging, the multiplication of increasingly demanding regulations, the unparalleled quality of our products and services, the power of our international network and the unique strength of our brand confirm the Group’s strong development potential. Packaging is increasingly strategic, both for raw material producers and for all manufacturers of value-added products. All market indicators are favorable to the growth in demand for recyclable barrier packaging to protect, transport and store sensitive materials.

About the Tournaire Group (private-newround.net/clients/tournaire/wp)

The Tournaire Group was born with the first distillers of perfume plants in Grasse. The globalization of industrial exchanges and regulations requires ever more and better processing, transportation, conservation and protection of natural or sensitive materials. Since 1833, the Tournaire Group has been providing extraction and mobility solutions for these very specific materials in over 70 countries. The Tournaire Group is the world leader in aluminium packaging solutions but is also the most flexible supplier of multi-layer plastic packaging. Tournaire employs 300 people at its sites in Grasse, Chalon-sur-Saône, in the United States and in Asia-Pacific, and achieved a turnover of 80 million euros in 2020 (65% of which was generated internationally).

 

About Groupe ADF (www.groupeadf.com)

Groupe ADF, 3,200 employees in 12 countries on 4 continents, is one of the major players in engineering and maintenance services for industry, focusing on three activities: engineering and expertise, supply of production and testing equipment, and production and maintenance services. ADF operates in the Energy, Mobility, Materials and Technologies sectors. After a record year in 2019 by achieving a turnover of €424M, ADF Group has demonstrated throughout 2020 the resilience of its business model, to start again by further accompanying its customers in their industrial transformations.

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