193 years of history

The birth of the corporation of perfume plant distillers led to the development of the corporation of coppersmiths, who extended their expertise to the manufacture of stills. Joseph Tournaire set up his craft in a modest 40 m² workshop in Grasse, in the Alpes-Maritimes region.

Gustave Tournaire, an engineer from Arts & Métiers, moved the company to another district of Grasse where, in a 600 m² workshop, he manufactured stills and a range of tin-plated copper containers for the Grasse industry, French liqueur makers, and European perfumers.

Marcel Tournaire advances the craft by incorporating the production of aluminum bottle caps, manufactured in a single piece.

Jean Tournaire expands the company into the pharmaceutical and agrochemical markets.

The two divisions, Equipment and Packaging, were created to specialize the company's resources in each of these activities.

In 1960, to meet growing demand for packaging in the pharmaceutical and agrochemical markets, Marcel Tournaire invested in land in Plan-de-Grasse and decided to build a new factory.

René Tournaire industrializes the production of aluminum packaging with the introduction of the first spinning presses and the first shrinking machines.

Systematization of the export process under the leadership of Jean Tournaire:

• Xavier Arnoult, the first Export Director, develops European markets;
• Hugues Thibaud analyzes the American market;
• Jean Tournaire expands the company's presence in Asian and Middle Eastern markets.

To better control the performance of its aluminum bottle closures, Tournaire integrates a plastic injection workshop. In the same year, the first continuous rectification unit for solvent treatment is installed at IBM.

First supercritical CO2 extraction unit. First Agitated Filter Bed Extractor, a technology that will revolutionize the sector with its unprecedented capabilities and level of performance in sustainable operation, with a significant improvement in its ecological footprint.

Attentive to its customers' needs, the company expanded its expertise to coextrusion and began producing multilayer plastic containers to complement its aluminum ranges.

Automatic unit for stripping and oxidizing bulk pharmaceutical packaging to increase production capacity and significantly improve quality.

Luc Tournaire takes over as CEO and creates the subsidiary TMM in partnership with the Jura-based company MILLET MARIUS in order to better serve customers in the agrochemical industry.

Acquisition of American distributor O'Berk International, which becomes ELEMENTAL CONTAINER, based in New Jersey (USA).

Creation of TOURNAIRE PLASTIC SAS in Chalon-sur-Saône, on part of the former Kodak site, to benefit from a better geographical location in relation to customers.

Creation of the Tournaire Internal School with the objectives of passing on expertise, promoting employee development, providing access to different levels of professional qualification, and maintaining employment.

Robotization of the first technical packaging production line.

Creation and establishment of a subsidiary in Bien Hoa City, Vietnam.

Sale of Tournaire Equipement SAS to Group ADF.

MOTION EQUITY PARTNERS acquires majority stake in TOURNAIRE group.

Appointment of Vincent Monziols as President of the TOURNAIRE Group.

Sale of TOURNAIRE Plastic to Ipackchem.

Acquisition of InovaWeld, a Canadian company specializing in the manufacture of laser-welded stainless steel packaging.