HISTORY

The birth of the corporation of distillers of perfume plants led to the development of that of coppersmiths, who  extended their know-how to the manufacture of stills and then flower-oil cans. Joseph Tournaire established his  craft activity in a modest 40 sq. m.  workshop in Grasse, in the Alpes-Maritimes region of France.

Gustave Tournaire, a graduate of the Arts & Métiers engineering school, moved the business to 600 sq. m. premises in another part of Grasse where he manufactured stills and a range of flower-oil cans (packaging) in tinned copper for the perfumeries in Grasse, French liqueur producers and the European fragrance industry.

Marcel Tournaire developed the company’s expertise by integrating the production of one-piece aluminum cans.

Jean Tournaire extended the company’s activity to the pharmaceutical and agrochemical sectors.

The two divisions, Equipment and Packaging, were set up to specialize the use of  resources in each of these lines of business.

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

In 1961, the first floating-filter extractor was designed by Gilbert Tournaire and installed in the TOMBAREL perfumery in Grasse.

René Tournaire industrialized production of aluminum packaging with the introduction of the first extruding presses and the first necking machines.

Systematic search for export markets at the initiative of Jean Tournaire:

• Xavier Arnoult, first Export Manager, developed European markets;
• Hugues Thibaud analyzed the American market;
• Jean Tournaire took the company into the Asian and Middle-Eastern markets.

First System Plus tamper-proof seal designed by Jean Tournaire.

For better control of the performance of the seals of its aluminum bottles, Tournaire set up a plastic injection workshop. In the same year, the first continuous rectification unit for solvent treatment was installed for IBM.

First supercritical CO₂ extraction unit. First Agitated Filtering Bottom Extractor, a technology that was to revolutionize the sector thanks to its unmatched capacities and level of performance in sustainable operation, with a significant reduction of the ecological footprint.

Attentive to the needs of its clients, the company broadened its know-how in coextrusion and started production of multilayer plastic containers, alongside its aluminum ranges.

Automatic stripping and oxidation of packaging for bulk pharmaceuticals to increase production capacity and significantly improve quality levels.

First dryer for pharmaceuticals delivered to  SOCHINAZ.

Thanks to several acquisitions, the size of the Grasse site was increased by 50% and new buildings were erected  to enable the continuing development of the Packaging business.  In the same year the first condenser column was delivered to ROUSSEL-UCLAF.

Patent application for the first compact condensation, decantation and storage column designed for the pharmaceutical sector.

Luc Tournaire took over management of the company and created the TMM subsidiary  in partnership with MILLET MARIUS  in the Jura region so as to offer better service to agrochemical clients.

ISO 9001 certification (version 2000) for the Packaging Division

Takeover of the American distributor O’Berk International based in New Jersey (USA), renamed ELEMENTAL CONTAINER; ISO 14001 certification for the Plan de Grasse site.

Creation of TOURNAIRE PLASTIC SAS in Chalon-sur-Saône, on part of the former Kodak site, so as to benefit from better geographical positioning with respect to clients.

ISO 9001 certification (version 2000) for the Equipment Division.

MASE – UIC (Union of Chemical Industries) approval according to DT78 specifications for the Equipment Division.

The Equipment Division celebrated the 80th unit commissioned for the extraction of natural vegetable extracts; ISO 9001 certification (version 2008) for TOURNAIRE PLASTIC in Chalon-sur-Saône.

Creation of the Tournaire Company Academy with the aims of handing down know-how, encouraging career development, facilitating access to professional qualifications and maintain employment levels; global ISO 9001 (version 2008) and ISO 14001 (version 2004) certification for Tournaire SA (Packaging Division and Equipment Division) and TOURNAIRE PLASTIC SAS

First pilot subcritical water extractor. Patent application FR.12/52099 – 2.987.756 lodged on 08/03/2012

Robotization of the first production line for technical packaging.

Cession de Tournaire Equipement SAS à Group ADF

Majority entry of MOTION EQUITY PARTENAIRE into the capital of the TOURNAIRE group.

Appointment of Vincent Monziols as Chairman of the TOURNAIRE Group.

Sale of TOURNAIRE Plastic to Ipackchem.