The history of packaging dates back to ancient civilizations, which used natural materials such as leaves, animal skins, pottery, or plant fibers. The primary objective was to contain or protect goods during transport or storage.

With the Industrial Revolution, mass production brought about the emergence of the first standardized packaging using basic materials such as wood, metal, glass, or cardboard. In addition to containing and protecting products during large-scale logistics operations, the main goal of these early industrial packages was to prevent leaks, contamination, or product loss. However, their functionality was limited. They were often heavy, poorly sealed, or ill-suited to the specific constraints of certain products.

It was in this context that, in the 1930s, a perfumer from Grasse approached Marcel Tournaire (representing the third generation of the family) to develop small “estagnons.” Used in southern France and Provence, the estagnon is a cylindrical container made of tin, copper, or tinned iron, intended to hold essential oils or aromatic essences. He identified aluminum as a material offering excellent performance in multiple applications. It is lightweight (reducing CO₂ emissions during transport), corrosion-resistant (naturally forming a layer of alumina, Al₂O₃), strong, infinitely recyclable (with low energy cost), and—above all—an effective barrier against air, humidity, light, oxidation, and other external factors that can degrade the product.

Beyond choosing aluminum, he also had the visionary idea of using a monobloc structure for this packaging—manufactured from a single piece without any welds. This innovative design offered numerous advantages: enhanced protection against leaks, cracks, and contamination by eliminating the weak points typically found at material joints. This approach ensured optimal sealing and high mechanical resistance, even under extreme transport or storage conditions. This was the first major technical innovation in Tournaire’s packaging history. This visionary choice enabled the company to stand out from the beginning in the field of technical packaging for sensitive and hazardous materials. It also laid the foundation for an engineering philosophy focused on product safety and container durability—principles that continue to guide us today.

The 20th century saw the rise of plastics—particularly polystyrene and polyethylene—which revolutionized the packaging industry due to their low cost, light weight, and adaptability. This era also witnessed the diversification of formats (PET bottles, thermoformed trays, etc.) and the rise of marketing-driven packaging. However, plastic is porous and, at equal volume, performs poorly when it comes to UN certification for the transport of hazardous materials. The PPWR regulation (Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation), adopted at the end of 2024, aims to harmonize packaging management and improve packaging waste treatment within the EU by prioritizing circular economy principles and recycling, particularly through the reduction of plastic use.

Among Tournaire’s most significant innovations is the SYSTEM PLUS® closure, developed in the 1980s. This technological breakthrough involved combining aluminum with plastic—an audacious choice at the time—designed to meet the highest standards of sealing performance. Tournaire undertook to comply with international agreements on the transport of dangerous goods. This closure quickly became a benchmark solution for the safe transport of hazardous, valuable, or sensitive substances.

Today, it remains widely praised by our clients. With formats ranging from 19cc to 32 liters, we offer the broadest and deepest product range on the market. To meet this challenge, Tournaire had to expand its competencies by integrating the scientific and technical knowledge of plastics processing, while building on its historical expertise in metallurgy and precision mechanics. This ability to combine disciplines and innovate with agility embodies the company’s spirit of excellence—an enduring force that continues to drive our teams today.

At the same time, chemical and pharmaceutical industries quickly encountered the limitations of traditional materials: chemical reactions with the contents, porosity, degradation due to light or oxygen, high mass, and costly multi-material solutions. Once again, Tournaire was the first, in the 1980s, to offer a “pharma” closure—known as Type 8—with a chlorobutyl elastomer stopper specifically designed for pharmaceutical active ingredients.

Protecting a product goes beyond ensuring tight sealing, container strength, or chemical inertness. It also requires considering how the packaging performs under various conditions: during transport, in storage facilities, across different climates, or within complex logistics networks. Innovation now allows us to design packaging capable of withstanding such constraints. The cylindrical shape, due to its geometry, offers a natural rigidity that differs from rectangular formats, which are more prone to deformation at the corners. Other packaging shapes we offer are optimized to avoid structural weak points. Wall thicknesses are fine-tuned to reinforce robustness where it is most needed (aligned with the “Reduce” principle of the 3Rs concept from the IPCC), and the overall design ensures the product remains stable throughout its entire lifecycle.

Our history—initiated by those who came before us—is the foundation of our current ambitions. Thanks to their vision, expertise, and high standards, we have developed a unique know-how in technical packaging for B2B markets. Today, this accumulated experience enables us to remain at the forefront of innovation and to offer reliable, sustainable solutions tailored to even the most complex needs. We are proud of the expertise built over more than 190 years, while staying true to the values of excellence, performance, and commitment that have always guided our company.

In the 1930s, Tournaire achieved its first major innovation in the field of packaging with a monobloc aluminum canister. But packaging performance also depends heavily on the closure system. A high-quality canister body is not sufficient—it must be equipped with a reliable sealing solution. In this context, during the 1980s, Tournaire made a second significant breakthrough with the development of the SYSTEM PLUS® closure, marking a turning point in terms of safety and performance. Since then, many innovations have followed, all driven by our constant desire to meet the growing demands of our customers for reliability, protection, and efficiency. Below is an overview of some of the most notable examples.

Tournaire has repeatedly innovated in terms of product-packaging design to meet specific client needs. In the 2000s, for a customer in the highly demanding anesthesia market, we redesigned the neck geometry of our canisters to improve sealing. The gas contained in our packaging is a volatile anesthetic agent which, at low concentrations in ambient air, can have undesirable physiological effects (drowsiness, headaches, neurological issues…). Moreover, a poorly sealed package could compromise dosage accuracy. The sealing must be absolutely airtight throughout the product’s entire lifecycle and use. Tournaire has successfully supplied this market for over 20 years. This tailored solution is a testament to our ability to meet the most demanding technical challenges while ensuring the reliability required in the healthcare industry.

Another example of product innovation came in 2015, when a major European group and key player in the solvents market approached us to replace their glass packaging with aluminum. The stakes were high: reducing weight, mitigating the risk of breakage, and complying with strict hazardous goods transportation regulations. The challenge was significant: we had to develop a technical solution that was robust, reliable, and economically viable. The first attempts—including the initial Proof of Concept—were unsuccessful. But thanks to our determination, commitment, and collaborative spirit, we overcame the obstacles. After several iterations, we succeeded in developing a solution that met all technical and regulatory constraints—while also improving the user experience. This project remains a strong example of successful collaboration and innovation in the service of industrial and economic performance.

Another case of product innovation emerged in the 2020s, when a customer from the fine chemicals sector reported a critical issue: leaks detected on 3,000 aluminum canisters. The investigation was complex and required a rapid response. During a site visit, our team performed an in-depth analysis of the necks made of plastic and tinplate, taking into account differences in design and materials. We then developed a new closure made of aluminum, specifically adapted to aluminum-based manufacturing processes. This fully redesigned solution permanently resolved the leakage issue. This example illustrates our ability to listen to customers, respond quickly, and deliver tailor-made, innovative, and long-lasting technical solutions.

Packaging professionals know that product innovation cannot exist without industrial innovation. Designing new metallurgical processes tailored to our geometric needs has always been a key part of Tournaire’s innovation journey. On several occasions, we have developed proprietary processes to shape our aluminum packaging:

• Specific deep drawing: This allows us to optimize the geometry of the canister body by locally adjusting thicknesses and the metallurgical states of the material to perfectly match the expected function. This know-how is the result of deep expertise in metal forming and design.

• Spinning without mandrel: In this process, the material is spun into a void. Since our canisters are seamless, forming the cone for large diameters (≥120 mm) is a real technical challenge. Aluminum is unpredictable—it flows where it wants. To control its dispersion, Tournaire developed an exclusive and confidential forming tool. A well-kept secret!

Other industrial innovations have also strengthened our production system. Our in-house designed washing machines guarantee a very high level of cleanliness—particulate, microbiological, and hydrocarbon-free. These are developed entirely by our in-house engineering team. Another iconic example: our neck finishing machines, which can perform up to 16 successive operations to achieve an exceptional level of precision.

Over nearly 100 years, all our packaging manufacturing processes have been deeply modernized. By 2025, Tournaire operates more than 18 industrial processes, mainly metallurgical, but also including plastic injection and chemistry for washing systems. All are aligned with process innovations and require specialized tools and/or machines developed specifically for Tournaire. Industrial innovation is a deep-rooted culture, a strategic driver, and a daily commitment to quality, performance, and excellence.

When our product development department collaborates with our lab, the goal goes far beyond simply validating compliance. What we seek above all is to explore the limits of a product. This approach allows us to understand how every technical choice affects overall performance. We are fully engaged in a proactive innovation process. Every detail matters: shape, thickness, metallurgical condition, or the configuration of the aluminum canister components—all have a direct impact on sealing performance. Thanks to our integrated lab and over twenty years of testing data, we have a solid foundation to keep pushing the boundaries of performance.

And when others try to copy us, the results merely reflect the quality of the imitation. Always imitated, never equaled!

In other words, where innovation seeks to create, improve, and offer new solutions, counterfeiting merely copies—without thinking, without understanding, and without creating value. It’s a short-term approach that destroys trust, quality, and integrity. While innovation drives progress, competitiveness, and the visibility of companies, counterfeiting holds back collective momentum, damages the economy, deceives consumers, and weakens the protection of intellectual property rights. That is why Tournaire has always refused to copy and always will—out of respect for others’ work, and in fidelity to our own values of excellence, responsibility, and transparency.

In conclusion, Tournaire embraces a true engineering philosophy that has been part of our DNA since the journey began in 1833. What’s more, our teams love challenges—they stimulate us, motivate us, and give our work meaning. One quote from Mark Twain fits us perfectly: “They didn’t know it was impossible, so they did it.” Creating the canister of the future, developing the industrial means to manufacture it, or bringing an idea to life that simplifies our clients’ operations—these have always been galvanizing and unifying goals. It was in this inspiring context that OMNI+® was born: a 100% recyclable, eco-designed canister—a landmark project that addresses all the needs of today’s and tomorrow’s clients, fully aligned with climate challenges!

Paired with an innovative industrial tool, the new OMNI+® range is a breakthrough solution that redefines packaging cleanliness.
What truly sets this new generation of closure apart is its eco-design: a solution created to be fully recyclable. The plastic tamper-evident ring can be separated from the rest of the aluminum packaging without the use of any tools. This means the container—composed entirely of aluminum—can be recycled separately from the plastic component. The technical innovations in this range are designed to support the circular economy while reducing the quantity of materials used.
In the case of aluminum, this approach is particularly efficient, as the metal can be infinitely recycled without losing its properties. Companies are investing in the recovery, cleaning, and reuse of packaging while ensuring that this second life does not compromise quality or safety. This approach protects both the product and the planet.
We have also reworked the cap’s ergonomics, particularly the tamper-evident tab, as well as the overall design.

Introduced in the 1980s, the SYSTEM PLUS® closure offered outstanding sealing performance, fully compliant with the strict requirements of ADR regulations (for the transport of hazardous materials).
These results were largely achieved through the crimping of a plastic sleeve, which provided crucial structural rigidity to reduce deformation during drop testing. The standard test involves a fall from 1.8 meters onto a perfectly rigid steel plate, with a simulated load of 98% water, dropped at a specific angle. This setup ensures optimal protection under so-called extreme conditions.
Without a sleeve, it became necessary to find alternative solutions to compensate for the loss of rigidity—and that’s where Tournaire had to innovate. OMNI+® was born.

The phrase “What gets measured gets managed”, attributed to Peter Drucker, aptly captures the importance of measurement in managing and improving performance.
At Tournaire, we evaluate our sustainable performance rigorously. In 2025, we have completed three Carbon Footprint assessments (2022, 2023, 2024), as well as a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) on eight products in 2024. A new LCA was launched in early 2025, covering other products from our own range and also competitor products for benchmarking.
Simultaneously, we are developing our own in-house tool to calculate the carbon footprint of our products. So when we say the OMNI+® range helps reduce our clients’ environmental impact, it’s a fact—we have the data to back it up. It is available to our clients upon request.

The OMNI+® closure is part of a Product Innovation Roadmap established in 2023.
This roadmap allows us to plan and visualize key stages in the development of new solutions. It aligns strategy, goals, and resources across teams. It helps us anticipate market needs, improve cross-disciplinary collaboration, and make informed decisions for efficient innovation.

To support innovation within the OMNI+® range, we conduct interdisciplinary research.
We have initiated co-eco-design partnerships with select suppliers to collaborate on joint projects. Additionally, we carry out shared initiatives with national organizations such as CEA Tech, IPC, and CETIM.
We are also actively working with CEMEF in Sophia Antipolis, one of the research laboratories of the École des Mines de Paris. Moreover, we have launched a digital twin project—an exact virtual replica of a product—which will help us optimize development timelines. It enables simulation and scenario analysis, facilitating better decision-making at every key project stage.

In conclusion, the OMNI+® range perfectly reflects our commitment to developing solutions that are innovative, high-performance, and sustainable.
While collaboration with research centers and industrial partners is essential, it will never replace the value of dialogue with our clients. Together, we will build the next generation of solutions tailored to real-world needs.
We invite our clients to share their expectations, ideas, and challenges so that we can continue to move forward together. Tournaire will always remain attentive to co-developing the packaging solutions of the future.