When was Tournaire’s Packaging Division set up? Was it in response to client demand or was it on Tournaire’s own initiative?

The Tournaire company was founded o 2 centuries ago, and originally produced equipment for perfume producers in Grasse. Very early on Tournaire began to manufacture copper cans – then known locally as ‘estagnons’ – for its clients in the perfume industry, because they needed protective packaging for their production of essential oils and concretes. It was only much later, for reasons of company organization, that the Packaging Division was officially created, in 1955, at the same time as the Equipment Division. The roots of our expertise in the development and manufacture of technical packaging thus go back to the 19th century.

In the early days Tournaire produced copper ‘estagnons’, and then the company progressively introduced more modern materials that were stronger and lighter, such as aluminium in the 1930s and multi-layer plastics in the 1980s, in response to the ever-more-precise demands of clients in the perfume sector, and also in pharmaceuticals, sensitive food ingredients, plant health, fine chemicals, etc.

You claim to offer the most complete range on the market; what do you mean by that?

It’s true! Not only does Tournaire offer the widest range on the market, but also the fullest:
‘the widest’ – with more than a score of families of technical packaging – enabling us to cover a host of market applications while offering the highest levels of quality, service and safety.
‘the fullest’ – with the greatest range of capacities, from the smallest at 15 ml up to the largest, 60 litres. Tournaire is today the only company in the world in this market that has integrated a number of technologies, from extrusion for small containers to stamping for the largest; in addition we are the only people with expertise right along the chain, from the concept and design of technical packaging through to its sale; within each range we offer a wide selection of packaging, as with ‘System plus’ for example, where we propose some thirty articles to respond precisely to every need.

Today it’s not very difficult to manufacture packaging, you must have a lot of competitors!

Don’t you believe it! Our technical packaging offers such remarkable characteristics in terms of technical performance, strength, stability over time and preservation of the intrinsic quality of the substances contained, that it’s not just anybody who can design and manufacture equivalent products! When you add the fact that our containers benefit from all the applicable standards and regulations in the sectors concerned and are manufactured with full respect for the environment, you can understand why Tournaire has always remained market leader.

What gives your containers the edge in terms of quality?

In my view, the superiority Tournaire’s technical packaging depends on three factors:

• Technical expertise: for over a century now, Tournaire has constantly innovated so as to offer its clients leading-edge technical packaging. When our teams develop a product – can, box, flask – they seek first of all to understand the client’s needs as precisely as possible, even though these may not always be clearly expressed. Our team will therefore work with the client to draw up functional specifications for packaging in aluminium or co-extruded plastic; a prototype will be produced and then tested according to several criteria such as leaktightness, cleanliness, ease of handling and cleaning, etc. Only then, once all the tests have been passed, do we move on to the stage of series production.
• Industrial process control: we are today the only company offering total traceability, from the raw materials coming from our suppliers through to the finished products shipped to clients, with a battery of tests and quality controls all along the chain.
• Finally, our market coverage: the fact that we understand our clients’ business so well is due largely to our international network, since we are present in some sixty countries. So there’s virtually no problem we haven’t already encountered somewhere!

Is there a sector that is particularly important for you?

We are present in all the sectors and lines of business that require packaging of the highest quality and with the best technical characteristics: cosmetics and well-being, chemistry, food processing, etc. One underlying trend can however be noted: this is the regular development of the health sector, both for humans and animals. This has recently become Tournaire’s leading outlet, even overtaking our traditional favourite, which is still the perfume industry.

Beyond the production of containers, what services does Tournaire’s Equipment Division offer?

We have a very experienced team for the development and perfection of our products, ten people or so who work unceasingly not only on current products but also on new products and manufacturing processes. For Tournaire improving the performance of our technical packaging is a constant preoccupation. So we are happy to offer our clients real support during these developments.

In addition, to transport our packaging in the best possible conditions of cost and safety, we can propose a large number of solutions corresponding to the logistic resources, destinations and specific needs of our clients.
Furthermore, thanks to our international network, we can strengthen our relationship with the client through the physical presence of salespeople and stocks on several continents.