Something you may have never thought about when buying expensive cosmetic products is the quality of the plastic container that holds it. One company, that has a special link to the Principality, is committed to ensuring that our products are contained with the finest quality of materials and designs. HelloMonaco continues its series on the brands, inventions and ideas that owe their beginnings to the Principality of Monaco, this time delving into the universe of the company that produces the plastic containers surrounding the perfumes and creams we buy, Formaplas-Plascopar.
Company history
The story of this company, a “family adventure” as described by the founders, began in 1972 in Fontvielle. The Monaco-based company, established by Claude Gilli, started out as just ‘Formaplas’, which transformed films and sheets of plastic into thermo-shaped products. Gilli, already a specialist in the plastics sector, believed that transformation of films and sheets into thermoplastics offered an unlimited range of answers to clients with increasingly demanding requirements for the presentation and manufacture of products.
It was in 1989 that the company grew to include ‘Plascopar’, a major technical contribution from Claude Gilli’s brother-in-law, Claude Chefneux, an arts and crafts engineer. The company was created to compliment those of the first company created nearly 20 years earlier. This side specialised in thermoplastic injection, opening new horizons and confirming its know-how in working with varied materials.
The combined firm grew rapidly over the years, establishing increasingly efficient plastic transformation processes. Thanks to important financial and technical investments, the company rapidly obtained the indispensable ISO 9002 and 9001 version 2000 standards required in particular by the most prestigious cosmetic brands. Prestigious brands that remain faithful to the company such as Lanvin, Thalgo, Givenchy and L’Oréal. These standards represent an additional guarantee developed and awarded by an independent organization, recognized both in Europe and worldwide. The company became a family success, and now three generations collaborate within the two entities.
Formaplas-Plascopar’s main activity remains the transformation of plastics and it is still very much a family affair: Claude Gilli, the father and founder, his children Bruno and Sabine, grandson Kevin and of course brother-in-law Chefneux all work with one another to this day. Based on the strength of this bond, the team developed the company’s unique know-how, the result of many years’ experience in the various techniques of thermo-shaping, presentation tray making, injection and decoration.
Between 2003 and 2007, thanks to a tremendous capacity of adaptation, the firm diversified its activities, eventually producing 50% of plastic parts for a spare automobile parts industry, Silvatrim. Now almost half of its turnover is generated within the sector of small plastic parts for the automobile industry.
In 2004 came a new turning point. The international economic context forced Plascopar, like many other companies, to re-examine its economic model. The following year, the decision was made to transfer a large part of the production to modern sites in Tunisia. Soon after in 2009, Formaplas followed suit establishing itself in Tunisia just 50m away from Plascopar. This change provided a new impetus for the company, whose headquarters remain nevertheless in the Principality of Monaco.
The company boasts numerous assets, which includes a dedicated representative capable of respecting projects and creating technical proposals and solutions from their varied portfolio of thermo-shaping, presentation tray production, injection and decoration. The team of skilled professionals provides products in compliance with the contractual obligations in an established timeframe.
The loyalty of its clients bears testament to reliability and expertise of the Monegasque company that, although primarily based in Tunisia, are always located close to the heart of Monte-Carlo.
