Tontine is an Australian

manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a ran ...

pillow A pillow is a support of the body at rest for comfort, therapy, or decoration. Pillows are used in different variations by many species, including humans. Some types of pillows include throw pillows, body pillows, decorative pillows, and man ...

s and quilts. The company can trace its origins back to 1870 when the Galt family commenced manufacturing in Melbourne. From 1984–2001 it was owned by

Pacific Dunlop Pacific Dunlop was a highly diversified Australian conglomerate company that operated in, among other things, the Automotive, textile, electronics and biotechnology industries. Products commercialised included tires, car batteries, cables, clot ...

. The Tontine group was part of

Pacific Brands Pacific Brands was an Australian consumer products company. On Tuesday, 28 June 2016, the company suspended trading on the ASX in order to be acquired by Hanesbrands. Corporate changes/details were to be announced thereafter. This acquisiti ...

until early 2017. Tontine is now owned by John Cotton Group. Until 2007 the company's manufacturing base was at

East Brunswick, Victoria Brunswick East is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Merri-bek local government area. Brunswick East recorded a population of 13,279 at the 2021 c ...

(it is now at Campbellfield in Victoria). Tontine Fibres is a division of United Bonded Fabrics a separate company manufacturing

polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain the ester functional group in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include natural ...

insulation Insulation may refer to: Thermal * Thermal insulation, use of materials to reduce rates of heat transfer ** List of insulation materials ** Building insulation, thermal insulation added to buildings for comfort and energy efficiency *** Insulated ...

, air filtration, carpet underlays,

geotextiles Geotextiles are permeable fabrics which, when used in association with soil, have the ability to separate, filter, reinforce, protect, or drain. Typically made from polypropylene or polyester, geotextile fabrics come in two basic forms: woven (re ...

and a range of mattress and furniture comfort products and using the Tontine

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...

under

license A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

. The company began making flock and soft bedding. Tontine has been making pillows since 1956. In 1963 the company "launched" the first

filled pillow in Australia. The company is the leading pillow producer in Australia manufacturing half of all pillows sold in Australia. Tontine manufactures pillows under its own brands and also under house brands for retailers. In 2002 it produced 3.6 million pillows per year. A former general manager of Tontine claimed that "Tontine is unique in the world because it is a strong pillow brand in what is a

commodity market A commodity market is a market that trades in the primary economic sector rather than manufactured products, such as cocoa, fruit and sugar. Hard commodities are mined, such as gold and oil. Futures contracts are the oldest way of investin ...

," she said. "In other countries there is no

market leader Market dominance describes when a firm can control markets. A dominant firm possesses the power to affect competition and influence market price. A firms' dominance is a measure of the power of a brand, product, service, or firm, relative to c ...

because manufacturers tended to stay in their local areas." As the company is well known, it is referenced in jokes. For example, an Australian legal newsletter said of an alleged

swindler A charlatan (also called a swindler or mountebank) is a person practicing quackery or a similar confidence trick in order to obtain money, power, fame, or other advantages through pretense or deception. Synonyms for ''charlatan'' include ''sh ...

who padded his

timesheet A timesheet (or time sheet) is a method for recording the amount of a worker's time spent on each job. Traditionally a sheet of paper with the data arranged in tabular format, a timesheet is now often a digital document or spreadsheet. The time c ...

s "that at one stage pillow makers Tontine were said to be interested in sponsoring him."

Duvet A duvet (, ; ), usually called a comforter or (''down-filled'') quilt in US English, and a doona in Australian English, is a type of bedding consisting of a soft flat bag filled with either down, feathers, wool, cotton, silk, or a synthetic a ...

s in Australia are known by the

genericized trademark A generic trademark, also known as a genericized trademark or proprietary eponym, is a trademark or brand name that, because of its popularity or significance, has become the generic term for, or synonymous with, a general class of products or ...

"Doona"; the brand name is owned by the Tontine Group. The brand name was acquired by Tontine in 1991 when Pacific Dunlop took over the Northern Feather company which until that time had been one of Australia's largest manufacturers of feather and down-filled pillows and quilts.

References

External links

Company website
Manufacturing companies of Australia Manufacturing companies established in 1870 1870 establishments in Australia Manufacturing companies based in Melbourne {{Australia-company-stub