The first Lagarde industrial innovation was created in 1953, with the first steam retort/autoclave for textile fibre treatment. More than a dozen patents followed for many kinds of thermal treatment application, such as Thread Vaporization (1953), Cryogenic cooling process (1961), continuous cooker (1990) and many more.

The most important and remarkable innovation by Lagarde was the creation of the sterilisation autoclave/retort with Steam & Air process in 1972.
This innovation was born from the mutual demands of the food industry: productivity improvement and thermal treatment safety as well as new packaging exploration and lower production costs. This invention has had a significant impact on the efficiency and application of thermal processes.

To do more detailed research in efficient sterilisation, Lagarde® created Samantha© in 2006. This retort/autoclave management system entirely based on an industrial PC platform, Samantha© gives a precision level offering excellent thermal treatment of any type of product in any kinds of packaging. Even the most fragile pack can be processed, maintaining pack integrity and the organoleptic qualities of the product.

The recent innovation in 2009 is the conception of the first tunnel Ø2000 autoclave/retort. Perfectly suitable for high production speeds, it optimizes the use of space. This autoclave/retort is equipped with Steam & Air process and is perfectly matched to industrial challenges:

- Space optimization,
- Low production costs,
- High throughput