Top 10 Oldest Companies in Operation
Everyone wants to start a business of his own and be his own boss. Eventually he would love to expand, hire more employees, go public too if necessary. There are so many companies that have started from scratch with nothing, there are so many companies that have been born from sister concerns, while there are still many more companies that were started but failed and just vanished into thin air.
Starting a company is not as easy as it sounds. The idea has to be solid, funds are necessary, and operational expertise is eventually necessary to sustain itself. There are quite a few companies that have been in existence from centuries and still going strong. Amazing right! We are gonna have a look at the top 10 oldest companies still in operation as we speak.
| No. | Company | Established | Description |
| 1. | Beretta | 1526 | Makes weapons. Operational for over 15 generations. Oldest manufacturing company in the world. Manufactures 1500 weapons a day. Exports to over 100 countries. |
| 2. | Grolsch | 1615 | Second largest beer brewer in Holland. Was a family run business for 200 years before being bought and turned into a corporation. Sales of 3 million hectoliters yearly. |
| 3. | Haig | 1627 | Oldest Scotch whisky distillery. It had the unique three-sided bottle, which was the first to get a US trademark. |
| 4. | Fiskars | 1649 | Deals in kitchenware like knives and scissors. Originally started off with ironware, farming tools and steam engines. It is famous for its orange color trademark. |
| 5. | Royal Delft | 1653 | Was into porcelain stuff. Expanded to 30+ factories but nearly went out of business by 1900. Delft engineer Joost Thooft bought it and revived the company to make its mark in the earthenware and ceramics industry. |
| 6. | London Gazette | 1665 | First published on Nov 7, 1665, it is the oldest surviving newspaper around. It was originally called the Oxford Gazette, but only for 6 months. |
| 7. | Sveriges Riksbank | 1668 | It is regarded as the oldest central bank in the world, and was first run by the name of Stockholms Banco. The bank collapsed after a short run and its operations was handed over to the government. |
| 8. | Lloyd’s of London | 1688 | Started off as Edward Lloyd’s Coffee House, Lloyd went on to pioneer the insurance business. Presently famous as one of the leading insurance companies in the world. |
| 9. | Twinings Tea | 1706 | Was one of the first company that introduced the habit of drinking tea to the British. Was originally known as Tom’s Coffee House. |
| 10. | Sotheby’s | 1744 | First started by auctioning books. Is presently one of the world’s best auction house for fine arts. |
These are pretty old companies which are doing extremely well even today. There may be a few companies that are older than these too, but are not so popular in today’s existence. And the world is proud to have these companies in its midst.
