97 Companies Founded Before 1900: Where They Started and Where They Work Now
From Intesa Sanpaolo (1563) onward — the first shop, mill or office of 97 companies that are more than 125 years old, next to where they work today.
In short
97 companies on eciffo were founded before 1900. The oldest is Intesa Sanpaolo (1563): Compagnia di San Paolo, Turin. By country: 27 in the United States, 12 in Japan, 10 in Germany, 9 in France, 9 in the United Kingdom. 52 of them have a photo of where they started.
A brotherhood called the Compagnia di San Paolo laid the foundations in Turin for what became the Monte di Pietà, lending to the poor at very low interest. Today: Corso Inghilterra 3, 10138 Turin, Italy.
Source: group.intesasanpaolo.com, History: Istituto Bancario Sanpaolo di Torino
In October 1665 Louis XIV signed letters patent creating the Manufacture royale de glaces à miroirs, at the urging of his minister Colbert, to break Venice's hold on Europe's mirror market. Today: 12 place de l'Iris, 92400 Courbevoie, France.
Source: Saint-Gobain Archives, “1665: Louis XIV fonde la Manufacture royale des glaces à miroirs” · saint-gobain.com, Our history
Where it started · 1690Lombard Street, City of London, 2017 · Graeme.duckworth / CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsToday · LondonOne Churchill Place on the skyline · Photo: HOK
John Freame and Thomas Gould, two Quaker goldsmith bankers, start trading in Lombard Street in the City of London — the business Barclays traces itself back to. Today: 1 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HP, United Kingdom.
Source: home.barclays, Our history · Barclays Group Archives, “Lombard Street”
Where it started · 1715Plough Court, Lombard Street, London · Wellcome Collection / CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsToday · LondonTerrace, 79 New Oxford Street, London, 2024 · Photo: PENSON
Apothecary Silvanus Bevan opened the Plough Court pharmacy, offering medical advice and medicines. Today: 79 New Oxford Street, London WC1A 1DG, United Kingdom.
The group's oldest houses date back centuries: Moët & Chandon (1743), Hennessy (1765) and Louis Vuitton, the Paris trunk-maker founded in 1854. Today: 22 avenue Montaigne, 75008 Paris, France.
Johann Rudolf Geigy-Gemuseus founded the trading company J.R. Geigy in Basel to deal in “materials, chemicals, dyes and drugs of all kinds”. Today: Forum 3, Novartis Campus, CH-4056 Basel.
Source: novartis.com Company history · Novartis Live Magazine “Milestones of medicine” (2021)
Chobei Takeda I, aged 32, started selling traditional Japanese and Chinese medicines in Doshomachi, the center of Japan's medicine trade. Today: 1-1, Nihonbashi-Honcho 2-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-8668.
The earliest of Bank of America's legacy institutions, and the second privately owned chartered commercial bank in the United States. Today: 100 North Tryon Street, Charlotte, North Carolina 28255.
Wiert Willem Sikkens opened a small paint and varnish works in a gatehouse in the city wall of Groningen. Today: Christian Neefestraat 2, 1077 WW Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Source: akzonobel.com, Our history · Form F-4 (2026)
State Street Bank traces its beginnings to the founding of its oldest ancestor bank, Union Bank, in 1792. Today: One Congress Street, Boston, MA 02114.
Where it started · 1799Season's greetings card of the Bank of the Manhattan Company, c. 1922 · Ernest Haskell / CC0 · Wikimedia CommonsToday · New York270 Park Avenue at street level · Photo: Nigel Young / Foster + Partners
JPMorganChase's earliest predecessor was chartered in New York City to supply drinking water; its founders included Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton. Today: 270 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017.
AXA traces its roots to Ancienne Mutuelle de Rouen, a Normandy mutual created in the early 19th century and specialised in property and casualty insurance. Today: 21–25 avenue Matignon, 75008 Paris, France.
New York merchants won a state charter, and City Bank of New York came into existence on June 16, 1812. Today: 388 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10013.
Source: citigroup.com Heritage “A new bank born in New York” · Perspectives “Hello, New York City” (2016)
The first savings bank opened in Gothenburg in 1820, built on the idea that everyone should be able to build up their finances. Today: Sundbyberg, Stockholm, Sweden.
The “Imperial Royal Privileged Company of Austro-Italian General Insurance” was founded in 1831 in Palazzo Carciotti on Trieste's waterfront, a neoclassical palace designed in 1798 by Matteo Pertsch for the Greek merchant Demetrio Carciotti. Today: Piazza Duca degli Abruzzi 2, 34132 Trieste, Italy.
Source: Generali Bollettino, Dec 2025 · Palazzo Carciotti press release, Dec 9, 2024
Édouard Daubrée and his cousin Aristide Barbier launched a farm machinery business in Clermont-Ferrand that used many rubber parts. Today: 23 Place des Carmes-Déchaux, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
Marcus Samuel expanded his London antiques business into selling oriental seashells, then imported them from the Far East — the start of the import-export trade that became Shell. Today: Shell Centre, London SE1 7NA, United Kingdom.
Wärtsilä began as a sawmill founded on April 12, 1834, in Värtsilä, a small village in North Karelia. Today: Hiililaiturinkuja 2, 00180 Helsinki, Finland.
Where it started · 1837The Cincinnati waterfront in 1848, daguerreotype by Fontayne and Porter · Fontayne & Porter / Public domain · Wikimedia CommonsToday · CincinnatiThe twin towers · Warren LeMay / CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Brothers-in-law William Procter, a candle maker, and James Gamble, a soap maker, started the business in Cincinnati in 1837. Today: One Procter & Gamble Plaza, Cincinnati, OH 45202.
Source: Form 10-K FY2026, Item 1 · us.pg.com, Cincinnati Headquarters
Harness-maker Thierry Hermès opened his workshop on rue Basse-du-Rempart, in the Grands Boulevards district of Paris. Today: 24, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 Paris.
Where it started · 1837John Deere House and Shop, Grand Detour · Teemu008 / CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsToday · MolineAcross the pond · dwhartwig / CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Blacksmith John Deere built a plow with a moldboard made from a broken steel saw blade near Grand Detour, Illinois. Today: One John Deere Place, Moline, IL 61265.
Where it started · 1846–47Carlsberg Museum, Valby Bakke, Copenhagen, 2011 · Orf3us / Public domain · Wikimedia CommonsToday · CopenhagenThe Central Office from the street · C.F. Møller Architects / Photo: Adam Mørk
In 1846 J.C. Jacobsen bought a large plot on Valby Hill, west of central Copenhagen, and founded his brewery there in 1847. Today: J.C. Jacobsens Gade 1, 1799 Copenhagen V, Denmark.
Source: carlsberggroup.com, “The honorary residence” and “J.C. Jacobsen”
The Electric Telegraph Company, Britain's first electric telegraph company, was set up by Act of Parliament in 1846 by William Fothergill Cooke and Joseph Lewis Ricardo. Today: 1 Braham Street, London E1 8EE.
Source: BT Archives information sheet “Private telegraph companies” · bt.com Our history
Where it started · 1847The first Siemens & Halske workshop in a Berlin back courtyard, 1847 · Unknown author / Public domain · Wikimedia CommonsToday · MunichCourtyard arcade, Siemens headquarters, 2016 · Rufus46 / CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Werner von Siemens and precision mechanic Johann Georg Halske founded the Telegraphen-Bauanstalt von Siemens & Halske to build his pointer telegraph. Today: Werner-von-Siemens-Straße 1, 80333 München, Germany.
Source: siemens.com, History and Company development timeline
Created after the 1848 crisis with backing from publishers including Louis Hachette, the Comptoir national d’escompte de Paris (CNEP), one of BNP Paribas' ancestors, set up in rooms at the Palais-Royal lent by the Minister of Finance. Today: 16 boulevard des Italiens, 75009 Paris.
Source: histoire.bnpparibas — “The 14 Bergère” (2025)
Where it started · 1849Pfizer's former Brooklyn plant at Flushing and Marcy Avenues, Williamsburg · Jim.henderson / CC0 · Wikimedia CommonsToday · New YorkThe Spiral's terraces, 2023 · Photo: Laurian Ghinitoiu / BIG
Cousins Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart founded Charles Pfizer & Company with a $2,500 loan from Pfizer's father. Today: 66 Hudson Boulevard East, New York, NY 10001.
Source: pfizer.com company timeline · “In Celebrating 175 Years” article
Henry Wells, William G. Fargo and John Butterfield merged their express companies; the Articles of Association were signed on March 18, 1850 in Buffalo. Today: 200 Vesey Street, New York, NY 10285.
Source: American Express newsroom, “In 1850, three business rivals came together to form American Express” (2025) · americanexpress.com, Who We Are
Levi Strauss sailed into San Francisco Bay in 1853 and opened a wholesale dry goods business near the city's waterfront, moving between several locations. Today: 1155 Battery Street, San Francisco, CA 94111.
Source: levistrauss.com, Company · “Working From Home ... in 1906” (2021)
The Norwegian Telegraph Administration opened Norway's first telegraph line, between Christiania (now Oslo) and Drammen, 40 km away. Today: Snarøyveien 30, N-1360 Fornebu, Norway.
Source: telenor.com, “Telenor's history and heritage”
Thomas Burberry founds the business in Basingstoke, England, at just 21, on the idea that clothing should protect people from the British weather. Today: Horseferry House, Horseferry Road, Westminster, London SW1P 2AW.
The Bank of Toronto was incorporated in 1855 by a group of millers and merchants and opened its first branch on Church Street in Toronto in 1856. Today: 66 Wellington Street West, Toronto, Ontario M5K 1A2, Canada.
Source: td.com, TD's Timeline and Historical Fast Facts
Banco de Bilbao opened on August 24, 1857 in a modest head office at number 7 of what was then Calle Estufa, beside the river in Bilbao. Today: Calle Azul, 4, 28050 Madrid, Spain.
Source: bbva.com, “A brief history of BBVA (I)” · “La memoria de BBVA, su Archivo Histórico”
On 15 May 1857 Queen Isabella II signed the Royal Decree authorising Banco Santander, set up to finance trade between the port of Santander and Latin America. Today: Avenida de Cantabria s/n, 28660 Boadilla del Monte, Madrid, Spain.
Ferdinand de Lesseps founded the Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez in Egypt — the root of the Suez name ENGIE carried for many years. Today: 67 rue Jules Ferry, 92250 La Garenne-Colombes, France.
Bank in Winterthur, founded in 1862, is the historical starting point of today's UBS. It first rented rooms in the house “Zu den drei Blumen”, then moved into its own baroque building on Untere Museumsstrasse — today's Stadthausstrasse — where UBS still has an office. Today: Bahnhofstrasse 45, CH-8001 Zurich, Switzerland.
Abraham Lincoln created Union Pacific by signing the Pacific Railway Act on July 1, 1862; the railroad was chartered to build west from the Missouri River. Today: 1400 Douglas Street, Omaha, NE 68179.
Where it started · 1863Plaque marking Friedrich Bayer's house, Heckinghauser Straße 162, Wuppertal-Barmen · Frank Vincentz GFDL (self made) / CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia CommonsToday · LeverkusenBayer headquarters and the round pool, Leverkusen · Photo: Roland Halbe
On August 1, 1863, dye salesman Friedrich Bayer and master dyer Johann Friedrich Weskott founded “Friedr. Today: Kaiser-Wilhelm-Allee 1, 51373 Leverkusen, Germany.
On February 15, 1864, 22-year-old Gerard Adriaan Heineken took over De Hooiberg (the Haystack), a brewery on the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal in Amsterdam. Today: Tweede Weteringplantsoen 21, 1017 ZD Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Source: theheinekencompany.com, “Our heritage” · Heineken Collection Foundation
Where it started · 1864Bedford Row, Halifax, c. 1870 · W. Notman / Public domain · Wikimedia CommonsToday · TorontoFrom Wellington Street · Jeff Hitchcock / CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Napoleon III signed the decree creating Société Générale on 4 May 1864, “to foster the development of commerce and industry in France”. Today: 29 boulevard Haussmann, 75009 Paris.
Source: privatebanking.societegenerale.com — “The origins of Societe Generale” (2024) · societegenerale.com — Our history
Where it started · 1865Wardley House and the first HSBC building, Hong Kong, 1865–1882 · Unknown. / Public domain · Wikimedia CommonsToday · London8 Canada Square · Barry Caruth / CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Founded by Thomas Sutherland, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation opened on 3 March 1865 in rented offices in Wardley House, with sweeping views over the harbour. Today: 8 Canada Square, London E14 5HQ, United Kingdom.
Source: hsbc.com history timeline · HSBC History, “There's no place like home”
Friedrich Engelhorn, owner of a coal gas company in Mannheim, founded the stock corporation “Badische Anilin- & Sodafabrik” in Mannheim on April 6, 1865. Today: Carl-Bosch-Straße 38, 67056 Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany.
Mining engineer Fredrik Idestam founded his first wood-pulp mill in southern Finland in 1865 — on the Tammerkoski rapids in Tampere, as Nokia's Finland careers page puts it. Today: Karakaari 7, FI-02610 Espoo, Finland.
PNC's Pittsburgh roots go back to the Pittsburgh Trust and Savings Company, chaired by James E. Laughlin of Jones & Laughlin. Today: 300 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222.
Source: pnc.com, Corporate History (PNC Legacy Project)
American brothers Charles and George Page open Europe's first condensed-milk factory in Cham, using Switzerland's plentiful fresh milk. Today: Avenue Nestlé 55, 1800 Vevey, Switzerland.
Source: nestle.com history timeline · press release, Feb 12, 2013
Cadwallader C. Washburn built a mill on the west bank of the Mississippi in Minneapolis, founding the Washburn-Crosby Company. Today: Number One General Mills Boulevard, Minneapolis (Golden Valley), Minnesota 55426.
Where it started · 1869Pine Street, Manhattan · Clyde Charles Brown / CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsToday · New York200 West Street · Photo: Jeff McCloud / Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
Marcus Goldman, a Bavarian-born immigrant, moved his family to New York and set up a one-room office on Pine Street, buying and selling promissory notes. Today: 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282.
Source: goldmansachs.com, History: 1869 founding · 1929 30 Pine Street
Where it started · 1870Standard Oil Company refinery on the Flats, Cleveland, 1889 · Unknown author / Public domain · Wikimedia CommonsToday · SpringThe Energy Center, ExxonMobil campus, Spring, Texas · Photo: Harvey Cleary
John D. Rockefeller and his associates form the Standard Oil Company (Ohio), whose combined plants were the largest refining capacity of any single firm in the world. Today: 22777 Springwoods Village Parkway, Spring, TX 77389.
Where it started · 1870Französische Straße, Berlin, 2024 · Karsten Hoffmeyer / CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsToday · Frankfurt am MainThe twin towers on Taunusanlage · Thomas Wolf (Der Wolf im Wald) / CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Deutsche Bank was founded on March 10, 1870 by 76 shareholders and opened for business on April 9, 1870 in rented rooms at Französische Straße 21, an ordinary-looking building near Unter den Linden. Today: Taunusanlage 12, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Source: db.com History FAQ · country.db.com (Japan) history · bankgeschichte.de “Locations”
On February 26, 1870, merchants, merchant bankers and private bankers — among them M. M. Warburg & Co., Conrad Hinrich Donner and C. Woermann — founded the Commerz- und Disconto-Bank in Hamburg. Today: Kaiserplatz, 60311 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Local nobles, bankers and merchants found the Banca di Genova with 2 million lire of capital; Marquis Camillo Pallavicini is its president. Today: Piazza Gae Aulenti 3, 20154 Milan, Italy.
After incorporation was approved in 1865, the company began business in 1871 as Sun Mutual Life Insurance Company of Montreal, renamed Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada in 1882. Today: One York Street, Toronto, Ontario M5J 0B6.
Where it started · 1872Ginza, Tokyo, 1910 · Shobido / Public domain · Wikimedia CommonsToday · TokyoELEVEN, the forest-like 11th floor · Photo: Yukihide Nakano / ryokuensha
Arinobu Fukuhara, a former chief pharmacist of the Navy hospital, opened Japan's first private Western-style pharmacy in Ginza, Tokyo, at age 24. Today: 1-6-2 Higashi-shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8310, Japan.
Zurich was incorporated as the “Versicherungs-Verein” (Insurance Association), a subsidiary of the “Schweiz” Marine Insurance Company, to write marine reinsurance. Today: Mythenquai 2, 8002 Zürich, Switzerland.
Where it started · 1876Pearl Street, Indianapolis · Unknown author / Public domain · Wikimedia CommonsToday · IndianapolisLilly Corporate Center, Indianapolis · Momoneymoproblemz / CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
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Eli Lilly and Company · since 1876 · United States
Colonel Eli Lilly, a chemist and Civil War veteran, opened his business on Pearl Street on May 10, 1876, with three employees. Today: Lilly Corporate Center, Indianapolis, Indiana 46285.
Where it started · 1876Drottninggatan at Strömgatan, Stockholm, 1860–1883 · Ole Tobias Olsen / Public domain · Wikimedia CommonsToday · StockholmTorshamnsgatan 21 at dusk · Photo: Ericsson
On April 1, 1876, Lars Magnus Ericsson opened his mechanical engineering shop in a courtyard building at Drottninggatan 15. Today: Torshamnsgatan 21, 164 83 Stockholm (Kista), Sweden.
Source: ericsson.com history: “Ericsson's first addresses”
On September 26, 1876, Fritz Henkel and two partners registered Henkel & Cie in Aachen and launched their first product, a universal detergent based on silicate. Today: Henkelstraße 67, 40589 Düsseldorf, Germany.
Source: henkel.com, Henkel's History (150 Years of Henkel)
Brothers William and James Lever, with their father's backing, set up a soap factory in Warrington as a branch of the family grocery business. Today: 100 Victoria Embankment, Blackfriars, London EC4Y 0DY, United Kingdom.
Source: Unilever Archives, “Formation of Unilever”
Under the name Louis Brandt & Fils, the company that became Omega moved from La Chaux-de-Fonds to larger premises in Biel/Bienne, first at 119 Route de Boujean, then at 96 Rue Jakob-Stämpfli — still Omega's home today. Today: Nicolas G. Hayek Strasse 2, 2502 Biel/Bienne, Switzerland.
Source: omegawatches.com chronicle “1880: A New Home”
Sixteen refiners in southwestern Ontario formed The Imperial Oil Company in London, Ontario. Today: 505 Quarry Park Boulevard S.E., Calgary, Alberta T2C 5N1.
Charles Rasp, a boundary rider on a sheep station in the Barrier Ranges of New South Wales, discovered rich silver and lead at Broken Hill — the ore body BHP was formed to mine. Today: 171 Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia.
Where it started · 1884–1904Site of Royce's Cooke Street works, Hulme, Manchester, 2012 · Ceropegius / CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia CommonsToday · LondonKings Place from across the canal · Peter O'Connor aka anemoneprojectors / CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Henry Royce founded the electrical and mechanical business Royce Limited in 1884 and built his first motor car in 1904. Today: Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9FX.
Source: rolls-royce.com Our History · Rolls-Royce Motor Cars PressClub photo P90157854
Inventor Albert Butz patented a furnace regulator and alarm — a forerunner of the thermostat — and started the business that became Honeywell. Today: 855 South Mint Street, Charlotte, NC 28202.
AT&T was set up in 1885 to build and run the first long-distance telephone network, eight years after the Bell Telephone Company. Today: 208 S. Akard St., Dallas, TX 75202.
Source: about.att.com, “The Historical Brands of AT&T”
In July 1885 a group of foreign residents in Yokohama set up the Japan Brewery Company on the site of the former Spring Valley Brewery, bringing in German brewers and equipment. Today: 4-10-2 Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-0001, Japan.
Source: Kirin History Museum, “Founding of Japan Brewery” · Kirin Group history 1885–1949 · Company overview
On 25 February 1885 Alfred Bouvet and Louis Milcent created the “Caisse de crédit mutuel agricole de l'arrondissement de Poligny”. Today: 50 avenue Jean Jaurès, 92120 Montrouge, France.
Source: credit-agricole.com, “Crédit Agricole 140 years of history: 1880s – Creation in the Jura” (2025)
Pharmacist Charles Alderton mixed fruit flavours at the Old Corner Drug Store in Waco, Texas; the drink became Dr Pepper. Today: 6425 Hall of Fame Lane, Frisco, TX 75034.
Where it started · 1886The first Johnson & Johnson building · Unknown author / Public domain · Wikimedia CommonsToday · New BrunswickWorld headquarters, New Brunswick · Daderot / Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
On a train from New York to Philadelphia, James Wood Johnson spotted a four-story red brick building with a “For Rent” sign beside the tracks in New Brunswick — the old Janeway & Carpender wallpaper factory. Today: One Johnson & Johnson Plaza, New Brunswick, NJ 08933.
Source: jnj.com “How a train ride sparked the founding of Johnson & Johnson”
In November 1886 Robert Bosch opened his “Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering” in a courtyard building at 75B Rotebühlstrasse in western Stuttgart, with one journeyman and one errand boy. Today: Robert-Bosch-Platz 1, 70839 Gerlingen-Schillerhöhe, Germany.
Source: bosch.com history “1886–1905” · History Blog “Robert Bosch becomes a factory owner”
Tomiro Nagase, who had come to Tokyo at 22, opened Nagase Shoten at 24 — a dealer in Western sundries that also sold soap and tooth powder. Today: 14-10, Nihonbashi Kayabacho 1-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-8210, Japan.
Source: Kao Corporate History · “Kao no Kao” vol. 1 (kao.com)
Torakusu Yamaha, a watchmaker who repaired medical equipment, was asked by an elementary school in Hamamatsu to fix its reed organ. Today: 10-1 Nakazawa-cho, Chuo-ku, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 430-8650, Japan.
Source: yamaha.com “History” and “Origins of the Yamaha Brand”
Fusajiro Yamauchi began making hanafuda (flower cards) in Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto, in September 1889. Today: 11-1 Hokotate-cho, Kamitoba, Minami-ku, Kyoto 601-8501.
Source: Nintendo Company History and Company Profile (nintendo.co.jp)
In November 1889 Komakichi Torii, Shuzo Toyama and others founded the Osaka Beer Company in Osaka — the forerunner of today's Asahi Group Holdings. Today: 1-23-1 Azumabashi, Sumida-ku, Tokyo 130-8602.
Source: asahigroup-holdings.com History · Asahi Breweries customer FAQ
Founder Willoughby M. McCormick and three young workers started the company in a cellar, selling flavors and extracts door to door. Today: 24 Schilling Road, Suite 1, Hunt Valley, MD 21031.
In March 1890 Yanosuke Iwasaki, Mitsubishi's second president, bought about 110,000 tsubo (nearly 90 acres) of land next to the Imperial Palace and set out to build Japan's first modern business district. Today: 3-1, Marunouchi 2-Chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8086, Japan.
On December 1, 1890, Kijuro Ito opened Itoki Shoten in Koraibashi, Higashi-ku, Osaka, to sell new inventions. Today: Nihonbashi Takashimaya Mitsui Building, 2-5-1 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-6113, Japan.
Source: itoki.jp, “ITOKI's history” (English and Japanese) · company outline
Where it started · 1891The Philips Museum, in the 1891 factory on the Emmasingel, Eindhoven · Michielverbeek / CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsToday · AmsterdamLounge, Philips Center, Amsterdam, 2025 · Photo: Keijsers Interiors
On January 25, 1892, Yoshigoro Obayashi started a civil engineering and building contracting business called Obayashi-ten at Utsubo-minamidori, Nishi-ku, Osaka (today Nishihonmachi 2-chome). Today: 2-15-2 Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo.
Source: Obayashi corporate history · OBAYASHI FIELD TRIP 360° (Shinagawa office, 3F)
Where it started · 1896Replica of Henry Ford's Bagley Avenue workshop, Greenfield Village, 2024 · w_lemay / CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsToday · DearbornLobby, Ford World Headquarters, 2025 · Photo: Garrett Rowland / Ford Motor Company
Where it started · 1896F. Hoffmann-La Roche & Co., Grenzacherstrasse, Basel, 1918–1937 · Walter Mittelholzer / Public domain · Wikimedia CommonsToday · BaselBuildings 1 and 2 from the Rhine, 2022 · Photo: Robert Hösl, Roman Weyeneth / Herzog & de Meuron
Where it started · 1898Bradham's Pharmacy, the birthplace of Pepsi-Cola, New Bern, 2023 · Indy beetle / CC0 · Wikimedia CommonsToday · PurchaseCalder on the lawn, Purchase · User:Noroton / Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
22-year-old Hans Søren Hansen steps off a train in the farming town of Lem on Denmark's west coast and buys the local blacksmith workshop. Today: Hedeager 42, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark.
Where it started · 1898Dommelstraat 9, Eindhoven · Michiel1972 / CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia CommonsToday · UtrechtThe towers from the south · Ricodejong02 / CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
August Horch, who had run motor vehicle production at Carl Benz's company in Mannheim, started his own business, Horch & Cie., in Cologne in 1899. Today: Auto-Union-Straße 1, 85057 Ingolstadt, Germany.
Established on July 17, 1899 — the day Japan's revised treaties took effect — by Kunihiko Iwadare and W.T. Carleton of Western Electric's Tokyo branch, helped by Takeshiro Maeda. Today: 7-1, Shiba 5-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8001.
Intesa Sanpaolo, founded in 1563. A brotherhood called the Compagnia di San Paolo laid the foundations in Turin for what became the Monte di Pietà, lending to the poor at very low interest.
Which big companies are more than 125 years old?
Intesa Sanpaolo, Saint-Gobain, Barclays, GSK, LVMH, Novartis, Diageo, Takeda, Bank of America, Molson Coors, AkzoNobel, State Street, JPMorganChase, AXA, Citigroup, Nordea, Swedbank, Norfolk Southern, Generali, Michelin, Shell, Wärtsilä, Procter & Gamble, Hermès, John Deere, Carlsberg, BT Group, Siemens, BNP Paribas, Pfizer, American Express, Thomson Reuters, Levi Strauss & Co., Telenor, Burberry, TD Bank Group (The Toronto-Dominion Bank), BBVA, Banco Santander, ENGIE, UBS and 57 more — all founded before 1900.
When and where was Saint-Gobain founded?
1665: Faubourg Saint-Antoine, Paris — the royal mirror manufactory. Today it is headquartered at 12 place de l'Iris, 92400 Courbevoie, France.
When and where was Barclays founded?
1690: A goldsmith's shop on Lombard Street. Today it is headquartered at 1 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HP, United Kingdom.
When and where was GSK founded?
1715: Plough Court pharmacy, City of London. Today it is headquartered at 79 New Oxford Street, London WC1A 1DG, United Kingdom.
When and where was LVMH founded?
1743–1854: Roots in Champagne, Cognac and Paris. Today it is headquartered at 22 avenue Montaigne, 75008 Paris, France.
When and where was Novartis founded?
1758: Geigy, a trading house in Basel. Today it is headquartered at Forum 3, Novartis Campus, CH-4056 Basel.
When and where was Diageo founded?
1759: St. James's Gate, Dublin — the Guinness lease. Today it is headquartered at 16 Great Marlborough Street, London W1F 7HS, United Kingdom.
How we made this: every fact, photo and credit comes from the company profiles on eciffo, which cite the company’s own reports, press releases and architects. We add companies as their profiles are finished, so this list grows.
Airlines5 Airline Headquarters, From Fort Worth to Tokyo
GamesInside 9 Video Game Company Offices
Semiconductors8 Semiconductor Company Headquarters
Telecom14 Telecom Company Headquarters
Fashion & beauty17 Fashion, Luxury and Beauty Company Headquarters
Retail19 Retail and E-commerce Company Headquarters
Germany19 German Company Headquarters, From Munich to Wolfsburg
Nordics15 Nordic Company Headquarters, From Stockholm to Billund
Texas15 Company Headquarters in Texas
Seattle area9 Company Headquarters in the Seattle Area
Washington, D.C. area10 Company Headquarters Around Washington, D.C.
Midwest19 Company Headquarters in the Midwest, From Chicago to Akron
Automotive11 Car Company Headquarters, From Wolfsburg to Toyota City
Tokyo35 Company Headquarters in Tokyo
Asia-Pacific22 Company Headquarters in Asia-Pacific, From Shenzhen to Sydney
VideoOffice Tour Videos: Inside 126 Company Headquarters
JapanInside the Offices of 46 Japanese Companies
Europe92 European Company Headquarters, From Munich to Stockholm
Bay AreaSilicon Valley and San Francisco: 42 Tech Headquarters
BenefitsPerks at 319 Big Companies: What They Offer to Keep People
Headquarters29 New Company Headquarters Opened Since 2016
Inside the officeInside 194 Company Cafeterias and Office Cafés
Architecture216 Company Headquarters Designed by Famous Architects