21 Companies Turn 100 in 2023

At least 21 U.S. companies celebrate their 100th anniversary in 2023 and only one is public: Walt Disney Company. Of the 20 that are privately-owned, 12 are generational family companies and one is employee-owned. Here is the list I have gathered to date: please let me know if I have missed a new Century Club Company. 

Albanese Butcher, NYC, 3rd generation

Avalon Theater, Grand Junction CO

Borr's Shoes, Holland MI

Bradbury Stamm Construction, Albuquerque NM, 4th generation

Burns Chevrolet, Gafney SC

Geissler's Supermarkets, East Windsor CT, 4th generation

Goedecke Decorating, Bedford NH, 4th generation

Harbor Food Groups, Kent WA, 4th generation

Lake GM Auto Center, Devils Lake ND

L.H. Hayward & Co., Harahan LA, 4th generation (Camellia Beans)

Martin Sustainable Resources, Alexandria LA, 3rd & 4th generations (wood products)

Meinholdt's Welding & Machine Shop, Topeka KS

Old Point Financial, Hampton VA

Paielli's Bakery, Kenosha WI, 3rd & 4th generations

Phillips Flowers, Chicago IL, 3rd & 4th generations (?)

R.H. White Construction, Auburn MA, 3rd generation

Sunnyside Ford, Holden MA, 3rd generation

Superior Die Set, Oak Creek WI, 4th generation

Walt Disney Company, Burbank CA, public

Wendell August Forge, Mercer PA

W.W. Norton & Co., NYC, employee-owned (publisher)

125th Anniversary Companies

 

Twenty-one Century Club Companies celebrate their 125th anniversary in 2023. Three are public (including Goodyear and International Paper), 11 generational family-owned (including Bechtel), and one is employee-owned. Congratulations to all!

Alter Trading, St. Louis MO 3rd generation (recycling)

American Nickeloid, Peru IL (manufacture metal products)

Bank of England, England AR (banking)

Bechtel, Reston VA 5th generation (engineering, construction)

Belletetes, Jaffrey NH 3rd, 4th & 5th generations (lumber & building materials)

Burns & McDonnell, Kansas City MO employee-owned (engineering, construction)

Cox Enterprises, Atlanta GA 4th generation (media conglomerate)

Detroit Store Fixture, Detroit MI (commercial equipment)

Eaton Funeral Home, Sullivan MO (funeral services)

FEH Design, Des Moines IA (architecture, design, engineering)

First Citizens Bancshares, Raleigh NC public - also 3rd generation? (banking & finance)

Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Akron OH public (tires & rubber products)

International Paper, Memphis TN public (paper products)

J. Elmer Turner Realtors, Dallas TX 5th generation (real estate services)

McKelvey Homes, Chesterfield MO (construction)

The Old Print Shop, New York City NY, 3rd generation (retail art)

Rambusch Lighting, Jersey City NJ 4th generation (manufacture electrical products)

Robertson's Building Center, Malvern OH 3rd generation? (lumber & building products)

Walsh Group, Chicago IL 4th generation (construction contractor)

Warnock Furniture, Magnolia AR 5th generation (retail furniture)

Worksman Cycles, Ozone Park NY 3rd generation (manufacture cycles)

Notable Anniversaries for Century Club Companies in 2023

Over 350 U.S. businesses celebrate being in continuous, independent operation for 150 years or more in 2023. Here are a few hitting some pretty significant milestones:

400 years: Zildjian 14th generation (began making cymbals in the Ottoman Empire in1623, U.S. since 1929)

225 years: Alan McIlvain and J. Gibson McIlvain 7th generation (both began as the McIlvain Lumber Company in Pennsylvania 1798)

200 years: Munson Machinery (New York manufacturer of mixing & blending equipment since 1823) 

New Hope Mills 3rd generation (though the mill no longer operates, New Hope still sells flour products - particularly pancake mixes)

175 years: Corning Building 5th generation, Hancock Lumber 6th generation, Maze Lumber 6th generation, Dain's Lumber 5th generation, and Richardson Industries 6th generation (all lumber and building materials businesses begun in 1848) 

Knapheide Manufacturing 6th generation (manufacture truck bodies)

Macomber, Farr & Whitten and Ohio Farmers Insurance (both insurance agents) 

150 years: Fehlig Brothers Box & Lumber 5th generation

Grant Renne & Sons 4th & 5th generations (construction & foundation repair) 

Horizon Bancorp (HBNC - the only public company on this list) 

Kohler 4th generation (well-known Wisconsin manufacturer of plumbing products)

Morgan Lewis & Bockius and Shearman & Sterling (law firms) 

Schantz Organ 4th generation (manufacturing pipe organs since 1873)

White & Associates (insurance agency)

Welcome to the Century Club: Class of 1922

 

Here is the list of companies that have been in continuous, independent operation since 1922 and are our newest members of the Century Club. Just one company is publicly traded (First National Bank Alaska) but it is also 3rd generation. 

Congratulations to these firms celebrating their 100th year in business in 2022:

Barden Lumber, Boyne City MI 4th generation (lumber & building materials)

Coffin Shoe Company, Knoxville KY 3rd & 4th generations (retail)

Copaken Brooks, Kansas City MO 3rd generation (real estate development) 

El Charro Cafe, Tucson AZ 3rd generation 

Ewing Irrigation and Landscape Supply, Phoenix AX 3rd generation (wholesale)

First National Bank Alaska, Anchorage AK public & 3rd generation

Haartz Corp, Bloomfield Hills MI 3rd generation (manufacture auto parts)

Jones Financial Corp (Edward Jones), St. Louis MO employee-owned

Kirwen's Supermarket, Gibonsburg OH 3rd generation

Pennsylvania Paper and Supply, Scranton PA 3rd generation (paper products)

The Lake Forest Shop, Lake Forest IL private (retail apparel)

Shamrock Foods, Phoenix AZ 3rd generation (food products)

Star Grocery, Berkeley CA 2nd generation

State Farm Insurance, Bloomington IL mutual

USAA, San Antonio TX mutual (banking)

Wells Print & Digital, Madison WI private (printing & publishing)

NOTE: Since it is very possible I've missed some, please post a comment if you know of a company that should join this list. 

125th Anniversary Celebrations for 16 Firms in 2022

 

At least 16 U.S. businesses started in 1897 are still operation today, 125 years later. This remarkable achievement is not limited to certain industries or states or type of business - though 12 of the 16 (75%) are generational family businesses. Four of the companies are public, with one (Smucker's) run by 5th  generation family. Representing 15 different industry categories and 11 states, here is the list:

Artkraft Strauss, New York City NY, 3rd generation (special construction trades)

Becton, Dickinson & Co, Franklin Lakes NJ, public (medical equipment)

Chelsea State Bank, Chelsea MI, public (banking & finance)

Clark Family Orchards, Palisade CO, 7th generation (food products/peaches)

First Supply, Monona WI, 5th generation (wholesale plumbing/HVAC)

Glik's, Granite City IL, 4th generation (retail apparel)

Gordon Food Service, Grand Rapids MI, 4th & 5th generations (wholesale grocery products)

Kintzinger Harmon Konrady, Dubuque IA, private (legal services)

Middlesex Water, Iselin NJ, public (utility)

Molin Concrete Products, Lino Lakes MN, 5th generation (building products)

Parker Flavors, Baltimore MD, 4th generation (food & beverage products)

Rathbone Hardware, Springfield MO, 4th generation (retail hardware)

Smucker's, Orville OH, public & 5th generation (food products)

Skerbeck Family Carnival, Escanaba MI, 6th & 7th generation (entertainment)

Tecla, Walled Lake MI, 4th generation (manufacturing/metal fabricator)

United Pickle Products, New York City NY, 5th generation (food products)

Congratulations on 150 Years in Business

 

At least 11 U.S. companies were founded in 1872 and are celebrating 150 years of continuous, independent operation in 2022; five are generational family-owned, three are public. Join me in congratulating them (and leave a comment if you know of more)!

Champion Bridge, Wilmington OH

Chesterman, Sioux City IA 5th generation

First National Bank of Fort Smith, Fort Smith AR 5th generation

Kimberly-Clark, Irving TX public

Lakeland Financial, Warsaw IN public

Matthew's Pub, Portland ME

Meyer Music, Grand Rapids MI 3rd generation

Michigan Supply, Lansing MI 

Ohio Valley Banc Corp, Gallipolis OH public

Russell Abstract & Title, Adel IA 5th generation

Von Maur, Davenport IA 4th generation

4th Edition of "Lessons from Century Club Companies" Now Available

 

This book is the result of over 10 years of research on thousands of companies - large and small, public and private - attempting to identify practices and policies century-old companies use to survive for the long term. The 2022 edition includes an updated list of Century Club Companies, through those founded in 1921. Even though a number of companies have been added since the last edition, the overall number of CCCs has remained fairly stable at around 1350.  Of those dropping off the list (because they closed, were acquired, or broken up) 17% were public. This statistic is interesting because only 11% of CCCs overall are publicly-traded. The percentage of publicly-owned "old" companies has been steadily dropping since I first published my research in 2016. Another interesting statistic: 13% of the CCCs who have publicly-traded stock also have generational family members actively involved - in management and/or on the board.

Enjoy!