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!

Oldest Companies in Maine

 

Maine has nearly 30 companies that have been in business for over 100 years; just one of them, Auburn Bancorp, is publicly-traded and 10 are generational family-owned firms. Over 1/3 are financial institutions and 4 of those are mutuals. There is a well-known retailer (L.L. Bean), 3 manufacturers, a few lumber yards, and a variety of retail businesses. Here is the list - if you know of a Maine company in continuous independent operation for over 100 years that is not on this list, please leave a comment.

1660/67 Seaside Inn, Kennebunkport, 9th generation

1816 Hodgdon Yachts, East Boothbay, 5th/6th generation

1821 Bartlett Yarns, Harmony

1827 Saco and Biddeford Savings, Saco, mutual

1835 Hussey Seating, North Berwick, 6th/7th generation

1844 S.W. Collins, Lincoln (lumber & building supplies), 5th generation

1848 Hancock Lumber, Casco, 6th generation

1848 Macomber, Farr & Whitten, Augusta (insurance agents)

1852 Bangor Bancorp, Bangor

1852 Bath Savings Institution, Bath, mutual

1856 Skowhegan Savings Bank, Slowhegan

1866 Garland Manufacturing, Saco (tools), 6th generation

1866 Norway Savings Bank, Norway

1868 Gorham Bancorp, Gorham

1870 Androscoggin Bancorp, Lewiston, mutual

1871 Kennebunk Savings Bancorp, Kennebunk, mutual

1872 Matthew's Pub, Portland

1878 Geiger, Lewiston (printing & publishing), 5th generation

1887 Auburn Bancorp, Auburn, public

1888 Augusta Fuel (AFC), Augusta

1888 Rockland Savings Bank, Rockland

1889 Bangor Publishing, Bangor, 4th generation

1902 Amato's, Portland (restaurant)

1908 Dennis Paper & Food Service, Hampden (wholesale groceries), 100% employee-owned

1909 Ripley and Fletcher Ford, South Paris

1912 L.L. Bean, Freeport, 4th generation

1913 Hub Furniture, Portland, 3rd/4th generation

1915 Haven's Candies, Portland

Milestones of 200+ Years for These Century Club Companies

 

Fourteen Century Club Companies celebrate amazing anniversaries in 2022. Just one of them (Wiley) is publicly traded, though the involvement of the founding family is ongoing. Join me in congratulating the survival of these companies for 200 years and more:

200 years: Stuard Funeral Home, Ardmore PA, 6th generation, founded 1822

205 years: Atkins & Pearce, Covington KY, 7th generation, producer of high performance textiles

                 Claflin, Warwick RI, medical equipment distributor, founded 1817

210 years: Bear Funeral Home, Churchville VA, 6th generation

                 Rider's Inn, Painesville OH, founded 1812

215 years: John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken NJ, 6th & 7th generation, publisher of academic materials, founded 1807 (also listed on the NYSE)

220 years: Rogers Funeral Home, Frankfort KY, 7th generation, founded 1802

225 years: Birkett Mills, Penn Yan NY, founded 1797

                 Gruber Almanack, Hagerstown MD, 8th generation

                 Wayside Inn, Middleton VA, founded 1797

230 years: Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, New York NY, law firm founded 1792

270 years: Caswell-Massey, Edison NJ, soap & fragrance producer, founded 1752

                 Philadelphia Contributionship, Philadelphia PA, mutual insurance company founded 1752                   by Benjamin Franklin

355 years: Seaside Inn, Kennebunkport ME, 9th generation, founded 1667 or earlier (perhaps 1660)