10 Old Companies Still in Operation

1. Kongō Gumi Founded in 578

Country: Japan | Industry: Temple construction

Kongō Gumi is commonly described as the oldest known company still operating. Its story began in 578, when Prince Shōtoku invited skilled builders from the Korean kingdom of Baekje to Japan. One of those craftsmen, Shigemitsu Kongō, helped construct Shitennō-ji, an important Buddhist temple in Osaka.

The company developed deep expertise in building, restoring, and repairing Buddhist temples and other traditional structures. That specialization gave it a dependable role in Japanese cultural life. Temples might burn, age, or suffer storm damage, but they still required craftsmen who understood historic joinery and sacred architectural conventions.

Financial difficulties eventually forced Kongō Gumi to reorganize. In 2006, it became part of the Takamatsu Construction Group. The family’s independent control ended, but the Kongō Gumi name, specialist carpenters, and temple-building operations continued. Its survival therefore comes with an asteriskbut it is a remarkably sturdy asterisk that has been standing for more than 1,400 years.

Longevity lesson: A narrow specialty can become a powerful competitive advantage when the required knowledge is difficult to reproduce.

2. Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan Founded in 705

Country: Japan | Industry: Hospitality

Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan opened in 705 in what is now Yamanashi Prefecture. Guinness World Records recognizes it as the world’s oldest hotel. The inn sits in a mountain valley and uses naturally heated water from local hot springs, giving travelers a reason to make the journey long before anyone could complain about weak hotel Wi-Fi.

Across more than 1,300 years, Keiunkan has welcomed military leaders, political figures, writers, and generations of ordinary guests. Its buildings and amenities have naturally changed, but its essential promise has remained familiar: restorative hot-spring bathing, peaceful surroundings, attentive service, and traditional Japanese hospitality.

The property demonstrates that a historic business does not have to preserve every old chair or plumbing fixture. It must preserve the experience customers value. Keiunkan modernized its accommodations while keeping its landscape, mineral water, atmosphere, and cultural identity at the center of the visit.

Longevity lesson: Customers return to a timeless benefit, not necessarily to an unchanged building.

3. Hōshi Ryokan Founded in 718

Country: Japan | Industry: Hospitality

Hōshi Ryokan was established in 718 near the Awazu hot springs in Ishikawa Prefecture. According to its traditional origin story, the Buddhist monk Taichō identified the healing spring and instructed his disciple Garyō Hōshi to establish an inn there.

The business grew around the Japanese ryokan model, offering tatami rooms, seasonal meals, gardens, communal bathing, and highly attentive service. Hōshi has survived by treating hospitality as a craft rather than a simple transaction. A room provides shelter; a ryokan is expected to create calm, ceremony, and a sense that someone thoughtfully anticipated your needs.

Like other centuries-old companies, Hōshi has renovated, installed modern systems, and adjusted to contemporary travel expectations. Yet it continues to market an experience connected to Japanese aesthetics and hot-spring culture. It is proof that tradition works best when guests can enjoy it without also experiencing eighth-century standards of heating and sanitation.

Longevity lesson: Ritual, consistency, and emotional value can make a service business difficult to replace.

4. Staffelter Hof Documented Since 862

Country: Germany | Industry: Wine and hospitality

Staffelter Hof, located in Kröv in Germany’s Mosel wine region, traces its documented history to 862. A surviving record describes the transfer of vineyard-related property to the Abbey of Stavelot. That makes the estate one of the oldest documented wineries and one of the world’s longest-running commercial properties.

The operation has passed through religious, public, and private management over the centuries. Today, Staffelter Hof functions as a family-run winery, distillery, guesthouse, and cultural venue. It produces traditional Riesling while also experimenting with organic agriculture, natural wines, new grape varieties, and ecological growing methods.

That combination is important. Staffelter Hof does not survive merely by placing an ancient date on a label and waiting for history enthusiasts to arrive with open wallets. Its heritage attracts attention, but its current wines still have to taste good. A customer may admire the year 862, but nobody wants a bottle that tastes as though it has been open since then.

Longevity lesson: Heritage strengthens a product only when present-day quality supports the story.

5. Pontificia Fonderia Marinelli Circa 1040

Country: Italy | Industry: Bell casting

The Marinelli Pontifical Bell Foundry in Agnone, Italy, is generally dated to around 1040, although the earliest surviving records connected to the Marinelli family’s work are later. The company describes a bell-making tradition spanning approximately 1,000 years.

Its artisans continue to cast bells using labor-intensive techniques involving brick cores, clay molds, wax decoration, and molten bronze. The process can take months, and each finished bell has its own dimensions, inscriptions, ornamentation, and sound. Marinelli bells have been produced for churches and institutions in Italy and around the world.

Modern tools assist with design, lifting, transportation, and computerized ringing systems, but the core casting method remains recognizably traditional. The business survives because it sells more than metal. It offers acoustic engineering, religious symbolism, sculpture, craftsmanship, and continuity in one extremely heavy package. Shipping is presumably not free.

Longevity lesson: Traditional craftsmanship remains commercially relevant when it produces something distinctive that mass manufacturing cannot fully imitate.

6. Barone Ricasoli Founded in 1141

Country: Italy | Industry: Wine

The Ricasoli family’s connection to Castello di Brolio in Tuscany is documented from 1141. Over the centuries, the estate became closely associated with the development of Chianti wine and remains an active producer in the Chianti Classico region.

One of its most influential figures was Baron Bettino Ricasoli, a politician, agricultural experimenter, and wine entrepreneur. In 1872, after years of testing grape combinations and production methods, he described a formula that helped shape the modern identity of Chianti.

Today, Barone Ricasoli combines vineyards, cellar technology, historical tourism, hospitality, and a globally recognized wine brand. Its history gives the company credibility, but continued experimentation has been just as important. Wine consumers respect tradition, although they generally prefer that the winemaker also understand modern hygiene, temperature control, and what cork taint smells like.

Longevity lesson: Long-running companies protect their identity while continuously improving how they deliver it.

7. Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena Founded in 1472

Country: Italy | Industry: Banking

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena began in 1472 as a charitable lending institution established under the Republic of Siena. Its original purpose was to provide financial assistance to disadvantaged citizens during a difficult economic period.

Over time, it developed into a major commercial bank. Its long history has not been a peaceful stroll through a Renaissance courtyard. Monte dei Paschi has experienced restructurings, acquisitions, financial losses, government intervention, leadership changes, and intense regulatory scrutiny.

Yet the bank remains active. Its story is particularly instructive because survival does not always look elegant. Sometimes business longevity means accepting rescue, selling assets, rebuilding capital, changing governance, and continuing under conditions the founders could never have imagined. A company that has operated since 1472 has almost certainly survived at least one meeting that should have been an email.

Longevity lesson: Resilience may require uncomfortable restructuring rather than stubborn loyalty to an outdated model.

8. Beretta Founded in 1526

Country: Italy | Industry: Firearms and outdoor products

Beretta traces its documented history to 1526, when master gun-barrel maker Bartolomeo Beretta received payment for supplying arquebus barrels to the Republic of Venice. The company remains controlled by the Beretta family, which has led the business across 15 generations.

During that period, weapon technology moved from early gunpowder arms to modern sporting, military, and law-enforcement equipment. Beretta expanded internationally and invested in industrial manufacturing, engineering, distribution, and additional outdoor brands.

Its longevity rests partly on technical specialization and partly on adaptation. The company did not continue making only sixteenth-century arquebus barrels while insisting customers were being unreasonable. It preserved expertise in precision metalworking while following major changes in materials, manufacturing, regulation, and customer demand.

Longevity lesson: A company can preserve its core capabilities without remaining tied to its original product format.

9. Gekkeikan Founded in 1637

Country: Japan | Industry: Sake

Gekkeikan began in 1637 when Jiemon Okura established a sake brewery in Fushimi, south of Kyoto. The area was known for good water and convenient river transportationtwo excellent advantages when your product requires clean brewing water and weighs considerably more than a marketing slogan.

The company was initially associated with the name Kasagiya and a sake called Tama no Izumi. It later adopted the Gekkeikan name, meaning “laurel wreath,” in 1905. During the modern era, the company embraced scientific research, quality control, bottling improvements, and new distribution methods.

Gekkeikan also expanded internationally, including production in the United States. Its history shows how a traditional food or beverage company can use science without sacrificing cultural meaning. Consumers may appreciate heritage, but consistent flavor and safe production help convince them to purchase a second bottle.

Longevity lesson: Tradition and research are partners, not enemies, when both serve product quality.

10. Twinings Founded in 1706

Country: England | Industry: Tea

Thomas Twining entered London’s competitive coffeehouse trade in 1706 when he acquired Tom’s Coffee House near the Strand. Tea was becoming fashionable, and Twining recognized an opportunity to sell both prepared drinks and dry tea that customers could brew at home.

The company’s flagship store remains at 216 Strand, creating a rare physical connection between the modern brand and its early history. Twinings grew from one London business into an internationally distributed tea and wellness-drink brand offering black tea, green tea, herbal infusions, flavored blends, and other products.

Its survival illustrates the value of expanding around a strong central idea. Twinings has introduced tea bags, new flavors, wellness-oriented products, and blends for different markets, but it has never made customers wonder whether the company has suddenly become a refrigerator manufacturer. The brand continues to stand for tea expertise, even as the definition of a tea product evolves.

Longevity lesson: Innovation is less confusing when every new product still makes sense under the established brand.

What the World’s Long-Running Companies Have in Common

These historic businesses operate in very different industries, but several patterns appear repeatedly. Most developed a meaningful connection to a place, community, craft, or customer ritual. Kongō Gumi became part of Japan’s temple-building tradition. Keiunkan and Hōshi became tied to particular hot springs. Staffelter Hof and Ricasoli built identities around vineyards that could not simply be moved to a cheaper industrial park.

Many also maintained a long-term perspective. Family businesses often make decisions with the next generation in mind, although family ownership alone does not guarantee success. Research on multigenerational companies emphasizes the importance of governance, succession planning, shared purpose, and the ability to resolve conflicts before Thanksgiving dinner becomes a shareholder revolt.

Most importantly, the companies adapted. They introduced modern production methods, entered new markets, accepted outside ownership, changed management structures, or diversified their services. Their history became a foundation rather than a cage.

An Experience of Encountering Companies Older Than Nations

Reading about centuries-old companies changes the way you experience ordinary products. A cup of tea, a glass of wine, a hotel room, or the sound of a church bell can suddenly become part of a much longer human story. The object in front of you may be new, but the knowledge behind it has traveled through generations.

Imagine entering a Japanese ryokan whose business began when much of the world looked completely different. The room is not a museum display. The bedding is clean, the plumbing works, and the staff can process a modern reservation. Yet small detailsthe arrangement of the room, the seasonal meal, the quiet garden, and the rhythm of bathingconnect the guest to customs refined over centuries.

A similar feeling can emerge at an old winery. You may stand near vineyards mentioned in records written before modern banking, electricity, or bottled soft drinks. The wine in your glass is recent, perhaps made using temperature-controlled equipment and laboratory analysis, but it carries the influence of soil studied by generations of growers. History becomes something you can smell, taste, and accidentally spill on your shirt.

The Marinelli foundry offers another kind of experience. Bell casting is physical, slow, hot, and unforgiving. Clay molds are shaped, decorated, dried, and prepared before bronze is poured at an extreme temperature. The resulting bell may remain in service longer than the people who commissioned it. That changes the maker’s relationship with quality. A rushed software update can be patched tomorrow; a giant bronze bell hanging in a cathedral is less enthusiastic about version 2.1.

These businesses also encourage a different view of innovation. Modern business culture often treats disruption as automatically heroic. New companies promise to reinvent meals, transportation, sleep, dating, and occasionally the basic concept of putting socks into pairs. The oldest companies suggest that improvement does not always require destroying what came before.

Sometimes the better approach is careful evolution. A hotel adds contemporary amenities but preserves its hospitality rituals. A sake producer uses scientific quality control while maintaining traditional brewing expertise. A winery experiments with sustainable agriculture without pretending its history started last Tuesday. A construction company adopts modern engineering while retaining specialist knowledge of wooden temples.

For entrepreneurs, the most memorable experience may be realizing that longevity is built through thousands of unglamorous decisions. These companies survived because generations repaired roofs, trained apprentices, improved recipes, managed debt, found successors, served customers, and adjusted when familiar methods stopped working. Their stories are romantic from a distance, but survival probably involved many ordinary mornings when someone simply unlocked the door and did the work properly.

That may be the greatest lesson of all. A durable company needs a reason to exist beyond being old. History can bring attention, but usefulness keeps the lights on. The successful old business respects its past, earns trust in the present, and leaves enough room for the next generation to make intelligent changes.

Conclusion

The stories of these 10 old companies still in operation reveal that business longevity is not the same as remaining unchanged. Kongō Gumi endured by preserving rare construction skills. Historic Japanese inns protected meaningful guest experiences. European wineries combined heritage with modern production, while companies such as Gekkeikan and Twinings expanded traditional products into international brands.

Some survived through family succession. Others accepted new owners, corporate restructuring, or government assistance. None reached its extraordinary age by relying on history alone. They remained relevant because customers still wanted what they offered.

For modern business owners, the practical message is refreshingly simple: know what must never be lost, identify what desperately needs to change, and do not confuse tradition with an excuse for ignoring the customer. A company may not last 1,000 years, but building it as though another generation will inherit the consequences is an excellent place to begin.