By Ruma Dubey

We live in the fast world and everything is about this instant, living in the “now”. Earlier, building a reputation took years; today it is effervescent like fame, now there, now gone. Everything is  a flash in the pan.

The very concept of long term investment has changed; if fathers earlier bequeathed stocks to their children, today the children need to constantly reshuffle the portfolio, else the companies might just vanish.

Yet, despite these changing times, there are a few handful companies which are historic in the sense, they have witnessed two world wars, seen the various revolutions, the Great Depression, India’s freedom struggle, liberalization and evolution of mankind from mechanics to now electronics and digitization. When we meet a centenarian, we often wonder about that which his eyes would have witnessed, the times he lived through and the very different world he lives in today.

Ditto for companies. It is a wonder how some companies have lived over 100 years and despite the fast changing times have adapted or are learning to adapt.  All these companies continue to enjoy immense investor faith and have built a brand equity which symbolizes India. They have responded to changes and that is their secret for survival.

Here is a list of some companies which are over 100 years old but are still alive and kicking. 

The oldest, the grand old man of India is undoubtedly, Jessop and Company and it was set up way back in 1788, which means it is today 225 years old! And it has many firsts to its credit – building the first iron bridge, built the first steam boat, the first steam road roller and was part of the team which made the Parliament in New Delhi.  Unfortunately it runs on losses today though it continues to manufacture products for the Indian Railway. The fact that even after 224 years it continues to breathe is a greatness in itself.

Did you know that Times of India, the newspaper which we read everyday, is 175 years old! The first edition of the paper, then known as  The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce came out with its first edition on 3rd Nov 1938 and it came under the umbrella of Bennett, Coleman and Co in 1892 and in 1946 Ram KishanDalmia bought out the company for Rs.2 crore.

Another company up and about, running though split, is DCM or Delhi Cloth Mill. It started in 1889, the same year in which the Eiffel Tower opened in Paris and Jawaharlal Nehru, Charlie Chaplin were born. It is also historic in the sense that Shiv Nadir, was working at DCM and he quit the company, along with his five friends to start Hindustan Computers or what we today known as HCL. In those days, DCM was to Delhi what Tata Sons was to Mumbai but fraternal conflicts and hostile takeover bids from Swaraj Paul led to the eventual restructuring in 1990 into 4 separate companies – DCM Shriram Consolidated, DCM, DCM Shriram Industries, and Shriram Industrial Enterprises. A second division took place in 1999 when Shri Ram Fibres (SRF) parted ways.

Another grand old dad is, believe it or not, Britannia Industries. With just Rs.295, the company was set up in 1892.  It supplied biscuits to the army in World War II! From making biscuits in a small house, the company is a true conglomerate today and even after 121 years the company is amongst the most trusted brands of India.

The others who are still up and about are:

• Imperial Bank which later went on to become State Bank of India - Founded in 1806
• Dabur India - Founded in 1884
• Kirloskar Brothers - Founded in 1888
• Batliboi Ltd - Founded in 1892
• Amrutanjan Healthcare - Founded in 1893
• Punjab National Bank - Founded in 1895
• Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation or CESC – Founded in 1897
• Godrey& Boyce - Founded in 1897
• Century Textiles - Founded in 1897
• Shalimar Paints – Founded in 1902
• Indian Hotels Company - Founded in 1903
• Tata Steel - Founded in 1907
• Bank of Baroda - Founded in 1908
• ITC - Founded in 1910
• T.V.SundaramIyengar and Sons Limited (TVS) – Founded in 1911

What is extremely gratifying to note is that majority of these companies continue not just to function but are doing very well and giving the new generation companies a run for their money!