NAIC 23311

Land Subdivision and Land Development

How the companies in this industry began, and the forces that shaped them.

44companies1866–1999founding years42still active2no longer operating
§ 01

The industry over time

Companies foundedEconomyTechnologyEnvironmentHistory
1903
TechnologyThe Wright brothers achieve powered flight.
1914
EconomyWorld War I begins; global trade reorders.
1939
EconomyWorld War II begins; wartime production surges.
1945
EconomyThe war ends; a long global expansion begins.
1947
TechnologyThe transistor is invented.
1958
TechnologyThe integrated circuit is demonstrated.
1962
EnvironmentSilent Spring launches the modern environmental movement.
1975
TechnologyThe personal-computer era begins.
1981
TechnologyThe IBM PC launches and sets a standard.
1984
TechnologyApple ships the Macintosh; the GUI era begins.
1989
HistoryThe Berlin Wall falls; global markets open up.
1991
TechnologyThe World Wide Web is released to the public.
1993
TechnologyThe Mosaic browser brings the web to everyone.
1995
TechnologyWindows 95 launches; the internet goes mainstream.
1997
EnvironmentThe Kyoto Protocol sets the first climate targets.
2004
TechnologySocial media and Web 2.0 take hold.
2007
TechnologyThe iPhone launches the smartphone era.
2010
TechnologyCloud computing goes mainstream for business.
2015
EnvironmentThe Paris Agreement sets global climate targets.
2020
EconomyThe COVID-19 pandemic upends the global economy.
2022
EconomyInflation spikes; central banks raise rates sharply.
2023
TechnologyGenerative AI reaches mainstream business use.
§ 02

The companies

Swire Pacific Limited
Active · founded 1866 · Hong Kong
Swire Pacific Limited, which came to prominence as one of the 19th-century British-owned trading houses based in Hong…
Hochtief AG
Active · founded 1875 · Germany
Hochtief AG is the German market leader in the construction industry and is among the world's leading international…
The Chubb Corporation
Active · founded 1882
s: 52321 Security and Commodity Exchanges; 524113 Direct Life Insurance Carriers; 52413 Reinsurance Carriers; 524114…
Hongkong Land Holdings Limited
Active · founded 1889 · Hong Kong
Hongkong Land Holdings Limited is one of Hong Kong's foremost property investment, development, and management…
Sunoco, Inc.
Active · founded 1890
Sunoco, Inc.
Alexander & Baldwin, Inc.
Active · founded 1900
Alexander & Baldwin, Inc., one of the original 'Big Five' Hawaiian companies, is a diversified corporation with…
Weyerhaeuser Company
Active · founded 1900
Weyerhaeuser Company is the world's largest private owner of softwood timber and the world's largest producer of…
Kraus-Anderson, Incorporated
Active · founded 1912
Kraus-Anderson, Incorporated has been in the construction business for over a century.
NKK Corporation
Defunct · founded 1912 · Japan
NKK Corporation is one of the world's largest steelmakers and Japan's second largest.
Day & Zimmermann, Inc.
Active · founded 1916
Day & Zimmermann, Inc., a private, family-run company headquartered in Philadelphia, provides technical, engineering,…
Walbridge Aldinger Co.
Active · founded 1916
Walbridge Aldinger Co.
Chesapeake Corporation
Active · founded 1918
Once a broader-based paper and packaging company, Chesapeake Corporation repositioned itself in the late 1990s to be a…
Slough Estates PLC
Active · founded 1920 · United Kingdom
Slough Estates PLC is Britain's largest industrial property investment company, with a property portfolio valued at…
Taylor Woodrow plc
Active · founded 1921 · United Kingdom
Taylor Woodrow plc is a major U.K.-based home builder and property developer and lessor.
The Connell Company
Active · founded 1926
Originally and perhaps best known as a major broker of rice, The Connell Company has grown to become one of the largest…
Minyard Food Stores, Inc.
Active · founded 1932
Minyard Food Stores, Inc.
Morrison Knudsen Corporation
Defunct · founded 1932
Morrison Knudsen Corporation (MK) has long stood as one of the world's largest engineering and construction…
Tejon Ranch Company
Active · founded 1936
The Tejon Ranch Company, at the southern end of California's Central Valley, is the largest and one of the oldest…
The St. Joe Company
Active · founded 1936
The St.
McDermott International, Inc.
Active · founded 1946
McDermott International, Inc.
Empresas ICA Sociedad Controladora, S.A. de C.V.
Active · founded 1947 · Mexico
Empresas ICA Sociedad Controladora, S.A.
Silverstein Properties, Inc.
Active · founded 1957
Silverstein Properties, Inc.
Lend Lease Corporation Limited
Active · founded 1958 · Australia
Lend Lease Corporation Limited, one of Australia's top public companies, is a leading integrated global real estate…
Sime Darby Berhad
Active · founded 1958 · Malaysia
Sime Darby Berhad is the largest conglomerate in Malaysia and one of the largest in southeast Asia.
Lincoln Property Company
Active · founded 1965
Lincoln Property Company is one of the top developers of both office buildings and residential apartment complexes,…
Triple Five Group Ltd.
Active · founded 1965 · Canada
Triple Five Group Ltd.
Fairfield Communities, Inc.
Active · founded 1969
Fairfield Communities, Inc.
Maui Land & Pineapple Company, Inc.
Active · founded 1969
One of Hawaii's oldest and largest corporations, Maui Land & Pineapple Company, Inc.
New World Development Company Limited
Active · founded 1970 · Hong Kong
Since its founding in 1970, New World Development Company Limited has been a leader in Hong Kong's bustling commercial…
The Rottlund Company, Inc.
Active · founded 1973
Through its subsidiaries, The Rottlund Company, Inc.
Redrow Group plc
Active · founded 1974 · United Kingdom
Flintshire-based Redrow Group plc is one of the United Kingdom's largest home builders and developers.
The Trump Organization
Active · founded 1974
The Trump Organization presides over the assets of the Trump family and serves as the umbrella for the many business…
Bufete Industrial, S.A. de C.V.
Active · founded 1977 · Mexico
Bufete (or Grupo Bufete) Industrial, S.A.
Hutchison Whampoa Limited
Active · founded 1977 · Hong Kong
Mid-1970s:Hongkong & Shanghai Bank steps in to rescue the faltering Hutchison, taking a stake in excess of 20 percent.
Tishman Speyer Properties, L.P.
Active · founded 1978
Tishman Speyer Properties, L.P.
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc.
Active · founded 1979
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc.
Larry H. Miller Group
Active · founded 1979
The Larry H.
Florida East Coast Industries, Inc.
Active · founded 1984
In 2000, Amtrak reached an agreement to use FECR's coastal tracks to begin a passenger service.
BAA plc
Active · founded 1987 · United Kingdom
BAA plc is a holding company for the world's largest organization of airports.
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.
Active · founded 1988 · Spain
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.
Reckson Associates Realty Corp.
Active · founded 1994
Reckson Associates Realty Corp.
Fortum Corporation
Active · founded 1998 · Finland
Fortum Corporation is an international energy group formed from the 1998 merger of two state-owned Finnish firms: Neste…
Thyssen Krupp AG
Active · founded 1999 · Germany
Thyssen Krupp AG was created in March 1999 from the merger of two of Germany's oldest industrial giants, Thyssen AG and…
William Lyon Homes
Active · founded 1999
The merged companies, operating under the name William Lyon Homes, rebounded in 1999 and entered the 21st century…
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