COMPANYHISTORIES
SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing

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

85companies1835–1998founding years83still active2no longer operating
§ 01

The industry over time

Companies foundedEconomyTechnologyEnvironmentHistory
FoundedBertelsmann AG
1835
FoundedJacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company
1867
FoundedHerman Goelitz, Inc.
1898
1903
TechnologyThe Wright brothers achieve powered flight.
FoundedHartmarx Corporation
1911
1914
EconomyWorld War I begins; global trade reorders.
FoundedShionogi & Co., Ltd.
1919
FoundedCCH Inc.
1927
FoundedPorsche AG
1931
1939
EconomyWorld War II begins; wartime production surges.
FoundedShowa Shell Sekiyu K.K.
1942
1945
EconomyThe war ends; a long global expansion begins.
FoundedGray Communications Systems, Inc.
1946
1947
TechnologyThe transistor is invented.
FoundedConsorcio G Grupo Dina, S.A. de C.V.
1951
FoundedBrown Printing Company
1957
1958
TechnologyThe integrated circuit is demonstrated.
1962
EnvironmentSilent Spring launches the modern environmental movement.
FoundedVNU N.V.
1964
FoundedEssence Communications, Inc.
1969
FoundedThe Yankee Candle Company, Inc.
1973
1975
TechnologyThe personal-computer era begins.
FoundedThe Really Useful Group
1977
1981
TechnologyThe IBM PC launches and sets a standard.
FoundedFranklin Electronic Publishers, Inc.
1983
1984
TechnologyApple ships the Macintosh; the GUI era begins.
FoundedAmerican Classic Voyages Company
1985
1989
HistoryThe Berlin Wall falls; global markets open up.
FoundedRooms To Go Inc.
1990
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

Bertelsmann AG →
Active · founded 1835 · Germany
Bertelsmann AG is the largest media group in Germany and Europe, and the second-largest in the world to the U.S.-based…
Boatmen's Bancshares Inc. →
Active · founded 1847
Boatmen's Bancshares Inc.
The Associated Press →
Active · founded 1848
The Associated Press (AP) describes itself as the largest newsgathering organization in the world.
Société du Louvre →
Defunct · founded 1855 · France
Société du Louvre does not run that Paris museum, but its properties are almost as distinguished.
Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company →
Active · founded 1867
Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company is a prominent regional and specialty beer brewer.
R. L. Polk & Co. →
Active · founded 1870
R.
Heidelberger Zement AG →
Active · founded 1873 · Germany
Heidelberger Zement AG is one of the world's five largest producers of construction materials.
Vorwerk & Co. →
Active · founded 1883 · Germany
For more than 100 years, Vorwerk & Co.
Waverly, Inc. →
Active · founded 1892
Waverly, Inc.
Herman Goelitz, Inc. →
Active · founded 1898
Herman Goelitz, Inc.
Butterick Co., Inc. →
Active · founded 1902
Butterick Co., Inc.
World Color Press Inc. →
Active · founded 1903
World Color Press Inc.
The King Arthur Flour Company →
Active · founded 1904
The King Arthur Flour Company celebrates its 210th anniversary in the year 2000.
Blue Diamond Growers →
Active · founded 1910
Blue Diamond Growers is the world's largest tree nut marketer and also ranks as one of the largest agricultural…
Hartmarx Corporation →
Active · founded 1911
Hartmarx Corporation is a holding company for a number of clothing companies, including its flagship brands of men's…
The Lane Co., Inc. →
Active · founded 1912
The Lane Co., Inc.
Schott Brothers, Inc. →
Active · founded 1913
Schott Brothers, Inc.
Lutheran Brotherhood →
Active · founded 1917
Lutheran Brotherhood is the second-largest fraternal benefit society in the United States.
Shionogi & Co., Ltd. →
Active · founded 1919 · Japan
Shionogi & Co., Ltd., ranks among Japan's leading developers, producers, and exporters of pharmaceuticals.
Zatarain's, Inc. →
Active · founded 1922
Zatarain's, Inc., is a leading producer of rice mixes.
Advance Publications Inc. →
Active · founded 1924
Family owned and operated, Advance Publications Inc.
Weis Markets, Inc. →
Active · founded 1924
Weis Markets, Inc.
Rayonier Inc. →
Active · founded 1926
Rayonier Inc.
CCH Inc. →
Active · founded 1927
Best known as the publisher of the Standard Federal Tax Reporter, CCH Inc., publishes a wide array of topical law…
Ziff Communications Company →
Active · founded 1927
Ziff Communications Company was a major force in American magazine publishing for more than 65 years.
The Seagram Company Ltd. →
Active · founded 1928 · Canada
The Seagram Company Ltd., which is 32-percent owned by the Bronfman family, is a major international liquor giant…
AMETEK, Inc. →
Active · founded 1930
AMETEK, Inc.
The Mead Corporation →
Active · founded 1930
The Mead Corporation is one of the world's largest manufacturers of paper (producing more than 1.7 million tons each…
Porsche AG →
Active · founded 1931 · Germany
Porsche AG is legendary for its innovative and beautiful automobile designs.
Value Line, Inc. →
Active · founded 1931
Value Line, Inc.
Besnier SA →
Active · founded 1933 · France
Besnier SA is France's largest dairy products producer and one of the largest dairy products producers in Europe.
Consumers Union →
Active · founded 1936
Consumers Union is the nonprofit organization that publishes the monthly magazine Consumer Reports, dedicated to…
World's Finest Chocolate Inc. →
Active · founded 1939
World's Finest Chocolate Inc.
Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. →
Active · founded 1942 · Japan
c.
Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, Inc. →
Active · founded 1945
Jos.
Kaman Corp. →
Active · founded 1945
Kaman Corp.
Sub-Zero Freezer Co., Inc. →
Active · founded 1945
Sub-Zero Freezer Co., Inc., is the leading manufacturer of built-in refrigerators, which can be fronted with cabinetry…
Gray Communications Systems, Inc. →
Active · founded 1946
Established in 1946 by James H.
Iams Company →
Active · founded 1946
Iams Company is a manufacturer of premium dog and cat foods which are distributed only through veterinarians, animal…
Cumberland Packing Corporation →
Active · founded 1947
Cumberland Packing Corporation is a relatively small, family-run business, yet it has been a major player in the…
Dal-Tile International Inc. →
Active · founded 1947
Dal-Tile International Inc.
Johnston Industries, Inc. →
Active · founded 1948
Although it got its start selling auto replacement parts, Johnston Industries, Inc.
Consorcio G Grupo Dina, S.A. de C.V. →
Active · founded 1951 · Mexico
Consorcio G Grupo Dina , S.A.
Bayer A.G. →
Active · founded 1952 · Germany
Bayer A.G., along with BASF and Hoechst, is heir to the German chemical cartel known as I.G.
WD-40 Company →
Active · founded 1953
Since the 1950s, the San Diego-based WD-40 Company has dominated the U.S.
Dover Corporation →
Active · founded 1955
Dover Corporation is a diversified industrial manufacturing holding company composed of about 50 subsidiaries with…
Renault Argentina S.A. →
Active · founded 1955 · Argentina
Of Argentina's ten automakers, almost all are closely held subsidiaries or affiliates of their American, European, or…
Brown Printing Company →
Active · founded 1957
Brown Printing Company, headquartered in rural Minnesota, is a nationally recognized producer of business, trade, and…
Volt Information Sciences Inc. →
Active · founded 1957
Volt Information Sciences Inc.
Marie Callender's Restaurant & Bakery, Inc. →
Active · founded 1964
Marie Callender's Restaurant & Bakery, Inc.
National Picture & Frame Company →
Active · founded 1964
National Picture & Frame Company is a major designer, manufacturer, and marketer of a wide variety of low-priced…
VNU N.V. →
Active · founded 1964 · The Netherlands
The Netherlands' publishing group VNU N.V.
Ruth's Chris Steak House →
Active · founded 1965
Ruth's Chris Steak House is an international chain of upscale restaurants.
Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc. →
Active · founded 1966
Founded in Berkeley, California, in the mid-1960s, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc.
Ceradyne, Inc. →
Active · founded 1967
Ceradyne, Inc.
Multimedia, Inc. →
Active · founded 1968
One of the most profitable media communications companies in the United States, Multimedia, Inc.
Essence Communications, Inc. →
Active · founded 1969
Essence Communications, Inc.
Offshore Logistics, Inc. →
Active · founded 1969
Offshore Logistics, Inc., with headquarters in Lafayette, Louisiana, provides a variety of services to the petroleum…
Edmark Corporation →
Active · founded 1970
Edmark Corporation is a developer and publisher of educational software and educational print materials for the…
American Business Information, Inc. →
Active · founded 1972
American Business Information, Inc.
Desc, S.A. de C.V. →
Active · founded 1973 · Mexico
Desc, S.A.
The Yankee Candle Company, Inc. →
Active · founded 1973
The Yankee Candle Company Inc.
Dorling Kindersley Holdings plc →
Active · founded 1974 · United Kingdom
For nearly a quarter-century, Dorling Kindersley Holdings plc (DK) has focused on creating an enduring catalog of over…
The Summit Bancorporation →
Active · founded 1974
The Summit Bancorporation is the holding company for Summit Bank, New Jersey's fourth largest bank.
Corporacion Nacional del Cobre de Chile →
Active · founded 1976 · Chile
: 212234 Copper Ore & Nickel Ore Mining; 331411 Primary Smelting & Refining of Copper Ore The state-owned Corporacion…
Information Access Company →
Active · founded 1977
Information Access Company (IAC) is among the worldwide leaders in providing periodical indexes and the articles…
The Really Useful Group →
Active · founded 1977 · United Kingdom
The Really Useful Group is the umbrella corporation over a welter of entertainment and leisure companies that operate…
Day Runner, Inc. →
Active · founded 1980
Day Runner, Inc., is America's leading developer and manufacturer of paper-based personal organizers.
Riklis Family Corp. →
Active · founded 1980
Riklis Family Corp.
Nimbus CD International, Inc. →
Active · founded 1982
In the mid-1990s Nimbus CD International, Inc.
Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. →
Active · founded 1983
Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc.
Grameen Bank →
Active · founded 1983 · Bangladesh
Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus pioneered the concept of 'micro-credit'--minuscule loans to the very poor.
Altera Corporation →
Active · founded 1984
Founded in 1983, Altera Corporation is a leading maker of high-density programmable logic devices (PLDs), based on…
Novellus Systems, Inc. →
Active · founded 1984
Based in San Jose, California, Novellus Systems, Inc.
Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. →
Active · founded 1984
Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc.
American Classic Voyages Company →
Active · founded 1985
American Classic Voyages Company is parent company to two pleasure cruise companies, the Delta Queen Steamboat Company,…
Axel Springer Verlag AG →
Active · founded 1985 · Germany
Over the course of its more than 50 years in business, Axel Springer Verlag AG has evolved from a publisher of local…
Brightpoint, Inc. →
Active · founded 1989
Brightpoint, Inc.
Primedia Inc. →
Active · founded 1989
Primedia Inc.
SkyMall, Inc. →
Active · founded 1989
SkyMall, Inc.
Rooms To Go Inc. →
Active · founded 1990
Rooms To Go Inc., a low- to mid-priced furniture store chain, has rapidly expanded to more than 60 stores since opening…
U S West, Inc. →
Active · founded 1995
The "new" U S West, Inc.
EMI Group plc →
Defunct · founded 1996 · United Kingdom
EMI Group plc is the fourth largest of the world's "big six" music giants.
Footstar, Incorporated →
Active · founded 1996
Footstar, Incorporated is a holding company whose two subsidiaries, Footaction and Meldisco, are leading shoe retailers…
Weatherford International, Inc. →
Active · founded 1998
Houston-based Weatherford International, Inc.
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