Unchartered Waters
 
1895 Jacob Jebsen and Heinrich Jessen co-found Jebsen & Co as a shipping agency that quickly develops into a trading company.
1897 Jebsen & Co signs an agreement with BASF to trade indigo dye. The dye is soon used on an industrial scale in China and this represents Jebsen & Co's first major trading activity.
1903-07 Jebsen & Co joins forces with other companies between Tianjin and Guangzhou, helping to facilitate the export of Chinese products. The company opens offices in Shanghai and Guangzhou.
1906 Jebsen & Co acquires the Blue Girl Beer brand.
1909 Jebsen & Jessen Hamburg is established.

Tides of Change
 
1930 Jebsen & Co obtains the Mercedes Benz agency for the Chinese market.
1939-45 World War II causes global economic downturn. Despite this, Jebsen & Co manages to maintain its operations.
1953 Jebsen & Co imports the first Volkswagen Beetle car into Hong Kong by air.
1955 Jebsen & Co imports the first Porsche car into Hong Kong.
1961 Lufthansa begins flying to Hong Kong with Jebsen & Co as its agent.
1963 Jebsen & Co is required to close its operations in China.

Sailing Through
 
1963 Jebsen & Jessen (SEA) is established in Singapore.
1969 The Jebsen & Co partnership becomes a Limited Company.
1970s China's doors are reopened to a handful of companies – Jebsen & Co is among them.
1980's The beginning of the China growth story and Hong Kong's emergence as a regional financial centre.
1986 The Photo Scientific Optical Division wins the Pentax account in Hong Kong.

New Horizons

1986-93 Jebsen & Co establishes companies in Korea, Australia, Taiwan and Vietnam. The company also takes part in its first joint venture with Hua Yi in Shenzhen.
1994 By the mid-1990s, the company has established seven representative offices in China.
1995 Jebsen & Co celebrates 100th anniversary. 
2001 A fully integrated ERP system is implemented throughout the Group.
2004 Jebsen & Co (China) is founded to provide a platform for Jebsen's business in China.
2005 Jebsen's partnership with Porsche turns 50 years. 
2006 Jebsen & Co takes part in the Tianjin Yifeng joint venture.
2009 Jebsen & Co establishes corporate brand development strategy with four strategic business units: Consumer, Industrial, Beverage and Luxury. Jebsen & Jessen Hamburg celebrates 100th anniversary.

► Learn more about the corporate history and the Jebsen and Jessen families in below corporate publication The Three Mackerels