100-year-old man worked for 84 years in a company, makes world record

Not Walter Orthmann, a 100-year-old man in Brazil, has broken the record for the longest tenure at a single company, according to a press release last week from Guinness World Records. He’s worked at one firm for 84 years and 9 days, as of January 6, when Guinness verified the record.

Orthmann was just 15 when he began working as a shipping assistant at a textile company in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil called Industrias Renaux S.A. (now known as RenauxView), according to Guinness World Records.

“Back in 1938, kids were expected to work to help support the family,” he told Guinness World Records. “As the oldest son of five, my mother took me to find a job at the age of 14.”

He applied for a job at a local weaving mill and was employed on the spot due to his great command of the German language. For the rest of his career, he has worked for the same company, RenauxView.

Orthmann rose through the ranks from shipping assistant to sales manager after starting as a shipping assistant.