No results found, please try a different search term.
ISS World
125 years, billions of experiences, one global story
A story that began in Copenhagen in 1901 has grown into one of the world’s leading service organisations. From a small night watch company founded to protect the streets of the Danish capital, ISS has continually reinvented itself — guided by an entrepreneurial spirit, a commitment to people, and a belief in the power of service.
Over more than a century, the company has expanded across continents, navigated world events, pioneered new service concepts, and shaped the modern outsourcing industry.
Browse our 'virtual museum' below to learn more about our story.
From night watch to service pioneer
1901 – 1930s
ISS began as Kjøbenhavn–Frederiksberg Nattevagt (Copenhagen-Frederiksberg Night Watch) on 1 April 1901 — a night watch company created to protect local businesses during the early hours of the morning. Under the guidance of visionary leaders, notably C.L. David and Philip Sørensen, ISS developed rigorous professional standards, training, and a focus on people, long before “facility services” existed as a concept.
In 1934, a transformational idea took hold: using the gap between night‑watch shifts to deliver organised commercial cleaning. This insight created Det Danske Rengøringsselskab (The Danish Cleaning Company), or DDRS, and cemented ISS as a pioneer of contract cleaning — an innovation that would later support its expansion far beyond Denmark.
Growth through a changing world
1940s – 1960s
The mid‑20th century saw profound global and societal upheaval—from World War II to the rise of the welfare state and increased industrialisation. Through it all, ISS focused on service quality, professionalisation, and better working conditions for its people.
Key developments included:
Establishing dedicated training programmes and Denmark’s first cleaning school
Introducing new technologies such as early mechanised polishers
Expanding into Sweden and Norway and, later, into Switzerland and Germany
Building large‑scale operational capability across hospitals, industry, transport and public institutions
By the 1960s, ISS had become a modern, international business — and the foundations were laid for its future global scale.
Welfare
Gerda Buhl (right) transformed employee welfare at ISS by offering compassionate, practical support to cleaning workers. Through home visits, social counselling, access to benefits, housing help and respite holidays, she strengthened wellbeing, stability and dignity. Her legacy is a culture of care that recognised employees as people first and set new standards for workplace welfare.
Training
Training transformed ISS in the 1940s–60s by professionalising cleaning, introducing scientific methods and modern equipment, and raising service quality. Dedicated schools, structured instruction and technical innovation empowered employees, improved efficiency and supported rapid expansion. This commitment to skills and standards helped ISS evolve from a national cleaner into an emerging international service leader.
Standards
ISS's growth after the war enabled us to standardise methods, training and equipment across expanding operations. This consistency improved quality, efficiency and reliability, allowing services to scale nationally and internationally. Standardisation strengthened our brand, enhanced customer trust and created a unified way of working that supported rapid diversification and the evolution of modern integrated service delivery.
Innovation
ISS has always embraced innovation — pioneering new tools, equipment and methods to make work safer, faster and higher quality. From early mechanised polishing machines to scientific cleaning techniques and modern service technologies, ISS continually led the industry, transforming efficiency and elevating standards across every service it delivered.
Where will the next 125 years take us?
Wherever time takes us, ISS is proud to be an innovator, working in true partnership with our customers to build the workplaces of tomorrow and, of course, working to achieve our mission of creating space for people and businesses to thrive.
Help us write the next chapter of our story.