The roots of Jessop & Company Ltd. go back to 1788 when Breen & Company was founded in Calcutta. In 1820, Henry and George, sons of William Jessop acquired Breen & Company on behalf of Butterfly Company established in Derbyshire, England in 1790 by William Jessop. These two companies merged together to become Jessop & Company. Subsequently in 1973, the company was taken over by the Government and Jessop became a Govt. of India undertaking. In 1986, with the formation of Bharat Bhari Udyog Nigam Limited (BBUNL), a Public Sector Holding Company under administrative control of Deptt. of Heavy Industry, Ministry of Industry, Govt. of India, Jessop became a subsidiary of the Holding Company.

During the last two centuries, the company has consistently modernized and streamlined its production facilities to keep abreast with the latest technology and has introduced many new products for core sector industries in the country.