John Samuel Swire established Butterfield & Swire in Shanghai, in partnership with Richard Shackleton Butterfield. Initially trading in tea and silk and British imports of cotton and woollen “piece goods”, Butterfield & Swire also became an agent in China for a number of UK businesses, including leading insurance and shipping companies – most notably, the Blue Funnel Line, for which Swire was Far Eastern manager for over 120 years. In keeping with local tradition, John Samuel Swire chose a Chinese "hong" name for the company, and it is by the name Taikoo (太古) - meaning "Great and Ancient" – that Swire is most widely known in Asia today.