THE Shore Porters' Society ''took no particular notice'' of June 22, 1998. The date was recorded in the minutes and there was ''the partaking of a modest toast'' in the office. That was it.

Perhaps the members of this most venerable and ancient Scottish companies are simply accustomed to milestones in history.

Perhaps a degree of reserve is built into the Aberdonian psyche.

But this was their 500th anniversary. A quincentennial. How many companies, established or still to be founded, will ever get that chance?

The Shore Porters' Society, however, is no ordinary company. Although an institution in Aberdeen, little notice is taken of it in the wider world, except perhaps an idle cur-iosity at the name emblazoned on its huge pantechnicons.

Kevin Brown, one of the current members, said in the company's wood-panelled boardroom in Footdee: ''The roots of the society can actually be traced back to the 1100s, but the records are unverifiable, so we stand by 1498.''

It is difficult to separate what the company does now from its past.

An analyst's profile would show a modern, computer-assisted haulage and removal concern with interests in warehousing and property. It has 60 vehicles, 150 staff, 11 warehouses in Aberdeen, and two in Richmond, London.

Its trucks haul everything from palletised goods to hospital waste. Its removal vans have long-term contracts with major auction houses, local authorities, oil majors which are resettling key staff, and the landed gentry.

Its warehouses hold everything from drilling mud to antiques and personal effects.

The analyst would find, however that there is no point in asking about turnover or profits, as these are simply not subjects for discussion.

Where the society parts company with modern business life is in its structure.

It doesn't have a chief executive, it has a deacon. The position which would correspond to operations director is the horsemaster; finance director? - the boxmaster, after the box the money used to be kept in; what the keybearer does is unclear.

These positions are, if not interchangeable, subject to overlap. Brown said: ''All the partners are able to take on the duties of the others. That is why they are chosen, for their flexibility and adaptability.''

At the moment there are six members and one probationer, a status held for three years before full membership of the society is conferred.

A probationer contributes a certain amount of cash on starting, and more on full membership - how much is not for public consumption.

The haulage and removals side is known as the horse and van department, or the working department.

The warehousing side is known as the superannuated members' fund, and the entire property revenue is distributed among retired partners or their widows.

Brown said the company began in the 15th century with the Pynours, which most authorities say originated in old French, meaning a labourer, or carrier of goods.

The society has been variously known since then as the Workmen at the Shore, the Workmen, the Porters at the Shore and eventually the Shore Porters' Society. They unloaded cargoes from the Low Countries and the fishing trades.

For many years, they were a semi-public body under the control of Aberdeen Town Council.

Because they had carts which could carry barrels of water, they formed the city's first fire brigade.

They also carried the coffins, and were a common sight in their broad-brimmed bonnets through the last century.

The society became completely independent around 1850, and has been run as a private partnership since.

Brown said: ''All the part-ners work in the office and control individual contracts. That is why we can operate, for instance, at the top end of the removals market where people want a personal, guaranteed service.

''The Pynours formed a kind of co-operative and that is the way things still are.

''They unloaded the boats for centuries and at the end of each year they would split up all the proceeds.

''There is no nepotism, and therefore no dilution of the equity among families.

''Members have to be invited to join and there is three years probation in which you have to prove yourself. Members have to be all-rounders, showing potential and initiative.''

Brown, who has worked with the society since school, is the current deacon - a position which has the casting vote at formal fortnightly meetings and, like the others, rotates annually.

Partners remain in post for 21 years, and can stay no longer than the age of 60, although historical minutes record members being expelled for ''getting repeatedly drunk'', bankruptcy, or setting up business in opposition to the society.

The London branch was opened seven years ago and the society has recently opened a self-storage warehouse in Aber-deen in response to the growing market for self-storage in the south-east and the central belt of Scotland.

Looking forward, Brown said it was ''always in the back of our minds'' to expand the business into the central belt, but the company has resisted because of a concern about ''cutting Aberdeen off''.

''There is a burden off his-tory on all of us,'' he said.

''The trouble is that, although Aberdeen is a city, in many ways it is still a village and you have to be careful what you say.

''We always have to guard our reputation for business

probity.''