In 2012, Two Trees bought the Domino Sugar Refinery site in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York, for $185 million. We see them around but we don't know what goes on behind the scenes. The Yonkers Refinery, in production along the banks of the Hudson River since 1921, produces over three million pounds of sugar a day -- now that's sweet! When the facility burned to the ground in 1882, a new expanded factory was built on the same site. One of the rental buildings coming to the Domino Sugar Refinery site is making progress. Most importantly, the ladling of sugar from bulk containers kept customers in the dark about the brand of the sugar. None of these activities was more important that the firm's entry into the nutritive sweetener market. And the American Sugar Refining Company had the sugar cane fields, transportation system, and refineries to meet the ever-growing demand from manufacturers. To understand the history of Greenpoint and Williamsburg you have to grasp the massive role that refining played in this heavily industrial corner of North Brooklyn. Finally, the Havemeyer brothers thought it most important to provide their customers with the highest quality product possible, so they tested the end product for its purity. In 1970, the board of directors at the company decided to change its name from the American Sugar Refining Company to Amstar Sugar Corporation in order to reflect the growing diversification of the firm into activities other than refining. Brooklyn's Domino Sugar Refinery, once the largest in the world, shut down in 2004 after a long struggle. Domino Sugar Refinery A remnant of Brooklyn’s sugar production industry, the Domino Sugar Refinery structure has prominently stood on the borough’s waterfront since the … As the first civilian governor of Puerto Rico, Allen used his governorship to acquire an international sugar empire, and a controlling interest over the entire Puerto Rican economy. Later, the distinctive yellow bags of Domino® Sugar became the highly recognizable packaging of granulated sugar. The chefs at Domino® Sugar have put together our best recipes, tips and info to help you have the best holiday season ever. During his second voyage, Christopher Columbus brought sugarcane from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean, most probably the present nation of the Dominican Republic. The Stirrin' Up Sweet Sensations float features a magical take on holiday baking. view. Part of this commitment involved a plant expansion at a facility in Dimmitt, Texas, at a cost of over $22 million. In recent years, the brand has expanded its portfolio of all-natural sweeteners to include agave nectar. Domino® Sugar has been a renowned brand in the United States' East Coast markets for more than 100 years. Eggnog view. Sold in large loaf or piece form, the product was laden with many impurities. Cafe Latte Cheesecake view. Some believe the name "Domino" was given since the sugar cubes resembled game tiles. Sweetwater Playground was designed by Mark Reigelman and gets its name because the equipment and layout mimic the sugar refining process. Today the American Sugar Refining Company is known as Domino Sugar. Now companies that manufactured such items as household appliances, automobiles, and electronic devices were overwhelmed by the public's demand for these products. During the mid-1990s, the company embarked on an intensive research and development program to develop non-sweet sugar for different food applications. Havemeyer Company, Havemeyer, Townsend & Co. Refinery, and Domino Sugar) is a privately held sugar marketing and sales company based in Yonkers, New York, USA, that sells products produced by its manufacturing members. The company subsequently acquired five additional sugar refineries and changed its official name to "Domino Sugar" in 1900;[4] the name change was officially recognized by the patent office on October 8, 1901. To read the full cover story, click here, and for a Q&A with the refinery's general manager, click here. As the company continued to lose its market share, and suffered a continuing decline in revenue, Tate & Lyle plc purchased Amstar Sugar Corporation at a bargain price. 1980), Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida, "The hidden links between slavery and Wall Street", "These Photos of the Abandoned Domino Sugar Refinery Document Its Sticky History", "Sugar Products, Baking Tips, Sweet Recipes, & More - Domino Sugar", "Domino Sugar Factory Brooklyn - Two Trees Management Domino", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Domino_Foods&oldid=990292146, Food production companies based in New York City, Food and drink companies established in 1807, Former components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 23 November 2020, at 21:55. In 1859 the business moved to the waterfront in Williamsburg, and changed its name to the Havemeyer, Townsend & Co. Refinery. At its peak of productivity, it refined 4 million pounds of sugar daily. Domino Sugar Corporation is the leading sugar refining firm in the United States, and produces one of the world's most popular and well-known brands of sugar, namely, Domino sugar. By the close of the 1920s, sales of Domino sugar had climbed to its highest level ever. 1978 The 200th Domino's store opens. Although the company's market share is not threatened by competitors who produce refined sugar, such as C&H and Dixie Chrystals, the trend toward non-caloric artificial sweeteners has started to cut into the firm's profits. Today, Domino Foods, Inc. is … Havemeyer Company, William and Frederick boiled and refined raw sugar cane in a small one-room building. Horrific History Lesson: Working Conditions at The Domino Sugar Refinery by Geoff Cobb November 6, 2017 Although the former Domino Sugar refinery on Kent Avenue does not lie in Greenpoint, the building and the firm that ran it, Havemeyer and Elder, cast a long shadow over local history. Then in 1906, the American Sugar Refinery was built which is still operational as Domino Sugar Refinery today. The Domino sugar refinery, with its iconic red neon sign, is still open, but the confusion is understandable. Amstar Corp., maker of Domino Sugar, institutes a trademark infringement lawsuit against Domino's Pizza. Source: International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. With these technological advances in sugar refining, the Havemeyer Corporation grew steadily and, in 1828, the sons of Frederick and William, named Frederick C., Jr., and William F. Havemeyer, followed their fathers' footsteps and assumed management and control of the family firm. In 1906, the Domino Sugar brand received its U.S. trademark. In 1807, the brothers opened their own sugar refining business called W. & F.C. St. James Press, 1999. The brand name, Domino®, was officially adopted in 1901 by a New York-based sugar company. Its namesake product, the Domino Sugar brand name, whose products are generally sold in two-tone packaging (white on top, yellow on bottom) with blue labeling text, is the best known. Moreover, as refined sugar comes under more scrutiny and attack from health food advocates, consumers have become more and more persuaded by negative press reports that a person's weight and general health are affected by eating refined sugar. Children have a special playground that pays homage to the original purpose of the area. In 1906, the Domino Sugar brand received its U.S. trademark. In 1916, Domino introduced individually wrapped sugar tablets. For years the average citizen that lived through the war in the United States had gone without any luxuries and endured the time with the basic necessities of life. The centerpiece of the project, which references the history … His brother, Frederick Havemeyer, joined him in 1802. 26. Domino Sugar, a renowned brand and household name across the East Coast of the United States, has been in operation for more than a century. When Tate & Lyle plc, the large British-owned and operated firm focusing on sugar production, cereal sweeteners, and starch processing, purchased Domino Sugar Company in 1988, Domino used an infusion of cash from its new parent company to undertake not only a comprehensive reorganization but to revitalize a public relations and marketing strategy in order to fight off the threat posed by the growing popularity of artificial sweeteners. Since sugar is an essential ingredient to the American food processing industry, and since the company has finally jumped into the artificial sweetener market with a splash, Domino Sugar Corporation will remain one of the most visible and enduring companies in American business. Over its 150 years, the Refinery operated under many different names and owners — Havemeyers & Elder, Sugar Refineries Company, American Sugar Refining Company, Amstar Sugar Corporation, Tate & Lyle, Domino Sugar Corporation, and Florida Crystals Corporation. Later, the distinctive yellow bags of Domino® Sugar would become the highly recognizable packaging of granulated sugar that consumers trust for their sweetening needs. The Havemeyer brothers devoted themselves to improving and mechanizing the sugar refining process. The business the Havemeyer brothers had established could not have started at a more opportune time. In 2001, Domino Sugar officially changed its name to Domino Foods, Inc.[5] The same year, Domino Foods was sold by Tate & Lyle to American Sugar Refining (owned by the Florida Crystals Corporation) and the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida in a $180 million deal[10] that was closed on November 6, 2001. With over 5,000 men and women on its payroll, and five plants located in Boston, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New Orleans, the American Sugar Refining Company was regarded by most businessmen as one of the luckiest, and also one of the most well-managed companies in the United States. The company processed slave-grown sugar canes. Domino Foods, Inc. (also known as DFI and formerly known as W. & F.C. Suddenly, the prospect of future competition from other sugar refiners became imminent. Another application involved using non-sweet sugar as a fat substitute for frostings, icings, and a variety of frozen desserts. The brand name, Domino, was officially adopted in 1901 by a New York-based sugar company. Allen’s company is now better known as Domino Sugar, the name it acquired in 1900. Proof of the brand name visibility and popularity of Domino sugar was evident when, in spite of being sued by the U.S. government for monopolistic practices within the sugar industry in 1907, the company's sugar products continued to sell best with American consumers. As consumers, we often take for granted all the hard work that goes into building a great company. [2] In 1859 the business moved to the waterfront in Williamsburg, and changed its name to the Havemeyer, Townsend & Co. Refinery. In 1970, the American Sugar Company was renamed "The Amstar Corporation". Long gone are Domino contemporaries and former Inner Harbor icons like Western Electric, Allied Chemical, and Procter & Gamble. The company's marketing strategy grew more aggressive as a result, focusing on convincing grocers to purchase its product in packages rather than ladling it to customers from a bulk container. In October 2014, several of the buildings at the site were demolished, including the Syrup Shed, the Wash House, the Turbine Room, the Power House, and the Pump House. DFI distributes sugar to retailers under four brand names across the U.S: Domino, C&H, Florida Crystals, and Redpath. The company made a major commitment during the early 1970s to produce a new kind of corn syrup called high-fructose corn syrup. The refinery is one of the Port of Baltimore’s largest bulk importers and has been an economic engine for the entire region … It's here because of all this history." Domino Park is a space where all can visit to spend the day, and it strives to keep history alive. 1807 The Havemeyers open their own refinery, which is passed on to their sons in 1828. burlap sacks, began to be delivered in bulk. In May 1896, American Sugar became one of the original 12 companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. [7][8] Domino Sugar was acquired by British company Tate & Lyle in 1988.[9]. The Domino Sugar Factory, one of New York City’s architectural icons, dominates the waterfront of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. In addition to granulated sugar, the Domino brand offers a variety of other sweeteners, including baking staples such as confectioner's sugar and brown sugar products. By the 1890s, the company was producing 1,200 tons of sugar each day, and was widely regarded within the industry as operating the largest sugar refinery in the world. Domino Foods owns three major U.S. refineries, located in Yonkers, New York; Baltimore, Maryland; and Chalmette, Louisiana, with a combined production capacity of 2.2 million metric tons of sugar per year.[1]. When the war ended, the American public's demand for consumer items exploded. The company processed slave-grown sugar cane… When it was refined, the method involved boiling raw sugar in an open vessel, and then straining the product through blankets or cleansing it with bull's blood. The refinery began operating in Chalmette on May 17, 1909. New foodstuffs were also in great demand, such as soda in a bottle, a wide variety of candy and pastries, and sweeteners for baking and cooking. During the 1980s, however, the use of refined sugar came under increasing hostile attack from food advocates and consumer groups. America's entry into World War II in December 1941 changed the good fortune of the company. The village of Williamsburg in northern Brooklyn was incorporated on the bank of the East River in 1827, with most of the commercial enterprises located on the waterfront, and after becoming a part of the city of Brooklyn in 1855, Williamsburg grew quickly. When his brother Frederick, a former sugar boiler, joined him three years later, the two young men saved their money from a baking business they operated together, and then established a sugar refinery on … The history of the sign and company goes back to William Havemeyer, a German immigrant who arrived in the United States around 1799. The St. Bernard Voice newspaper was founded in Old Arabi in 1890, and in 1906 a post office was built; both remain operational. Havemeyer Company on Vandam Street. Allen, and the American Sugar Refining Company, set the template for all of them. By the time the Havemeyer brothers opened their own business during the early part of the 19th century, New York was one of the leading centers in North America for sugar refining and production. Henry came up with the idea of labeling the company's sugar products with a brand name, and thus Domino sugar was born when the name was applied to sugar cubes that resembled dominoes. Domino Sugar Corporation traces its roots back to William Havemeyer, an enterprising English immigrant who had worked as a supervisor in a cane sugar refinery and arrived in New York in 1799. Yet by 1816, the Havemeyer Company had expanded its operations to such an extent that it was able to produce nearly nine million pounds of sugar annually. Yet when Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt became president of the country after the assassination of William McKinley in the year 1901, Roosevelt used his "bully pulpit" and the growing public sentiment against monopolies to enact legislation limiting the control of tobacco, sugar, petroleum, railroad, and steel manufacturing companies engaged in practices that eliminated competition within the marketplace. Confident of its future success, the managing family members decided to rename the company in order to reflect its growing reputation and position within the sugar industry. [6] Amstar was acquired by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in 1983; KKR sold Amstar to Merrill Lynch three years later. Used in presweetened food and drink products such as cereals, candies, cakes, and soft drinks, the increased capacity for producing high-fructose corn syrup enabled the company to increase its sales to over $1 billion for the first time in its history. By the end of the 1930s, sugar consumption was at an all-time high, largely due to the perception that it was nutritious, good for one's health, and had become one of the staples in the American diet. Under the direction of management at Tate & Lyle, the Domino Sugar Corporation has benefited from increased funding for research and development into artificial sweeteners, and has also modernized its attitude concerning the use of such ingredients in food production. The American Sugar Refining Company (ASR) was the largest American business unit in the sugar refining industry in the early 1900s. In 1799, William Havemeyer, who had been an apprentice of a London sugar refiner, was hired by Edmund Seaman to manage his sugar refinery in New York City. The old Domino Sugar refinery, with North Brooklyn Farms in the foreground. Developers had to decide which parts of the historic … Domino’s first whimsical rental building is on the rise in Williamsburg. Dating back to 1856, the Domino Sugar Refinery was once the largest and most productive sugar refinery in the world. Domino is the last major manufacturer still operating in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Copyright (c) 2019 Company-Histories.com. These groups argued that refined sugar was not as healthy as sugar substitutes and artificial sweeteners and, as a result of the negative publicity and increased competition from firms that produced non-caloric, artificial sweeteners, Amstar Sugar Corporation began to lose its market share and experience a loss of revenue. The land on which the firm was situated had been leased from Trinity Church and, over the next few years, the Havemeyer brothers were able to purchase the land and expand their business. Havemeyer Company on Vandam Street. One of the oldest companies started in the United States, with a rich historical background of continuous expansion and increasing sales, Domino Sugar Corporation has faced intense competition in the recent past. This site was the “jewel in the crown” of the Domino Sugar empire that at one point produced up to 98% of the sugar consumed in the United States. Domino Foods is the largest sugar company in the United States. At the height of the Depression in 1932 and 1933, the company reported profits of over $5 million for both years. It had interests in Puerto Rico and other Caribbean locations, and operated one of the world's largest sugar refineries, the Domino Sugar Refinery in Brooklyn, New York. Handed down from brother to brother and from father to son, the W. & F.C. By the beginning of World War I, however, there were over 100 sweeteners that customers could choose from as an alternative to Domino. 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