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Domino Foods

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Not to be confused with Domino's Pizza.
Domino Foods, Inc.
Founded1807 as W. & F.C. Havemeyer Company
FoundersWilliam Havemeyer, Frederick Havemeyer
ParentAmerican Sugar Refining

Domino Foods, Inc. is a US company owned by American Sugar Refining Inc. that markets sugar to the general public under the brand names Domino, C&H, Florida Crystals, and Redpath. Of these four, 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.

History

Crystal Domino sugar ad, 1910.

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. His brother, Frederick Havemeyer, joined him in 1802.[1] In 1807, the brothers opened their own sugar refining business called W. & F.C. Havemeyer Company on Vandam Street.[1] In 1859 the business moved to the waterfront in Williamsburg, and was known as the Havemeyer, Townsend & Co. Refinery. By 1864, the refinery was the most modern of its time. After a fire destroyed the refinery in 1882, the current plant was rebuilt and was the largest sugar refinery in the United States. After the Sugar Trust was ruled illegal in 1891, Henry Osborne Havemeyer and Theodore A. Havemeyer were elected as chairman and president, respectively, of the American Sugar Refining Company. In May 1896, American Sugar became one of the original 12 companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The company subsequently acquired five additional refineries and became known as "Domino Sugar" in 1900;[2] the name change was officially recognized by the patent office on October 8, 1901. In 1916, Domino introduced individually wrapped sugar tablets.

Domino Sugars plant in Baltimore, Maryland

In 1970, the American Sugar Company became "The Amstar Corporation."[3] In 1975, Amstar sued Domino's Pizza for trademark infringement; Amstar won at trial but lost on appeal.[4] Amstar was acquired by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in 1983; KKR sold Amstar to Merrill Lynch three years later.[5][6] Domino Sugar was acquired by Tate & Lyle in 1988.[7]

In 2001, Domino Sugar officially became Domino Foods, Inc.[3] Domino Sugar Corp. was sold by Tate & Lyle in 2001 to Florida Crystals Corporation and the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida in a $180 million deal[8] that closed on November 6, 2001. Florida Crystals, a privately held company, is part of FLO-SUN, a sugar empire of the Fanjul Brothers whose origins trace to Spanish-Cuban sugar plantations of the early 19th century.

In 2012, Two Trees bought the Domino Sugar Refinery site in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York, for $185 million. 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.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b Pederson (1999)
  2. ^ Diamond, Anna. "These Photos of the Abandoned Domino Sugar Refinery Document Its Sticky History". Smithsonian. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Sugar Products, Baking Tips, Sweet Recipes, & More - Domino Sugar". dominosugar.com. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  4. ^ Amstar Corp. v. Domino's Pizza, Inc., 615 F.2d 252, 260 (5th Cir. 1980)
  5. ^ Amstar-Kohlberg
  6. ^ Amstar Sale Plan Reported
  7. ^ "Profits sour, Domino Sugar for sale". tribunedigital-baltimoresun. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  8. ^ "Domino Sugar sale closes". Baltimore Business Journal. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  9. ^ "Domino Sugar Factory Brooklyn - Two Trees Management Domino". The Real Deal New York. 20 October 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2015.

Additional references

  • Pederson, Jay P., ed. (1999). "Domino Sugar Corporation". International Directory of Company Histories. St. James Press.
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