page_title: Central Coloso
section_title: Peak in operations
hierarchical_section_title: Central Coloso / History / Peak in operations
caption_attribution_description: English: Aerial view of the Coloso Refinery, Central Coloso, Aguada
context_page_description: Central Coloso, also known as Coloso Sugar Cane Refinery, was a long-running sugarcane refinery in Aguada, Puerto Rico. The refinery was established in late 19th century becoming one of the biggest sugar emporiums in the island. It remained operational until 2003 becoming the last sugarcane refinery to cease operations on the island.
context_section_description: Upon turning Coloso into a sugarcane refinery, Emilio Vadí mechanized most of the production process. As a result, he produced 1,000 sugar barrels a day. That name increased during the 1870s.
  In 1879, Vadí made a partnership with German entrepreneur H. Kuster. Still, due to high debts and the crisis in the sugarcane industry in the late 19th century, Kuster & Vadí sold Coloso to José Arnell Massó in 1897. After buying Central Coloso, Arnell Massó consolidated it with other refinery and sugar mills he had acquired between 1885 and 1895. He also transported the machinery from one of those refineries, Central Monserrate, to Coloso.
  As a result of this, Central Coloso ended up covering 4,370 acres, of which approximately 500 were cultivated annually. Coloso also processed sugar that other farmers grew. In 1902, a total of 20,000 sugar sacks were processed. During the peak crop time, workers at Coloso reached 1,500.
  In 1904, French investors acquired Coloso and incorporated it under the name of Sucrerie Centrale Coloso de Porto Rico. In 1915, it was bought by West Puerto Rico Sugar Company. In 1921, it became Central Coloso, Inc. At this point, it had around 291 acres. During the next decades, Coloso continued a program of expansion and modernization. In 1952, Coloso had a milling capacity of 5,000 tons of sugar daily. That year, sugar production peaked in the island. In 1961, Coloso reached the highest sugar production tonnage at 73,554 tons.
caption: Aerial view of the Coloso Refinery
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