Manuelita
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| Private company | |
| Industry | Agro-industry |
| Founded | 1864 |
| Founder | Santiago Eder |
| Headquarters | Cali, Colombia |
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Area served
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Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Chile |
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Key people
|
Henry Eder, Harold Eder |
| Products | Sugar, bio ethanol, palm oil, biodiesel, shrimp, mussels, fruits and vegetables |
| Owner | Eder Family |
| Website | www.manuelita.com |
Manuelita is a Colombian agribusiness corporation, headquartered in Cali, Valle del Cauca, whose main products are refined sugar, ethanol, palm oil, biodiesel, mussels, shrimp and fruits and vegetables.
Manuelita was founded in 1864 when James Martin Eder, better known in Colombia as don Santiago Eder, an American citizen born in Mitau, Courland, bought the hacienda "La Manuelita", located near Palmira, from the father of famed Colombian novelist Jorge Isaacs at a public auction. The farm's namesake was Manuela Ferrer Scarpetta, Isaacs' mother.
Eder planted various crops, including coffee in the farm, but eventually centered on sugar, and "on the first day of the first year of the twentieth century" he inaugurated Colombia's a new sugar mill which had Colombia's first steam engine, and replaced the former ox powered mill.
After don Santiago's retirement in 1903, Manuelita continued to grow under the leadership of his sons Charles James Eder, and Henry James Eder, his grandson Harold Henry Eder Caicedo, and his great-grandson Henry James Eder Caicedo, who is still Chairman of the Board. As of April 1, 2008, don Santiago's great-great-grandson Harold Enrique Eder Garcés is President of IMSA. In 1980, the size of the company was cut in half, after barely surviving a hostile takeover attempt by the Carlos Ardila Lülle's business group. This unfortunate incident resulted in the split of the Ingenio Manuelita and Ingenio del Cauca sugar mills. This latter mill had been founded by Harold Henry Eder while he was at the head of the Eder Family enterprise and was hence a great loss to the family both economically and sentimentally.
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Wikipedia