Located in the municipality of Nazaré da Mata, it was founded in 1912 on the plantation of the same name by Serafim Velho Camello Pessoa de Albuquerque and his sons.
From 1912 to 1917, the factory went through large financial difficulties. Various partners resigned from the company, with only the brothers José and Methódio Maranhão and his brother-in-law José Queiroz remaining as owners. With these three partners, the firm Pessoa, Maranhão & Co. was created, which administrated the factory until 1946.
Later, Luiz Maranhão, son of José Maranhão and grandson of the founder, became the majority partner in the factory.
In 1929 the factory had several fields, 25km of railway, 3 locomotives and 79 wagons. It had the capacity to work 500 tonnes of sugarcane and produce 4,000 litres of ethanol in 22 hours. During the milling, around 70 workers were employed at the factory. It had a workers’ village, schools and a beneficiaries’ association.
In 1950 and 1951 it produced 182,933 60kg sacks of sugar, obtaining an average yield per tonne of milled sugarcane of more than 103kg of sugar.
Today the Maranhão family factory is one of the largest sugarcane factories in the State of Pernambuco.
Recife, 7 August 2003.
(Updated on 9 September 2009).
Translated by Peter Leamy, January 2012.
sources consulted
ANDRADE, Manuel Correia de. História das usinas de açúcar de Pernambuco. Recife: FJN. Ed. Massangana, 1989. 114 p. (República, v.1)
GONÇALVES & SILVA. O assucar e o algodão em Pernambuco. Recife: [s.n.], 1929. 90 p.
MOURA, Severino. Senhores de engenho e usineiros, a nobreza de Pernambuco. Recife: Fiam, CEHM, Sindaçúcar, 1998. 320 p. (Tempo municipal, 17).
how to quote this text
Source: GASPAR, Lúcia. Matary Sugarcane Factory. Pesquisa Escolar Online, Joaquim Nabuco Foudation, Recife. Available at: <https://pesquisaescolar.fundaj.gov.br/en/>. Accessed: day month year. Exemple: 6 Aug. 2009