Located in the municipality of São Lourenço da Mata, it was founded in 1881 by Jovino Bandeira de Melo under the name of Engenho Central São Lourenço da Mata (St Lawrence of the Forest Central Plantation).
In 1887 it began to be owned by English firm The North Brazilian Sugar Factories Company, changing its name to Usina Tiúma (Tiúma Sugarcane Factory)
It had an initial capacity to crush 400 tonnes of sugarcane in 24 hours.
In 1929 it had eight properties, 61km of railways, seven locomotives and 339 wagons. It had the capacity to work 1,500 tonnes of sugarcane and produce 6,000 litres of ethanol in 22 hours. In the milling period around 270 workers were employed at the factory, including eight foreigners. Children or women were not admitted.
In 1988, the first complaint against the factory was lodged in Pernambuco, because of the dumping of residue into the waters of the Capibaribe River.
Currently the vinasse is used as a fertiliser in cultivating crops.
It was one of the largest factories in the State, producing sugar and ethanol for 93 uninterrupted years.
In 1979, it stopped producing sugar and became just an ethanol distillery.
After the Bandeira de Melo family and the English company, for a long time it belonged to Fileno de Miranda. Currently its owner is the Votorantin Group of José Ermírio de Morais.
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. Tiúma 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