02/09/2025
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฒ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ฅ๐จ๐ญ๐, ๐๐ง๐.
๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฎ, ๐๐ป๐ฐ. (๐๐๐๐) stands as one of the most historic and ๐ช๐ฏ๐ง๐ญ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ข๐ญ ๐ด๐ถ๐จ๐ข๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ด ๐๐ค๐ค๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ญ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด.
๐๐๐ซ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ
Founded in ๐๐๐๐ by the Elizalde and Ynchausti families at Hacienda Esperanza in La Carlota City, Negros Occidental, CACI was formally incorporated on ๐ข๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐ญ, ๐ญ๐ต๐ญ๐ด. By 1920, the central absorbed neighboring mills such as Sta. Teresita and Kanlaon Mills, marking the beginning of its full-scale operations for the ๐ญ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฌโ๐ฎ๐ญ crop year.
๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง
In its early years, ๐๐๐๐ operated with two crushers and nine rolls, but continuous development soon followed. By ๐ญ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฑ, the central had expanded to three mills, and after ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐๐, it grew further to six mills. The ๐ญ๐ต๐ณ๐ฌ๐ modernization program introduced larger facilities such as the ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐น ๐ ๐ถ๐น๐น, allowing the central to process up to 10,000 tons of cane per day, making it ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ข๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ณ๐ข๐ธ ๐ด๐ถ๐จ๐ข๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ค๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ด๐ช๐ข ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ.
๐๐จ๐๐๐ซ๐ง๐ข๐ณ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง
In ๐ญ๐ต๐ต๐ฑ, management of CACI was taken over by ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ ๐๐ผ๐ป ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ผ (๐๐๐๐ฃ) of the Roxas Group, which invested heavily in new technology and equipment to improve efficiency and production yields. By the ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฎโ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฏ crop year, the central produced a record of around 3.4 million bags of sugar.
Recognizing its historic role in Philippine sugar production, the ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ป๐๐๐ถ๐๐๐๐ฒ (๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ฃ) installed a Level II historical marker in 2003, cementing its place as one of the countryโs pioneering sugar centrals.
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ง ๐๐ข๐ง๐จ๐ฌ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ
CACI was also known for its unique railway network, spanning nearly 80 kilometers, where steam locomotivesโpopularly called the โ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฟ๐โโhauled sugarcane from haciendas to the central. These locomotives became enduring symbols of La Carlotaโs heritage and a source of pride for the community.
๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐ฐ ๐๐ฐ๐ง๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ฉ
In ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฌ, Roxas Holdings, Inc. sold the La Carlota sugar mill and ethanol plant to๐จ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ฅ๐ผ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป (๐จ๐ฅ๐). Today, under URC La Carlota, the facility continues to play a vital role in the sugar industry, ensuring that the century-old legacy of the central remains alive.
โ
The history of ๐๐๐๐ reflects not only the industrial progress of Negros Occidental but also the resilience and transformation of the Philippine sugar industry across generations.
