1882 Breaking ground on a new sugar refinery

Corporate
Beverages & Food Chain
Construction of Taikoo Sugar Refinery in 1882
Taikoo Sugar Refinery in 1889
Print of Taikoo Sugar Refinery in 1884
Taikoo Sugar sample packaging in the 20th century
Taikoo Sugar delivery van in 1950s

The shipping business gave rise to other new ventures. Encouraged by China Navigation’s growing trade in raw cane sugar from Java and the Philippines and ready markets in China and Japan, Butterfield & Swire acquired a sizeable plot of waterfront land at Quarry Bay on Hong Kong Island. In 1881, Tai-koo Sugar Ltd. was established. Work on the Taikoo Sugar Refinery commenced in 1882, and it went into production in 1884. In its day, this company ran one of the world’s largest and most sophisticated plants.

1882 1872 1870 1868 1867 1866 1861 1854 1847 1816 1898 1907 1910-40 1941-45 1946 1946 1947 1948 1948 1950 1952-58 1959 1959 1965 1965 1966 1972 1972 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1985-86 1986 1987 1989 1990 1993 1994 1994 1996 1996 1998 1999 2002 2002 2005 2006 2008 2011 2011 2012 2012 2012-15 2013 2013 2013 2014 2014 2014 2015 2015 2017 2017 2018 2019 2020