Alfonso y Jose Fanjul
Alfonso Fanjul is the Chairman and CEO and his brother Jose “Pepe” Fanjul is the Vice Chairman, President, and COO of Florida Crystals Corporation and Flo-Sun Inc., one of the country’s largest sugar cane growers and refiners.
The Fanjul’s were both born in Cuba, Alfonso Fanjul in 1937 and Jose Fanjul in 1944. They both arrived in the United States with their parents after the Castro government confiscated all of the Fanjul family holdings.
Alfonso “Alfie” Fanjul, along with his brothers, Jose “Pepe” Alexander and Andres, are the principal owners and managers of Flo-Sun.
The Fanjul family’s sugar holdings in Florida and the Dominican Republic total more than 400,000 acres, operated by a family of companies under the corporate umbrella of Flo-Sun, Inc. The Fanjul family holds a majority interest in three other sugar refineries in the United States and owns companies employing over 20,000 people in the Dominican Republic. The Fanjul sugar operation is spread out over a number oflarge farms in the Everglades Agricultural Area around the southern edge of Lake Okeechobee. It includes Okeelanta Corporation, Osceola Farms, the Atlantic Sugar Association, King Sugar Corporation, New Hope Sugar Company, Closter Farms, and more.
Flo-Sun operates both sugar mills and a sugar refinery that turns out ready-to-eat sugar that is sold directly to consumers. Other refined sugar is packed into sacks bearing the label of Flo-Sun’s own brand, Florida Crystals.