​​Location: Yabucoa
Date Established: 1895
Date Ceased Operations: 2001
Annual Production Graph
Average Annual Production: 23,131 Tons
Best Production Year: 1967/47,382 Tons
Family Ownership: Vallecillo, Fabian, Roig
Corporate Ownership: Compañia Azucarera del Este, Yabucoa Sugar Co.

The origin of Central Roig dates back to  the 1870s when it was an ingenio known as Carmen, named in honor of Maria del Carmen Rodriguez the wife of its owner Ramón Aponte Ortiz de la Renta.  Its name was changed to Hacienda Mercedita in 1878 when acquired by Spanish immigrant from Ronda Cristobal Vallecillo Morales (1835-1897) in honor of his only daughter among ten children, Mercedes Vallecillo Mandry (1883-1933).  During his ownership, in 1895 Vallecillo expanded the hacienda into a sugar mill.  

In 1902 the Cia. Azucarera del Este, headed by Guillermo McCormick Hartman (1861-1907) and the mercantile firm Bertrán Hnos., acquired Central Mercedita from Vallecillo.  McCormick Hatman was born in Arroyo of Scottish and German parents.  He had ownership interest in other sugar mills in Puerto Rico and was instrumental in the organization of Central Machete in Guayama.  Bertrán Hnos. was a mercantile firm established in Humacao comprised of Spanish immigrants from Gernoa, Catalonia brothers Juan (1850-1909) and José (1955-1911) Bertrán Casañas and their cousin also Spanish immigrant from Gerona, Catalonia Narciso Basso Casañas (1861-1947).  In 1906 the Cia. Azucarera del Este was acquired by the Yabucoa Sugar Co. which majority owner was Antonio Roig Torrelllas (1860-1933). 

Roig Torrellas was born in Mayagüez, to Antonio Roig Miró, a Spanish immigrant from the town of Vila Nueva i Geltrú in Catalonia and Mayagüez born Avelina Torrellas.  Roig Miró arrived in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico in 1854 where he started working at the mercantile firm of Estaban Nadal Gross whose family owned Hacienda Altagracia, later Central Igualdad.  Roig Torrellas began his professional career at the young age of sixteen in Mayagüez working for the German merchant houses Fritz, Lundt & Co. and Kraemer & Co., both who were involved in the sugar brokering business.  

In 1880 Roig Torrellas went to work at Jorge Bird & Cia. in Fajardo, merchant firm owned by Jorge Bird León, father of Jorge Bird Arias of Central Fajardo.  In 1886 he married Eulogia Guzmán Toro, whose father José Antonio Guzmán Frías owned Hacienda Socorro in Humacao.  Two years later, he rented a warehouse in the port area of Humacao and established the merchant firm Casa Roig.  He began as an owner in the sugar industry on November 15, 1896 when he acquired 12 of the 1,878 acres of Hacienda Providencia in Humacao from Rufolfo Leoncio Perez Polanco for 72,000 pesos.  In the 12 acres was a sugar processing plant which Roig immediately upgraded into what came to be Central El Ejemplo.  Originally, Central El Ejemplo did not own its own land, the sugarcane it processed came primarily from Hacienda Providencia land retained by Perez Polanco.  Central El Ejemplo was located in Barrio Mariana, where today is the residential development Jardin Central off of PR-909. 

Roig Torrellas began leasing and acquiring farm land to increase production and on July 17, 1909 incorporated Central El Ejemplo under the corporate name Compañia Azucarera El Ejemplo.  Central El Ejemplo operated as an independent sugar mill until 1961, its average production between 1912 and 1961 was in average 11,491 mt of raw sugar which was considered a small operation.  Roig Torrellas expanded his holdings beyond the Humacao region in 1902 by virtue of an agreement with Manuel Mendez Dueño which eventually resulted in the establishment of Central Juncos. 

In 1919 Antonio Roig Torrellas commissioned Antonin Nechodoma with the design of his residence in Humacao.  The property is documented as the Roig Residence in the Architecture section on this website.  In August 1922, Roig established the Roig Commercial Bank.  The family operated the bank until 1977 when, with 25 branches and $900 million in assets, it merged with Banco Popular de Puerto Rico who paid $120 million in cash and stock for the merger.

Soon after Antonio Roig Torrellas sold his interest in Central Juncos to the United Porto Rican Sugar Co. in 1926, he acquired all the 12,585 outstanding shares of The Yabucoa Sugar Co. for  $1.8 million from its shareholders Rafael Fabian Fabian, Manuel Gonzalez Martinez, Rafael Martinez Dominguez and The Puerto Rican Sugar Development Company.  The Central sugar mill's name was then changed to Central Roig and became one of the largest sugar mills in Puerto Rico and the next to last one to close.  Its "Starlight" and "Estrella" brands refined sugar were sold in the local market. 

After Antonio Roig Torrella's death in 1933, his holdings passed on to his widow and two sons; Antonio Agripino Roig Guzmán (1888-1956) and Jorge Adalberto Roig Guzmán (1903-1995) under the name Antonio Roig Sucs. who operated the sugar milll until it was acquired by the Puerto Rico Land Authority in 1977.  

The gallery below includes pictures taken in 2014, 2019 and 2024. The aerial pictures taken in 2024 by Jaime Luis Montilla of prphotoadventures.com.