Havemeyer Jr.'s personal fortune. The new refinery was designed by Theodore A. Havemeyer, Charles H. Senff and refinery superintendent Ernest Gerbracht. It was built of completely fireproof materials—brick and iron, with cast iron columns and wrought iron beams and girders. Electric lights were installed, a new technology that was less hazardous than gas lights. The refinery reopened for business in January 1884 with a capacity to refine three million pounds of sugar daily. Formation of the Sugar Trust (1887–1891) In 1887 H.O. Havemeyer established the Sugar Refineries Company, known as the Sugar Trust. The late 1870s and 1880s were a time of intense competition in sugar refining, in which the growth of the industry after the Civil War led to overproduction and slim profit margins. Large refineries, such as Havemeyers & Elder, were producing sugar so efficiently and at such great quantity that supply outstripped demand. Refineries were unable to operate at full capacity and many smaller, less efficient refineries failed. In the face of these harsh conditions, the sugar refiners sought to organize in order to control production and pricing. On October 27, 1887, after two years of negotiations, an agreement was reached to combine into a "trust," called the Sugar Refineries Company. By year end the Sugar Trust included 17 of the 23 refinery companies operating in the United States. A competition between the company's refineries followed to determine which were most efficient and would remain in operation. By 1890 five refineries remained in operation, with Havemeyers & Elder as the sole New York area refinery. The legality of the Sugar Trust came before the New York State court in a November 1890 suit, People of the State of New York versus the North River Refining Company. This led the Sugar Trust to reorganize as a holding company, the American Sugar Refining Company, which was incorporated in New Jersey on January 10, 1891, by attorneys Elihu Root and John Randolph Dos Passos. Effectively the business practices of the American Sugar Refining Company maintained those of the Sugar Refineries Company and it continued to be known as the Sugar Trust. Acquisition of refineries (1887–1895) In 1887 Havemeyer sought to bring the remaining independent refineries into the Trust. His chief rival on the West Coast was Claus Spreckels, who refused to join the Trust. Using a small California plant that the Sugar Trust had acquired in 1891, Havemeyer began an