Standard Fruit Company (now Dole plc) was established in the United States in 1924 by the Vaccaro brothers. Its forerunner was started in 1899, when Sicilian Arberesh immigrants Joseph, Luca and Felix Vaccaro, together with Salvador D'Antoni, began importing bananas to New Orleans from La Ceiba, Honduras. By 1915, the business had grown so large that it bought most of the ice factories in New Orleans in order to refrigerate its banana ships, leading to its president, Joseph Vaccaro, becoming known as the "Ice King". Along with the United Fruit Company, Standard Fruit played a significant role in the governments of Honduras and other Central American countries, which became known as "banana republics" due to the high degree of control which the fruit companies held over the nations. In 1926, the company changed its name from Standard Fruit Company to Standard Fruit & Steamship Company. Between 1964 and 1968, the company was acquired by the Castle & Cooke Corporation, which also acquired James Dole's Hawaiian Pineapple Company (HAPCO) around the same time. In 1991, Castle & Cooke was renamed Dole Food Company. Castle & Cooke Inc, a real estate company, was spun off in 1995 and, following a 2000 management buyout, is now privately held. 1954 Honduras Strike In 1954 there was a general strike in Honduras against the Standard Fruit company among others. A detailed timeline can be seen below: References Further reading Thomas L. Karnes, "Tropical Enterprise: The Standard Fruit & Steamship Company in Latin America", Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1978 External links United Fruit Historical Society Dole Food Company, Inc. website Dole plc Defunct agriculture companies of the United States Agriculture in Hawaii Banana production Pineapple production Business in Hawaii Defunct companies based in Hawaii American companies established in 1924 Food and drink companies established in 1924 Food and drink companies disestablished in 1968 1924 establishments in Louisiana 1968 disestablishments in Louisiana 1968 mergers and acquisitions