Carlos De Aldecoa Bueno
Nominating Organization: East End Chamber & Gulf Coast Distillery
Occupation: President & CEO of Cadeco Industries

Carlos De Aldecoa Bueno is President and CEO of the Houston-based companies Cadeco Industries, Eximius Coffee, and Gulf Coast Distillers. Located near downtown in Houston’s East End, the enterprises are the modern incarnation of a 3rd generation, family-owned group of companies focused exclusively on the food and beverage industry. The economic impact and jobs he provides for a majority of Hispanic employees is commendable.

In the late-1990s, after substantial capital investment and hands-on management by Mr. de Aldecoa, Cadeco Industries retrofitted and modernized the iconic Uncle Ben’s rice processing facility on Clinton Drive, converting the facility into the largest and most diversified independent bulk coffee processing facility in North America. Taking advantage of the proximity to the expansive Port of Houston, Cadeco receives and processes on a daily basis up to one million pounds of coffee from all over the world. In addition to operating 4 Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)-certified coffee warehouses, Cadeco utilizes state-of-the-art technologies to provide bulk silo storage, cleaning, blending, steaming, decaffeination, and handling services for coffee industry participants from around the globe.

Eximius Coffee, LLC is a national roasting and packaging business for coffee and tea products. In addition to packaging and selling its own brands, Eximius is a major national player in private label beverage production for companies such as HEB, Walgreens, Dollar General, Maxwell House, Meijer, and Aldi, among others. At the end of 2006, Mr. de Aldecoa formed Maximus Coffee Group LP and successfully completed the acquisition of Houston’s historic Maxwell House coffee plant from Kraft Foods. A complement to Cadeco’s bulk handling operations, the Maximus plant was North America’s largest integrated roasting, decaffeination, soluble and packaging coffee facility, while additionally manufacturing rice packaging and powdered soft drinks. The facility underwent substantial growth from one customer to over 50 customers and 500 employees. In 2014 Mr. de Aldecoa sold Maximus Coffee Group to a global commodity trader based in Switzerland.

In 2014, Mr. de Aldecoa founded Gulf Coast Distillers as a distiller, rectifier and bottler of spirits. A Houston, Texas, distiller, Gulf Coast Distillers owns over 20 brands and packages third-party brands. Today, Gulf Coast Distillers is the largest distillery in the State of Texas and ships product to across the United States and internationally. The facility is also home to Ben’s Den, a 5,000 square foot tasting room and meeting venue for the Houston community’s many organizations.