Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corporation is the world's largest processor of macadamia seeds. The American company was a subsidiary of The Hershey Company from 2004 to 2015, when it was acquired by Hawaiian Host, Inc. [1] The company takes its name from the volcano Mauna Loa. Their headquarters and main processing plant are near the mountain, south of Hilo in the Puna District of the island of Hawaiʻi, known as the Big Island.
The first Mauna Loa macadamia plantation was planted in 1946, and the first commercial crop was harvested in 1956. The company was owned by Big Five company C. Brewer & Co. from 1974 to 2000. [2]
The visitors center is a tourist attraction with its self-guided tour of the processing plant (viewed from the outside on a second-floor walkway due to safety and sanitation concerns) and large gift shop with homemade macadamia ice cream for sale and free samples of every flavour variation sold by the company. It is located at the address One Macadamia Road, near the town of Keaʻau at 19°39′24″N155°0′33″W / 19.65667°N 155.00917°W Coordinates: 19°39′24″N155°0′33″W / 19.65667°N 155.00917°W . [3]
The company promotes sustainable green causes, and is slowly working to become totally carbon neutral by reducing its dependence on conventionally generated electricity - particularly those involving coal and crude oil. At the main production facility, the company owns its own steam generator, which uses plant waste to generate electricity used in the harvesting and packaging of its macadamia seeds. [4]
Hawaii is the largest island in the United States, located in the state of Hawaii. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcanic islands in the North Pacific Ocean. With an area of 4,028 square miles (10,430 km2), it has 63% of the Hawaiian archipelago's combined landmass. However, it has only 13% of Hawaiʻi's population. The island of Hawaiʻi is the third largest island in Polynesia, behind the two main islands of New Zealand.
Hilo is a census-designated place (CDP) and the largest city in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaiʻi. The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. It is the largest city in Hawaii that is not on Oahu, and the 4th largest city in the state of Hawaii.
Keaʻau is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hawaiʻi County, Hawaii, United States located in the District of Puna. The population was 1,195 at the 2020 census. The population decreased by 12.1% from 2,253 at the 2010 census.
Pāhala is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hawaiʻi County, Hawaiʻi, United States. The population was 1,403 at the 2020 census.
Mauna Loa is one of five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaiʻi in the Pacific Ocean. The largest subaerial volcano in both mass and volume, Mauna Loa has historically been considered the largest volcano on Earth, dwarfed only by Tamu Massif. It is an active shield volcano with relatively gentle slopes, with a volume estimated at 18,000 cubic miles (75,000 km3), although its peak is about 125 feet (38 m) lower than that of its neighbor, Mauna Kea. Lava eruptions from Mauna Loa are silica-poor and very fluid, and they tend to be non-explosive.
Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano on the island of Hawaiʻi. Its peak is 4,207.3 m (13,803 ft) above sea level, making it the highest point in the state of Hawaiʻi and second-highest peak of an island on Earth. The peak is about 38 m (125 ft) higher than Mauna Loa, its more massive neighbor. Mauna Kea is unusually topographically prominent for its height: its wet prominence is fifteenth in the world among mountains, at 4,207.3 m (13,803 ft); its dry prominence of 9,330 m (30,610 ft) is second in the world, only after Mount Everest. This dry prominence is taller than Mount Everest's height above sea level of 8,848.86 m (29,032 ft), and some authorities have labelled Mauna Kea the tallest mountain in the world, from its underwater base.
Macadamia is a genus of four species of trees indigenous to Australia, and constituting part of the plant family Proteaceae. They are native to northeastern New South Wales and central and southeastern Queensland specifically. Two species of the genus are commercially important for their fruit, the macadamia nut. Global production in 2015 was 160,000 tonnes. Other names include Queensland nut, bush nut, maroochi nut, bauple nut and Hawaii nut. In Australian Aboriginal languages, the fruit is known by names such as bauple, gyndl or jindilli and boombera. It was an important source of bushfood for the Aboriginal peoples who are the original inhabitants of the area.
Route 200, known locally as Saddle Road, traverses the width of the Island of Hawaiʻi, from downtown Hilo to its junction with Hawaii Route 190 near Waimea. The road was once considered one of the most dangerous paved roads in the state, with many one-lane bridges and areas of marginally maintained pavement. Most of the road has now been repaved, and major parts have new re-alignments to modern standards. The highway is mostly one-lane in each direction, but there are two lanes on the uphill portions. The highway reaches a maximum elevation of 6,632 feet (2,021 m) and is subject to fog and low visibility. Many rental car companies used to prohibit use of their cars on Saddle Road, but now allow use of the road. The highway experiences heavy use as it provides the shortest driving route from Hilo to Kailua-Kona and access to the slopes of Mauna Loa and the Mauna Kea Observatories.
C. Brewer & Co., Ltd. was a Honolulu-based company that was once part of the Big Five companies in territorial Hawaii. The company did most of its business in agriculture.
The Mauna Loa Observatory (MLO) is an atmospheric baseline station on Mauna Loa, on the island of Hawaii, located in the U.S. state of Hawaii.
Kaʻū is the southernmost and largest district of Hawaii County, Hawaii, located on the island of Hawaiʻi.
Waiākea is an ancient subdivision (ahupuaʻa) in the Hilo District of the Big Island of Hawaiʻi and an early settlement on Hilo Bay.
Hāmākua is a district on the northeast coast of Hawaiʻi's Big Island, administered by the County of Hawaiʻi in the state of Hawaiʻi. It is also the name given for the coastline in the region, the "Hāmākua Coast".
Bush tucker, also called "bush food", is any food native to Australia and used as sustenance by Indigenous Australians, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but it can also describe any native fauna or flora used for culinary or medicinal purposes, regardless of the continent or culture. Animal native foods include kangaroo, emu, witchetty grubs and crocodile, and plant foods include fruits such as quandong, kutjera, spices such as lemon myrtle and vegetables such as warrigal greens and various native yams.
Koa Coffee Plantation is a former grower and processor of Kona coffee on Hawaiʻi island, United States, acquired by Paradise Beverages DBA Hawaii Coffee Company in 2009. Koa Coffee Plantation is roasted in Honolulu by Hawaii Coffee Company. Koa Coffee Plantation's place of business is 1560 Hart Street, Honolulu, HI.
The Manuka State Wayside Park is a state park of 13.4 acres (5.4 ha) with an arboretum located approximately 19 miles (31 km) west of Naʻalehu, on the Mamalahoa Highway section of the Hawaii Belt Road, on the island of Hawaii, Hawaii, coordinates 19°6′33″N155°49′33″W
William Herbert Shipman (1854–1943) was a wealthy businessman on the island of Hawaii. One estate of his family was used to preserve an endangered species of Hawaiian goose. A historic house associated with his family for over a hundred years is called the W. H. Shipman House in Hilo, Hawaii. Another of his historic estates called the Ainahou Ranch, built in 1941 as a refuge from World War II, is preserved within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
The Onizuka Center for International Astronomy, also known as Hale Pōhaku, is a complex of support facilities for the telescopes and other instruments that comprise the Mauna Kea Observatory atop Mauna Kea, on Hawaiʻi island.
The Hawaiian Host Group is a company with its headquarters in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, which mainly is engaged in manufacturing and sales of sweets and souvenirs.
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