AmeriCraft III Tile

In April of 1963, the Azorin brothers, Rogelio, Manolo, and Antonio, began their quest for the "American Dream". Three years before, they had been forced to leave all their property and belongings behind as Fidel Castro nationalized all businesses and seized all private property in Cuba.

When they left Cuba in 1960, they had hopes that Castro would not stay in power very long. They would be able to return and reclaim their business and property, which included a state-of-the-art clay sewer pipe plant, and brick plant. After a couple of years working in a brick and pipe plant in Georgia, it became clear to them that their stay in the United States might be more than temporary. That led to a decision to start anew and Florida Brick & Clay Company, Inc. was born in Plant City, Florida.

The company began making full-size facing bricks and clay drain tiles. Raw materials had to be brought in by rail from Georgia and Alabama. Due to the high cost of shipping shale and clays, the brothers developed a 1/2 inch veneer facing brick which could be used to simulate brick, but required much less clay to produce. A traditional shuttle kiln was used to fire the products.