Dole Dolefil: A Brief History of Growth and Expansion

Welcome to Dole Philippines, Inc., also known as Dolefil. The main operations of Dolefil are situated in Polomolok, South Cotabato, in the island of Mindanao, Philippines. The history of the company traces back to 1899 when James Dole arrived in Hawaii with $1000, a Harvard degree in business and horticulture, and a passion for farming. He began by growing pineapples and, after harvesting the world’s sweetest, juiciest pineapples, he started shipping them back to mainland USA. To enable as many people as possible to enjoy this delicious fruit, he developed a technique for canning them. He wanted to make the sunshine and taste of Hawaiian pineapples available for everyone.

This is how he built the company on a reputation of quality, and it remains true to this day. Dole’s operations expanded in Latin America in the 1920s. Forty years later, the company made a bold decision to invest in Dole Philippines, Inc. or Dolefil in 1963, followed by the establishment of Stanfilco Operations in 1967. Dole’s operations continued to grow, with the establishment of Dole Thailand in 1972 and the recent support of the expansion of Pineapple Operations in Sierra Leone, West Africa in 2021. This expansion demonstrates Dole’s continuous search for new frontiers in its operations.

Dolefil is a vertically integrated food processing facility in the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. Its day-to-day operations include farms and nurseries, fresh fruit packing, canneries, and warehouses. Polomolok, South Cotabato was selected as the first location of Dolefil’s operations in Mindanao due to its strategic geographic location, favorable climate, and excellent soil conditions.

With a clear direction for expansion, Dolefil has extended its operations in North Mindanao. Today, Dolefil is a 60-year-old company, managing 20,000 hectares of plantation, operating 2 canneries, 5 fresh packing plants, and employing around 10,000 regular employees. The company produces 18 million fresh fruit boxes and 30 million standard cases annually, catering to 4 packaged regional markets and 7 fresh major markets with a harvest of 760,000 annual metric tons.