All Florida Paper

The story of All Florida Paper (AFP) can be traced back when Secundino and Yolanda, parents of Armando Caceres made the life-changing decision to leave Communist Cuba for the United States. It was the hardest decision of their lifetime, because leaving Cuba wasn’t the only thing they left behind; they had to leave everything they had ever worked for, earned or built. They left behind neighbors, schoolmates, teachers, friends, cousins, uncles, aunts, and grandparents knowing they would never see them ever again. So they didn’t just leave Cuba behind, they had to leave their home, forever. This decision was made, to provide opportunities for a better life for themselves, and their son Armando, in a free country, the land of opportunity, and in a place where, with hard work and dedication, you can go as far as your dreams can take you.

The early years

By the time their son, Armando, had entered adulthood; he had fallen in love with the America his parents had escaped to decades earlier. He began to learn and understand about business, success, and the components necessary that make great businesses great. Over the coming years, Armando would develop a dream, which was about creating a business that would represent more than just your average company. He dreamed of building a business that would operate the old-fashioned way, and by doing so, would transform the lives of its employees, become a valuable asset to its customers through the consultative approach, and become respected in all the communities it conducts business.

In 1993, Armando followed through with his dream, and founded All Florida Paper, a business that would service local community businesses in Hialeah, Florida with innovative distribution solutions. The company opened its doors with just a 5,500 square foot warehouse, 2 delivery trucks, and 4 employees. The first few years were extremely challenging. As the new kid on the block, All Florida had to compete with other distributors that were more established at the local, regional and national levels, and had strong relationships with manufacturers. Although, with tenacity, the company earned many of the industry’s leading manufacturers’ trust, which resulted in the opportunity to represent those manufacturers in the distribution of quality products.

“Recycling” is Our New Buzz Word

We have significantly reduced the amount of garbage we trash. A large amount of the waste is comprised of cardboard, broken timber pallets, packaging film and paper. We have developed and executed strategies that have continued to lift our recycling rates through a number of recycling and packaging optimization initiatives including ongoing work with our suppliers to reduce all types of packaging waste, reusing and recycling of cardboard in our warehouses and distribution centers, reusing pallets in innovative ways, and the diversion of all possible materials from the waste stream.