Foley-based company awarded license to trade with Cuba

Trade with Cuba has only become a recent opportunity for American businesses, but Foley-based company GulfWise Commerce is at the forefront of that new economic frontier, as the company announced a first-of-its-kind trade agreement with a Cuban research institution.

GulfWise has been granted a license to be able to sell advanced planting and harvesting equipment to the Cuban government-run Indio Hatuey Research Station, part of a government-backed research institution.

Christina Woerner McInnis, a GulfWise partner, said she is thrilled to be granted the license from the U.S. government for the project.

“We think it’s a great honor that it’s not a national, brand name company that’s going into this kid of trade first, but a family owned business right here in Baldwin County, Alabama,” McInnis said. “This has been something that has been in the works for years, and to see it come to fruition makes us hopeful for more things to come in the realm of trade.”

McInnis said their company had to go through a lot of legal hurdles to make the deal happen, including dealing with a review process from four federal departments.

“We began the process with the Treasury Department, then had to work with the State Department, the Department of Commerce and the Department of Defense,” McInnis said. “All of them had to sign off on parts of this deal to allow this to happen, which was no easy process.”

McInnis and other GulfWise representatives have made five trips to Cuba over the last few years, where they offered agriculture advice and consultation for growing turf grass. She said being able to now sell machinery to the Cubans is the natural progression of those initial discussions.

McInnis said the license will allow them to sell spriggers and harvesters to the research station through the Port of Mobile, which she said has been an integral part of the deal-making process.

“Having the Port of Mobile nearby provides a great hub for trade on our end and the Cuban end,” McInnis said.

McInnis also thanked Alabama Agriculture Commissioner John McMillan for the state’s help in the licensing process, and said she thinks this will be the start of a great relationship between the state of Alabama and Cuba.

“With this deal, we’re not exporting jobs and opportunities overseas,” McInnis said. “We’re sending U.S.-made machinery and we’re keeping the jobs here, but that equipment can be used to create new jobs and better opportunities for the people there in Cuba. It’s mutually beneficial for both of us.”

GulfWise is an offshoot of the Woerner Companies of Foley, and McInnis said she and other members of the Woerner family are hoping to be able to open other avenues of trade.

“There are many different opportunities that we can see in opening up more trade and better dialogue with Cuba,” McInnis said. “We’re also continuing to look at ways that we can possibly import some materials from Cuba, especially fresh fruit and other amazing agricultural products that we think people here in the U.S. would love to be able to enjoy.”