First U.S. factory to be built in Cuba in almost 60 years
This will be the first U.S.-based company to invest in Cuba since Fidel Castro took power of the island.
The latest news in the continued thawing of U.S.-Cuba relations came today as the government approved the first U.S. factory on the island since the 1959 revolution.
Multiple news outlets reported the news Monday afternoon. The company who will build and operate the new factory, Cleber LLC, confirmed the news on their Twitter account.
It's Official! Cleber becomes the first american factory in Cuba since the revolution! https://t.co/Vu9DiQ9K0x#cuba #progress #oggun
— Cleber (@CleberOggun) February 15, 2016
The Alabama-based company manufactures 18 to 25 horsepower “open source” tractors, which they say are simple and cost-effective. According to their website, Cleber’s tractors are made using readily-available components which makes repairs easy to perform.
Founded in 2015, the company’s founders, Cuban native Saul Berenthal and businessman Horace Clemmons, seek to produce tractors suited to operate in the Cuban agricultural industry because of their simplicity.
USA Today reported that the two received word from the Department of the Treasury that they were able to open a facility in Cuba. The next step according to the two entrepreneurs is hammering out details with the Cuban government. The factory, which they hope to get going by 2017 will try to produce around 1,000 tractors every year. Each tractor will cost around $10,000.
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