Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) recognized seven Alabama companies last week with the Governor’s Trade Excellence Award for their export success. Ivey also recognized William Cummins, the executive state director of the Alabama Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network, for excellence in trade advocacy.
The recipients of this year’s Governor’s Trade Excellence Awards are:
Cherokee Fabrication Co. (Salem): Founded by Roy Owens, Paul Owens and Jerry Scarborough as a light metal fabrication shop. The Lee County company has served the cotton industry for 25 years. Its international footprint now encompasses ginning operations in North America, South America, Africa and Australia.
CleBer LLC (Paint Rock): The Jackson County company’s open design system for its Oggún tractor makes all of the parts available off the shelf, empowering small farmers. Customers can purchase tractors made in Alabama or license the design.
Continental Aerospace Technologies (Mobile): A global leader in general aviation, Continental is the only U.S. company to offer a full range of new piston aircraft engines, as well as a full-service factory Maintenance Repair and Overhaul center. In business since 1906, the company has more than 600 employees.
Eastern Technologies Inc. (Ashford): The Houston County company provides Personal Protective Clothing to the nuclear and other industries. Eastern Technologies is a leader in the field of radiological laundry services, protective clothing supply, and radiological laundry system design.
iCubate Inc. (Huntsville): provides fast, accurate and affordable testing assays to laboratories, helping improve patient care outcomes. Its international activities include a licensing agreement with a Chinese oncology diagnostics firm and a joint venture with an infectious disease diagnostics company in China.
Nelson Brothers (Birmingham): Nelson produces chemicals that are used by manufacturers of emulsions around the world for applications in mining and construction.
SynVivo (Huntsville): SynVivo’s tissue/organ-on-chip platform provides a biologically realistic microenvironment to enable better prediction of human responses for drug development and personalized medicine applications.
Excellence Awards, selected by the Alabama Department of Commerce, were honored at a special ceremony at the State Capitol.
“Consumers in markets across the globe are learning that ‘Made in Alabama’ is synonymous with top-level quality, and they want more of the goods produced in our state,” Ivey said.
Greg Canfield is the Secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce. Canfield said that the exporting accomplishments of these companies are elevating the state’s profile on the global business stage.
“Each year, the success of the Governor’s Trade Excellence Award winners comes as a result of their vision and enterprise,” Canfield said. “These companies are on the cutting edge in their industries, and we’re committed to helping them get their products to customers around the world.”
Economic developer Dr. Nicole Jones told 1819 News, “Alabama has an impressive track record with exports. Our state exported goods and services at a total of almost $21 billion in 2021, which increased 21.8% from the previous year. The strength of Alabama’s companies is a result of innovative products and services, a dedicated workforce, and continued communication and positive relationships with nations across the globe.”
Alabama exports totaled nearly $20.9 billion in 2021, an increase of more than 21.8% from 2020.
Alabama’s goods and services were purchased in 189 countries last year, with Germany, Canada, China, Mexico and South Korea the leading destinations.
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandon.moseley@1819News.com.
