Stennis-based company to give surfers wave forecasts

HANCOCK COUNTY — WorldWinds Inc. has entered into an export relationship with Swellnet, Pty of Australia to provide wave-forecasting services for surfers worldwide.

In order to pursue this opportunity, WorldWinds relied on counsel and direct assistance from the Magnolia Minority Enterprise (MBA ME), a program run by the Magnolia Business Alliance, to identify potential license requirements.

WorldWinds’ core area of expertise is advanced weather modeling and automated weather data delivery. WorldWinds is a leader in extensive storm surge modeling of hurricanes impacting the Atlantic seaboard and Gulf Coast regions. WorldWinds also provides automatically generated weather data feeds used for fishing, ocean navigation and other maritime applications.

This is WorldWinds’ first attempt to export.

“For a small disadvantaged, minority-, woman-owned, 8(a) company like WorldWinds, entering the world of exporting can be both confusing and time-consuming,” said Elizabeth Valenti, president of WorldWinds.

Craig Harvey, MBA president and chair of the U.S. Commerce Department’s Mississippi District Export Council, feels that this agreement is a great example of the how the process is supposed to work.

“The coordination between supporting groups — Magnolia Business Alliance Minority Enterprise, Enterprise of Innovative Geospatial Solutions, Mississippi District Export Council, Mississippi office of the U.S. Export Assistance Center and the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industrial Security — was extraordinarily well coordinated and responsive,” said Harvey. “From the time the very first contact was initiated by WorldWinds to the delivery of the no license required document from BIS was 25 days.”