45 new tech jobs and 3 things to know about Ocean Aero’s HQ at Port of Gulfport
Ocean Aero will fill another 45 tech jobs by the end of the year as the company opens its new headquarters at the Port of Gulfport.
The company moved from California to Gulfport a year ago and has operated in temporary facilities at the port.
Here are three more things to know about the project and its impact in South Mississippi:
▪ What is the company?
Ocean Aero created the world’s first and only environmentally powered autonomous underwater and surface vehicle the TRITON, according to the company website. It collects data above and below the ocean’s surface. TRITON is fully wind and solar powered, and is fully autonomous, so it doesn’t need a crew on-board or nearby.
Among its customers are the U.S. Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and offshore energy companies.
▪ What’s the plan in Gulfport?
The company has worked out of temporary facilities for a year and now will occupy 67,000 square feet of renovated warehouse space on the Port of Gulfport’s East Pier. Renovations to the facility are scheduled to be complete by next summer, adding a shop, fabrication space, a shipping and receiving dock and offices. A hurricane-impact curtainwall system to protect the building during storms and exterior metal panels will be installed. The amount of the investment was not disclosed.
Moving the headquarters to Gulfport was made possible by contributions from the State Port, The University of Southern Mississippi, the city and state in a commitment to recruit well-paying, high-technology jobs, according to a press release.
▪ Ocean Aero hired local companies to do the work
Machado Patano Design Group in Biloxi designed the new headquarters and AnderCorp, headquartered in Gulfport, will complete the build out. Roy Aderson IV, executive vice president of AnderCorp, called the project “a significant milestone in Mississippi’s Blue Economy initiative.”
This story was originally published October 27, 2022 at 11:41 AM.
