StormGeo
| Industry | Meteorology |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1 April 1998 |
| Headquarters | Bergen, Norway |
Key people | Kent Zehetner (CEO), Erik Langaker (Chairman of the Board) |
Number of employees | 350 (2016) |
| Website | www.stormgeo.com |
StormGeo is one of the largest global providers of decision support for weather sensitive operations. Through the provision of tailored weather forecasting services StormGeo helps companies to manage risk, control costs, plan better and increase revenue. Key industries served are offshore oil and gas , shipping , renewable energy , corporate onshore business, media and aviation industries. The company has received several awards for its achievements.
StormGeo is headquartered in Bergen , Norway, with 24 offices worldwide and 350 employees. Its seven global weather support centers operate 24/7/365.
StormGeo’s Chief Executive Officer is Kent Zehetner.
The company has been ISO 9001:2008 certified since 2007.
History
Foundation
StormGeo started in 1997 as Storm Weather Center, a spinoff of Norway’s largest commercial broadcaster, TV2. Meteorologist Siri Kalvig saw an opportunity to offer customized weather services to other industries, and she began a venture in collaboration with TV2. Specialized industry professionals such as energy traders were using the service as a tool for making important market decisions. From that realization, the current StormGeo was born.
In 1998, StormGeo created their first weather service for the growing hydroelectric power industry. They also reached into a broader oil and gas energy market, which relies heavily on accurate weather and met-ocean forecasts to ensure safe operations. In the years that followed, StormGeo has continuously expanded its vision of weather communications to include new markets that benefit from their services.
Acquisitions
The acquisition of three companies has contributed to define what StormGeo is today.
At end of 2011, StormGeo expanded its operation into the Middle East with the acquisition of the Dubai-based weather forecasting company Met Consultancy FZ LLC.
The following year the Houston-based ImpactWeather Inc. became a part of StormGeo. ImpactWeather was a leading provider of weather monitoring, forecasting and alerting for offshore and onshore corporate businesses in the US.
In 2014, StormGeo acquired Applied Weather Technology, Inc. (AWT, awtworldwide.com) headquartered in Silicon Valley, California. AWT is the world leading provider and weather and route forecasting for the shipping industry with offices in North America, Europe and Asia. Their services complement the offshore services of the group, making StormGeo a full-service supplier providing decision support to weather sensitive operations.
Research & Development
StormGeo has since its inception invested heavily in R&D with the goal of providing the most accurate weather forecasts and decision support solutions. StormGeo utilizes the full model suites of the most accurate medium and long-range global numerical weather prediction models, including the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and Global Forecast System (GFS), as well as high-resolution short-range models such as the High Resolution Rapid Refresh model.
Shareholders
The majority shareholders of StormGeo are EQT and DNV GL, holding 56.2 % and 26.4% of the shares respectively.