NORMAN – Aerospace & Marine International (AMI), an international company with offices in Seoul, Korea; Banchory, Scotland; Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Norman, Oklahoma, announced today the move of their Corporate Headquarters from San Jose, California to Norman, Oklahoma.

Founded in 1991 by CEO George Carlsgaard, AMI is a worldwide leader in delivering 24-hour global weather forecasting services to the maritime industry.

“Our world is becoming more technologically complex every day and requires a sophisticated level of meteorological and oceanographic support,” said Mr. Carlsgaard.  “AMI leads the industry with its team of chartered and certified meteorologists, oceanographic and forensic experts. The fact that the University of Oklahoma is a weather and radar juggernaut, with a highly-acclaimed School of Meteorology in the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences, and host to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service, was certainly a factor in our decision and we look forward to a collaborative partnership with them.”

“California is becoming more and more difficult to operate a business due to rising costs,” said Heather O’Malley, Director of Marine Operations. “We decided earlier this year to strategically explore the future of AMI in Colorado and Oklahoma, considering we have offices in both states. Preliminarily, we thought Colorado Springs would be a better business move, still reflected on our website, but after talking to our healthcare broker and reviewing the information provided by the Norman Economic Development Coalition (NEDC), it made more business sense for us to go with Oklahoma.” Chief Operating Officer Joe Shonka added, “In 2018, we opened our Norman office with just four employees, in a tiny office on Main Street, tripping over each other with no place to move.  Over the last couple of years, we have expanded our space and quadrupled in size.  As our business continues this high growth trajectory, we hope to expand our operations even more within Oklahoma.”   

Norman Mayor Breea Clark said AMI and the City of Norman share core company values of integrity, community and growth.

“I’m so pleased AMI has chosen our city,” she said. “We welcome their corporate presence and applaud their attention to environmental sustainability. I am certain they will find the Norman community to be welcoming, inclusive, and supportive.”

Cleveland County Commission Chairman Darry Stacy also offered his congratulations and support for the AMI announcement.

“Economic development is a team sport that takes time to achieve,” Stacy said. “Companies like AMI, that create primary jobs – particularly headquarters – are the economic drivers of cities and counties, with significant multiplier effects. We look forward to working with them to ensure a successful, profitable, and growing corporate presence here.”

“This is a great symbolic victory for Norman and Cleveland County as we begin a new era of economic growth,” said Lawrence McKinney, CEO of the NEDC. “Minimal jobs will move to Norman, at least for the foreseeable future, but based on their current growth rate I expect more to follow.  However, it does expand our weather and radar cluster of companies and ensures we retain the 18 existing AMI jobs that are currently here.  Further, it allows AMI to strategically and competitively focus on their future plans, with Norman as their hub.”

Learn more about the economic growth, achievement, and trends of Norman/Cleveland County at www.selectnorman.com.