The Mississippi Gulf Coast is well known for its tourism and shipbuilding industries. Less well known is its role in the geospatial industry, which is considerable and growing. It dates back to the 1960s with the establishment of NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center, and continues to this day as geospatial activities grow in importance.
South Mississippi's geospatial footprint has all the expected characteristics: some of the biggest names in the industry have operations here; it has a capable work force and training programs, geospatial- focused technology parks, business incubators - the list is long.
But what may be more significant is the way it all "fits together."
Consider this: South Mississippi has leading-edge research and practical experience with composites that go into aircraft; it has the plants that use composites to make fixed-wing and rotary unmanned aircraft; it builds the next generation of warships that will launch robot aircraft; it has the satellite makers whose high-flying craft and remote sensors are key to command and control as well as surveillance; it has the companies that build the engines that power aircraft; it has the engine testing facilities. As one defense company executive said: "I think you're finding our futures really are coming together here in quite an unusual way."
With a high quality of life and low cost of doing business, the Mississippi Gulf Coast has been a contender for some of the most high- profile projects around. And it's now even more appealing, thanks to the availability of major new incentives designed to help companies that want to invest in the future of Mississippi and the Gulf Coast region. Along the Mississippi Gulf Coast there are technology parks, business incubators and technology transfer offices and work force training programs, and perhaps just as important, there is plenty of room to grow just outside the urban corridor.
South Mississippi offers a glimpse into the world of tomorrow.
