NORMAN — Ten years after starting off in a business incubator behind a Taco Bueno on Lindsey Street, Norman-based Weather Decision Technologies is still going strong.

The company, founded by five former employees of meteorological research organizations in Norman, provides interactive weather maps and other weather predicting applications to “local media outlets across the nation, in every major market,” president and CEO Michael Eilts said during a 10-year anniversary celebration Tuesday at WDT’s office in Norman, 201 David L. Boren Blvd., on the University of Oklahoma campus.

“One of our core products right now is local media content,” he said. “We’re on 600 websites across the nation...about 50 million map views every month.”

Eilts said the company also is selling weather systems to nations without sophisticated weather prediction technologies in place, including Italy, Dubai and Indonesia.

The company, which has grown steadily over the past 10 years, currently employs 70 people, including workers in Atlanta, Austin, Texas, and a representative in Washington D.C.

Eilts, who worked at the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman for more than 15 years before founding WDT, said the company was sold in 2008 and is currently owned by venture capitalists.

OU grads important to WDT

Eilts, who has three degrees from the University of Oklahoma, said he believes in hiring his fellow Sooners.

“I would say over half...maybe even three-fourths...are OU grads,” he said. “And we currently have eight (OU) students working here as interns.”

Eilts also said staying put in Norman — specifically on the OU campus — is a good thing for business.

“It’s a great place to be, obviously,” he said from his office, which has a view of the massive National Weather Center. “We partner with these guys (the NWC) across the street. It’s a deal closer, for sure.”

To see more of WDT’s products or learn more about the company, visit them online at www.wdtinc.com.

Andrew Knittle 366-3540 aknittle@normantranscript.com. See complete article.