GSA Technology Council

KeyMark, Inc., a full-service provider of integrated document management solutions, was named both Platinum Partner and Top Partner for the East Coast Region by Kofax. The Platinum and Top Partner status recognizes KeyMark’s outstanding achievements as a value-add reseller and systems integrator.

According to Kofax, their Solutions Providers include some of the world’s best builders of document systems. KeyMark is an integral part of that team. “This says a lot about KeyMark and the people I work with,” commented KeyMark CEO, Jim Wanner. “Kofax has over 1,200 partners and 800 of those are in the US. For a company of less than 50 people, based out of Liberty SC to be selected as one of the top performing partners speaks volumes about the team we have built and our ability to execute world-class solutions.”

KeyMark has been named top-reseller and top partner by three of its major partners. KeyMark was recognized by AnyDoc Software, a leading provider of automated document and data capture solutions, as the winner of three major reseller awards for 2007 including reseller of the year. KeyMark was also named by Hyland Software, Inc., developer of the OnBase enterprise content management (ECM) software suite, as a Platinum and Diamond Authorized OnBase Solution Provider. KeyMark, Inc. has been an Authorized OnBase Solution Provider for more than 10 years.

via KeyMark

Fluor Corporation  announces it will hold a conference call to review results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2008. The public is invited to listen to the conference call on Thursday, November 6, at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time with Alan Boeckmann, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Mike Steuert, Chief Financial Officer. Financial results will be released after the market closes.

Details 

What: Fluor’s 2008 third quarter earnings conference call
Date: Thursday, November 6, 2008
Time: 5:30 p.m. EST

How:  Via telephone: Domestic: 888-262-8942; International: 913-981-5547; Passcode: 4804796         Via the Internet: investor.fluor.com

Replay:  Via telephone: Domestic: 888-203-1112; International: 719-457-0820; Passcode: 4804796

The telephone replay will be available from 8:30 p.m. EST on November 6, 2008, through 8:30 p.m. EST on November 13, 2008. The Web replay will be accessible shortly after the call ends and will be available for 30 days following the call.

via Fluor

ScanSource, Inc., a value-added distributor of AIDC (automatic identification and data capture), point of sale, communications and electronic security products for the reseller market, today announced that sales results for its quarter ended September 30, 2008 are expected to be in a range of $535 to $543 million compared to $553.7 million for the same period one year ago. 

 On the upcoming October 23, 2008 quarter end conference call, ScanSource expects to share final sales results by geographies and product areas and provide a forecast for the following quarter.

via ScanSource

NuVox, a communications services provider, announced today that VoxNET, the company’s Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) solution, is now available across the United States. VoxNET provides multi-location customers with a robust, managed, wide area private network (WAN) solution across a multi-state footprint.

“With the enhancement of VoxNET, NuVox is now truly a single source communications provider,” commented Chris Benyo, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for NuVox. “VoxNET provides our customers with a seamless, quality of service, communications solution to meet the unique and ever-changing demands of their businesses.”

NuVox offers a variety of communications solutions to over 90,000 business customers in 16 states across the Southeast and Midwest. With the nationwide release of VoxNET, NuVox customers with office locations outside NuVox’s traditional service area can conveniently connect all of their locations. NuVox’s private, fully-meshed data network ensures that each customer’s data, video, and critical company information is secure. VoxNET customers also enjoy benefits of industry-leading service level agreements.

The release of the new VoxNET product is the latest addition to NuVox’s product suite. Earlier in 2008, NuVox launched its Unified Messaging services, including “VoiceMail to Email” and “Fax to Email” services. The company also launched FireWall, a managed network security product, designed to bring the latest in network protection to business customers.

via NuVox

Benefitfocus today announced the addition of a Personal Health Assessment (PHA) tool, a feature of Benefitfocus HR InTouch, which allows employees to take a secure, online survey and immediately receive personalized recommendations for improving their health. Fully integrated with Benefitfocus eEnrollment, the PHA offers up-to-date counsel on health and wellness topics delivered through text and high-quality, professionally-produced video.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that between 70 and 80 percent of a person’s health and wellness are directly affected by their lifestyle and health behaviors. Composed of two parts, an online questionnaire and a biometric screening, the PHA provides employees with the knowledge of their specific health risks and the tools in which to minimize those risks, positively changing their lifestyle and behaviors.

“Finding ways to research the specific health concerns you could be at risk for, and then trying to understand those risks is difficult enough,” said Nancy Sansom, vice president of Product Management for Benefitfocus. “Our PHA simplifies this process. Not only is the PHA broken into specific categories making it easy to navigate, it is a relatively quick process, taking less than 15 minutes to complete. Also included are informative videos, which provide employees with an easy-to-understand health education resource that explains specific conditions for which they may be at risk.”

Upon completion of the PHA, employees receive a Health Profile Report. The report, which can be printed or submitted to a healthcare provider, records the employee’s questionnaire answers and recommends what they should be striving for to reach maximum health and wellness. Employers also receive summary reports, but not in quite as much detail. Various aggregate employer reports provide employers with high-level overviews of what risks their employees are facing. For example, employers are able to obtain the percentage of employees who are at high-risk for obesity or alcohol abuse and can then promote company-wide weight loss or alcohol prevention programs.

Although not a substitute for medical advice, the PHA encourages employees to use the information and customized reports as a personal wellness tool, therefore answering seriously and honestly. With video content developed by Dr. Mona Khanna, M.D., M.P.H., consulting physician for Benefitfocus Media(TM), the tailored medical information and recommendations are medically and evidence-based and include information gathered from the CDC.

The application gives employers the ability to offer financial incentives for those employees who complete the health assessment or for meeting specific health-related criteria. These financial incentives can be deducted for each employee through an employer’s payroll system using Benefitfocus Payroll Connect(TM) which synchronizes payroll with your employee benefits data transmissions.

“Employers can lower their cost of benefits while their informed and educated employees improve their physical wellness,” reflected Sansom. “This type of company supported program will positively impact individuals as they become more productive for their employers and lead healthier lives.”

via Benefitfocus

KEMET Corporation today announced that their Tantalum and Ceramics manufacturing operations have been awarded Certificates of Registration to the Aerospace Quality Standard AS9100. Registration is rapidly becoming a prerequisite for aerospace customers and the certificate will reduce the need for numerous customer audits.

“KEMET is diligently focused on both product quality and customer service,” stated Don Aldworth, KEMET’s Vice President of Quality. “These certifications clearly demonstrate that we are putting our resources into areas of our operation that are important to our customers and will make doing business with KEMET even easier for all customers serving the Aerospace industry,” continued Aldworth.

AS9100 is a set of requirements for quality management systems that include all ISO 9001:2000 requirements expanded to address international aerospace requirements approved by major aerospace companies around the world. Registration is reserved for companies committed to providing excellent customer service, continual improvement, and outstanding product quality.

via KEMET

Fluor Corporation announced today that its Olefins II Kuwait (OL2K) petrochemicals project logged more than 35 million craft hours without a lost time safety incident effective from September 2007 through September 2008.

“This significant safety achievement can only be attributed to our entire project team’s absolute, uncompromising dedication to safe work practices daily,” said Ian Spears, Fluor’s site safety manager.

Fluor applies its “Zero Incident” program to every project in order to educate employees and all project workers to the importance of safe work practices.

Fluor is providing engineering, procurement and construction management services for the utilities and infrastructure and the polyethylene unit upgrade of the OL2K project, a major petrochemical project in Kuwait. This scope is in addition to the program management contract, which was awarded in 2004 to perform overall project management and front-end engineering services.

The development of the Olefins II complex is being overseen by a joint venture of the local Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC) and The Dow Chemical Company. Groundbreaking occurred in March 2005, with completion of the complex expected early 2009.

“It is the leadership, focus, vigilance, and ability to continue to look for improvements which form the foundation for this accomplishment,” said Bob Midgley, Fluor’s project director.

The more than $3 billion integrated petrochemical complex is located approximately 25 miles south of Kuwait City in Shuaiba. It includes the construction of an 850,000-tons-per-year cracker, a 600,000-tons-per-year ethylene glycol unit, a 450,000-tons-per-year ethyl benzene/styrene monomer unit and the expansion of an additional 225,000 tons-per-year of polyethylene capacity at the existing complex. The completed facility will more than double the capacity at the existing olefins complex.

via Fluor

Numara Software, Inc., a provider of service management solutions for IT professionals, today announced that Clemson University has deployed Numara FootPrints across its campus to automate its help desk activities and assess campus IT needs for staff and students. Clemson currently enrolls more than 17,000 students and employs over 4,000 staff and faculty, all of whom can access Numara FootPrints, also known as TigerTracks on campus, and create work order tickets for facility and IT maintenance.

Clemson determined the need for a more formal process for managing its IT environment and a product that was scalable to meet the IT needs of the growing university. As Clemson moves up in the ranks of the nation’s  universities, Clemson Computing and Information Technology (CCIT) has selected Numara Software solutions to continue to address the organization’s IT and business requirements because of their flexibility and ability to let Clemson users track tickets from beginning to end.

“We were initially attracted by Numara FootPrints’ ease of use and customization,” said Tim Howard, TigerTracks project manager. “It was the obvious choice for Clemson because the product offers the extended flexibility and scalability we require, while providing us with a centralized platform to capture all of our IT-related activities.”

To better serve student and faculty needs, Clemson is going to employ Numara FootPrints, a 100% web-based service desk solution, to enable the users to create and submit their own tickets, track the progress from beginning to end, better meet compliance requirements as an organization and realize significant cost savings. 

“While we have only rolled out Numara FootPrints on July 31st, we are already seeing a great response from the students and staff,” continued Tim Howard. “As the academic year progresses we are excited to adjust the system to fully meet our needs and make TigerTracks the go-to program for Clemson residents.”

via Numara and Clemson

Duke Energy has submitted the first part of an application for a federal energy loan guarantee to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for its proposed William States Lee III Nuclear Station. This is another step in the process of keeping the new nuclear option available for customers.

“Filing this application with the DOE can lead to long-term benefits for our customers,” said Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers. “Loan guarantees allow utilities to lower capital costs for new nuclear construction, which ultimately leads to lower electricity prices for consumers.”

The federal government has decades of experience managing loan guarantee programs, which provide financing for support of critical U.S. infrastructure. The loan guarantee program supporting clean energy was established as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The program will follow defined procedures and practices that include rigorous reviews of all applications.

via Duke Energy

KEMET Corporation today announced that it has entered into a new medium-term credit facility in the principal amount of EUR 60.0 million (Facility A) and received a commitment for a EUR 35.0 million credit facility (Facility B) with UniCredit Corporate Banking S.p.A. (”UniCredit”), a financial institution headquartered in Italy and part of the Milan-based UniCredit Group. These two facilities replace a EUR 95.0 million credit facility with UniCredit that KEMET previously announced on July 30, 2008. Closing on Facility A is expected to occur in approximately two weeks. Closing on Facility B is expected to occur as soon as factoring mechanisms are put in place, but in any event no later than April 2009.

“We are pleased to complete another step in our efforts to reposition and improve our balance sheet,” said Per Loof, KEMET’s Chief Executive Officer. “While we remain focused on the execution of our plans to return to profitability, we will continue to explore alternatives that will improve our long-term liquidity and reduce our overall debt structure,” continued Loof.

Under the terms of Facility A, KEMET will repay the principal amount in nine equal, semi-annual installments during the four and one-half year term with the first payment due in April 2009. The credit facility will be priced at EURIBOR plus 1.7 percent, and will be secured with land and real estate in Italy, certain accounts receivable in Europe, and a pledge of the shares of Arcotronics Italia S.p.A. and Arcotronics Industries S.r.l., two of KEMET’s subsidiaries in Italy. Facility B will be a factoring arrangement priced at EURIBOR plus 1.7 percent with repayment at maturity in December 2013. The use of proceeds from the new credit facilities will be to refinance two existing short-term credit facilities with UniCredit totaling EUR 96.8 million and currently scheduled to mature in December 2008 and April 2009.

via KEMET