Apex Wind Energy Standardizes on Aconex for All Projects

SAN BRUNO, CA--(Marketwired - Jun 11, 2013) - Aconex, provider of the world's most widely used online project collaboration solutions for the power, construction, infrastructure, mining, and oil and gas industries, today announced two supply agreements with Apex Wind Energy, Inc., a leading independent developer of renewable energy facilities. Under the terms of the first agreement, Apex deployed the Aconex Online Collaboration Platform to manage construction of the Canadian Hills wind facility near Oklahoma City, OK. Under the second agreement, Apex will use the Aconex platform for information management on all future development projects.

Canadian Hills is a 300-megawatt (MW) wind energy facility in Canadian County, Oklahoma, with a project value of approximately $470 million. At the time it was completed, the facility increased the state's installed wind capacity by 13%. Canadian Hills produces enough energy to power approximately 100,000 homes.

"With the Aconex platform, our project teams can find what they need quickly and easily, without having to search layers of folders and then finding files that may not be current," said Joseph Sikorski, project controls manager at Apex. "Whether it is an RFI, a document or a drawing, we have more confidence that all our team members and stakeholders are working with the same, up-to-date version. Transmittals take place on the system, so project activities are captured permanently in an auditable record."

Complex Projects with Accelerated Lifecycles

Apex projects involve feasibility studies, energy output modeling, land acquisition contracts, building permits, legal and financing arrangements, government approvals, design and construction plans, logistics, and materials procurement for wind turbines -- all before actual construction begins. This requires a controlled process for information exchange, review and approval with agencies at all levels of government, law firms, financing sources, contractors, subcontractors, consultants, and suppliers.

Previously, Apex had used an FTP server and email to manage multiparty communications, and its processes were largely manual. Now, the Aconex platform enables project teams to capture, manage, track, and report on all information in one secure place. This helps the company improve efficiency and accuracy by reducing redundancy and errors which are costly and time-consuming to correct.

"Apex provides a prime example of the value that Aconex delivers to the renewable energy segment," said Frank Kopas, general manager of North America at Aconex. "In the case of wind farm development, collaboration is essential from the start, as many stakeholders are involved in the feasibility and permit processes. Once permits have been obtained, the design and construction phases proceed on aggressive schedules so that stakeholders can meet their commitments and maximize return on investment. The Aconex platform enables Apex to collaborate with them during the planning and building cycles, and we look forward to helping the company grow its business across multiple onshore and offshore wind energy projects."

About Aconex

Aconex provides the world's most widely used Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform for managing information, processes and people throughout the lifecycle of construction and engineering projects across multiple industries. The Aconex suite of solutions -- secure, neutral and centralized -- enables project managers to reduce the cost and risk inherent in capital projects of all sizes and improve efficiency, productivity and accountability for all project participants. Aconex has served projects valued at more than US$700 billion, with over 300,000 users. Clients include leading power companies, nine of the world's top ten engineering, procurement and construction (EPC/EPCM) firms, 23 of the 25 leading global design firms, and nearly all Fortune 500 construction and engineering firms. For more information and examples of Aconex in action, see www.aconex.com. Follow Aconex on Twitter at @aconex and on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/aconex.