News Release from Hewlett Packard - RACC

Press Release : March 08, 2012

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HP to Manage Information Systems for Spain’s Royal Automobile Club of Cataluña

Country’s largest automobile club to boost quality of services offered to members

Topics:Technology and Innovation

BARCELONA, Spain -- Hewlett-Packard s.l. today announced that the Royal Automobile Club of Cataluña (RACC) has signed a five-year agreement for HP Enterprise Services to manage its applications.

Under the terms of the agreement, HP will help the RACC improve efficiency and productivity by transforming the way the organization delivers, manages and measures its IT applications.

The RACC is the largest automobile club in Spain, providing emergency breakdown support to more than 1 million members annually. The organization has 2,000 professionals; a fleet of 2,500 vehicles, aircraft and medical helicopters; and a phone service that remains open 24/7.

HP was selected for its high level of service and quality, which reflects the RACC’s commitment to excellence in the services provided to its members.

”This agreement allows the RACC to increase the quality of its services by maximizing flexibility and adaptability to any potential changes in activity, while improving access to the latest innovations in the technology market,” said Josep Mateu, general manager, RACC.

“The RACC´s membership, insurance, member support and mobile telephony systems use different applications,” said Albert Reichardt, director, Corporate Support, RACC. “HP Enterprise Services will provide our IT team with deeper insight into these applications so we can improve management, optimize costs and drive change within the organization.”

Application-level visibility will improve the RACC’s efficiency as well as the service it provides to its customers. Additionally, it will enable the RACC to align applications spending with business priorities while reinvesting the resulting savings in strategic initiatives and growth.

“In today’s world of instant expectations, an enterprise’s future success depends on optimally managing applications so that IT investments can be shifted from maintenance to innovation,” said Ed Quinn, vice president, Worldwide Applications Development and Management Services, HP. “HP will help increase the RACC’s business agility, optimize application performance and boost productivity.”

To learn more, attend HP’s premier client event, HP Discover, which takes place June 4-7 in Las Vegas.

EPA Orders Corrective Action

News release from EPA:


For Immediate Release:
February 16, 2012
                                                   
EPA ORDERS MISSISSIPPI PHOSPHATES CORPORATION OF PASCAGOULA, MS TO CORRECT PROBLEMS AT THEIR FACILITY

Contact Information: Dawn Harris-Young, (404) 562-8421, harris-young.dawn@epa.gov

ATLANTA – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued an Administrative Order on Consent to Mississippi Phosphates Corporation (MPC) in Pascagoula, MS that requires expedited corrective measures be taken at the facility to ensure the protection of public health and the environment.  EPA issued the order under Section 7003 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which provides statutory authority to address an imminent and substantial endangerment to human health at facilities.

EPA believes that an imminent and substantial endangerment to human health and the environment exists at the facility due to corrosive water discovered by the facility outside the West Stack perimeter dike in January 2011 and September 2011. This order further directs MPC to continue to perform corrective actions that were included in a previous September 2009 Unilateral Order. The 2009 order was issued to MPC due to the EPA’s discovery of uncontrolled leaks and spills of sulfuric acid and untreated discharges from sulfuric acid plants to the adjacent bayou; and uncontrolled spills and leaks of phosphoric acid to unlined ditches at the MPC facility in August 2009.

MPC began operation in the late 1950s and was a subsidiary of Mississippi Chemical Corporation (MCC) from the early 1990’s through 2004. On May 15, 2003, MCC filed for bankruptcy and MPC was acquired by creditors. On December 21, 2004, MPC emerged from bankruptcy and is now owned by Phosphate Holdings, Inc, a publicly traded corporation. MPC manufactures sulfuric acid and phosphoric acid at the site and produces diammonium phosphate (DAP), a phosphate-based fertilizer.

Some of the work required of MPC in the 7003 Order includes: the submission of a revised plan to repair and replace degraded containment around sulfuric acid plants (SAPs); the continued implementation of the groundwater investigative and remediation work plan for the SAPs, DAP plant and construction area southwest of SAPs; daily visual assessment of seepage from west stack perimeter dike; and the submission of a west gypsum stack system improvement plan. As MPC addresses the requirements of this order, the EPA and Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality will continue to work jointly to oversee MPC's compliance with environmental laws, regulations and permits.