Vale Selects Oniqua Enterprise Analytics to Manage Inventory Initiatives Across Brazilian Operations

    BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA, March 03, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Oniqua Enterprise Analytics (www.oniqua.com), a leading provider of analytics-based Asset Performance Management solutions, today announced that Vale (www.vale.com) has chosen Oniqua Analytics Suite (OAS) to manage its strategic inventory management initiatives across its operations in Brazil. Vale successfully went "live" with Oniqua OAS in December 2009.

With over 60,000 employees in more than 30 countries across five continents, Vale is the world's leading producer of iron ore, and a major producer of nickel, manganese, kaolin, aluminum, potassium, copper and coal. Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, the global pioneering mining company implemented Oniqua's OAS across its Brazilian operations to support its inventory management initiatives, which include the production of copper, iron ore and potassium; and the management of port and railroad facilities and power generation plants.

"Vale tirelessly searches for opportunities to achieve new standards of excellence in the mining industry," stated Fabio Cerqueira, General Manager of Stock Management, Shared Services Operations, Vale in Rio de Janeiro. "As Vale has grown, we realized our legacy systems were not sufficiently robust to support the growing demands of our business initiatives. After an extensive research and testing process, we found Oniqua Analytics Suite to be the best choice on the market to meet our needs and demands. Oniqua's analytics solution is extremely important to Vale, and the Oniqua team's outstanding industry and functional expertise plays an integral role in the company's total solutions approach."

Oniqua's analytics solutions are currently used by the world's leading companies in the oil and gas, mining, utilities and transportation industries, including ConocoPhillips, BP, Hawaiian Electric, Orange County Transportation Authority, Vale, Rio Tinto, Anglo Coal, BHP Billiton, Newmont Mining, Alcoa, Xstrata and Freeport McMoRan.

"Our partnership with Vale is further validation of Oniqua's leadership position in providing analytics-based Asset Performance Management solutions to the global mining industry," stated Lindsay Clarke, President, North and South American Operations, Oniqua. "We were faced with a variety of innovative business requirements and aggressive timelines by the Vale Inventory Management group, and I'm extremely proud of the efforts that the Oniqua and Vale teams put forth to successfully achieve Vale's business goals in a short timeframe."

An important aspect of the Oniqua implementation included seamlessly integrating OAS with Vale's existing Oracle ERP system and other infrastructure applications. The ability to leverage and dynamically improve data from customers' ERP and EAM systems is a key value-add of OAS, which is underscored by Sid Snitkin, Vice President and General Manager, ARC Advisory Group, in his recent research note entitled Oniqua Manages MRO the Right Way:

"OAS can be a valuable complement to your investment in ERP and EAM systems. It can enable you to extract additional value from the information you are already collecting and return this through higher asset availability and lower costs. Oniqua's experience indicates that most companies can experience an ROI of 100-400 percent and payback as fast as three-to-six months. While every case is unique, the potential for such benefits should put OAS on the radar of every asset-intensive organization."

About Oniqua Enterprise Analytics
Headquartered in Brisbane, Australia, and with offices in North America, Africa and Asia, Oniqua (www.oniqua.com) provides best-in-class Asset Performance Management (APM) solutions that improve the operational efficiencies and business performance of asset-intensive organizations. With advanced analytics capabilities, cross-functional integration, data cleansing services and seasoned industry expertise, Oniqua helps customers realize tangible benefits faster than any other APM provider. Oniqua is proud to serve the world's leading companies in the oil and gas, mining, utilities and transportation industries, including ConocoPhillips, BP, Hawaiian Electric, Orange County Transportation Authority, Vale, Rio Tinto, Anglo Coal, BHP Billiton, Newmont Mining, Alcoa, Xstrata and Freeport McMoRan.

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