AMRCON Manages Build-Out for Relocation of Large Trading Floor

SCS Commodities, the largest independent floor and OTC energy broker on the NY Mercantile Exchange, has trusted AMRCON to manage its IT support since 2008.  So, when executives at SCS decided to move to a larger space, they called upon AMRCON’s expertise to manage the build-out process of its IT infrastructure and data center solutions.

“There are so many issues that must be thoroughly examined when moving any business from one location to another,” said Dee Rudko, CEO of AMRCON.  “But, when you’re talking about moving the highly technical and sensitive aspects of a trading floor with no disruption in business, it is extremely complex.”  SCS is moving from a 6,000 square foot space to a 19,000 square foot space with 103 trading seats to accommodate the company’s current 65 traders and allow for future growth.

Luckily for SCS, Rudko and his partners at the Schneider Electric and American Power Conversion (APC) have handled the project management for many build-outs, with particular experience working with financial companies.  Preliminary planning for the SCS build-out began in November of 2009, and the first phase of the build-out just started mid-October.

To coordinate all the electrical and teledata needs for the new location, AMRCON called in Schneider Electric, the world leader in energy management.  Schneider Electric is well-known for working for high-end security companies like those in the financial, educational, and healthcare industries.  Joe Metcalfe at Schneider is managing the first phase of the build-out.

“We’ve just begun the demolition work on the floor,” said Metcalfe.  “We are pulling old wiring and beginning to set-up the electrical and teledata needs for all of the trading desks on the floor.  This process should take about six weeks, and then once the floors and walls get put into place, the project gets handed over to APC.”

APC, a subsidiary of Schneider Electric, is the industry leader in developing and building the physical infrastructure to support critical data needs.  On the SCS project, Andrew Conte of APC, is managing the data center design for the new trading floor.

“Once the electrical and teledata are ready, and the walls and floors are built, then we will come in and build the data center,” said Conte.  To support such a large trading floor, the data center itself will be quite big, requiring 800 square feet of space alone.  And, it will feature the latest in green technology to reduce energy waste and save money.

In terms of the green initiatives, the SCS data center will feature UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) technology developed by APC that will create 96% efficiency on a 36% load, compared to older technology that can only create 75% efficiency on a 36% load.  “So, SCS will realize huge energy savings on their power consumption,” said Conte.  “But, they’ll also be saving on the cooling side because we will install row and rack-based closed couple cooling.”

Row and rack-based closed couple cooling, invented by APC, enables a data center to receive the proper cooling it needs by cooling row by row rather than cooling an entire room.  “Energy is wasted when a room is over-cooled or under-cooled,” said Conte.  “With our unique cooling system, we will be dedicating the cooling to exactly where it is needed, thereby saving energy and reducing energy costs.  It is also scalable, which means that in the future if SCS finds it needs more capacity, we can always add it.  We call it, ‘pay as you grow’ technology,” said Conte.

“We anticipate a seamless move with absolutely zero downtime,” Rudko said.  The SCS build-out will continue through the rest of the year, with a projected move date of February, 2011.