SquareTrade Opens Second U.S. Location in Orlando

ORLANDO, FL--(Marketwired - March 28, 2016) -  Today, Governor Rick Scott announced that SquareTrade^®, a highly rated protection plan trusted by millions of customers, is expanding and opening its second U.S. location in Orlando. The office already has 120 full-time employees and will reach a total of 180 employees by the end of the year. SquareTrade has also made a $546,000 capital investment to the region.

Governor Scott said, "SquareTrade's decision to expand and grow in Orlando is tremendous news for all Floridians and I'm glad they decided to add more jobs in Florida. Their expansion demonstrates that cutting taxes and eliminating regulations is helping Florida become the number one place in the world for jobs."

Since 1999, SquareTrade has protected mobile devices, laptops, tablets and other consumer electronics and applications from drops, spills and the mishaps of its customers' everyday lives. Employees in the Orlando office represent SquareTrade's Customer Experience team, which is devoted to delivering top-notch customer service.

"After an extensive six-month search, we chose Orlando for our next office location because of the city's growing tech community, its business-friendly environment and the quality of the workforce," said Ahmed Khaishgi, CEO of SquareTrade. "As a Silicon Valley company, it was important for us to find a location that had a similar caliber of tech talent. We're committed to growing our presence in Orlando over the next several years."

The expansion was made possible through partnerships among Enterprise Florida, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Orange County, the Orlando Economic Development Commission, CareerSource Florida and Valencia College.

Bill Johnson, President and CEO of Enterprise Florida, said, "SquareTrade's creation of a total of 180 new jobs for Orlando families is great news. By choosing Florida over other competitor states, SquareTrade recognized that Florida was the best place to do business. I look forward to their continued success as we create more opportunities for Floridians."

Cissy Proctor, Executive Director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, said, "I am excited that SquareTrade is the latest tech company to announce its expansion in the Orlando area. Central Florida continues to be a hot spot for tech job creation because of the highly trained workforce and competitive business environment."

"Nurturing our customer-services sector is important for long-term economic diversification and sustained job creation," said Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs. "We are thrilled that SquareTrade has chosen to expand and locate their operations in Orange County. We continue to focus on bringing high-wage, high-value jobs to our community in order to diversify our economy, and this is another great example."

"Business services firms come to our region for our deep, rich and diverse talent pool and low cost business environment and we're very happy to welcome SquareTrade to Orlando," said Orlando EDC Executive Vice President Holly Wiedman.

CareerSource Florida offers performance-based grants for employee training to new or expanding businesses through the FloridaFlex program, formerly known as Quick Response Training.

"CareerSource Florida welcomes SquareTrade to Florida, where our talented workforce and ideal business climate promote growth and prosperity," said CareerSource Florida President and CEO Chris Hart IV. "We are pleased to help support SquareTrade's expansion through training opportunities that will boost employees' skills and enhance the company's competitiveness."

SquareTrade is actively hiring call center specialists and managers, and technical support representatives to join the Customer Experience team in Orlando. To learn more about career opportunities at SquareTrade, visit http://www.SquareTrade.com/jobs.

About SquareTrade

SquareTrade is a highly rated protection plan trusted by millions of happy customers for its fast and exceptional service. SquareTrade protects mobile devices, laptops and tablets, and other consumer electronics and appliances from malfunctions, accidental damage and life's frequent mishaps. Unlike old-fashioned warranties, SquareTrade is designed for today's consumer and uses innovative technology to deliver a zero hassle claims process. SquareTrade has more than 230,000 fans on Facebook, consistently wins industry awards and receives thousands of 5-star reviews for its legendary customer service. Top retailers around the world offer SquareTrade, achieving significant sales growth and happier customers. Privately held, SquareTrade's investors include Bain Capital and Bain Capital Ventures. SquareTrade is headquartered in San Francisco and London. For more information, go to www.SquareTrade.com.

About Enterprise Florida, Inc. (EFI)

Enterprise Florida, Inc. (EFI) is a partnership between Florida's businesses and government leaders and is the principal economic development organization for Florida. EFI facilitates job growth through recruitment and retention, international trade and exporting, promotion of sporting events, and capital funding programs to assist small and minority businesses. EFI recently launched "Florida - The Future is Here" to promote the state as the nation's premier business destination.

About the Orlando Economic Development Commission (EDC)

The Orlando Economic Development Commission (EDC) is a not-for-profit, public-private partnership on a mission to aggressively attract, retain and grow jobs for the Orlando region while advocating, championing, and educating in support of efforts to improve competitive position. The EDC serves Orange, Seminole, Lake and Osceola counties and the City of Orlando -- a region of about 4,000 square miles and 2.2. million people. Since its start in 1977, the EDC, with the support of its community partners, has assisted thousands of companies locate and expand in the four-county Orlando region. For more information, visit www.OrlandoEDC.com.