STEVENS POINT, Wis., June 6 /PRNewswire/ -- AIG Travel Guard employeescelebrated the official groundbreaking of their new worldwide headquartersthis morning and were joined by a number of local Stevens Point and PortageCounty leaders, as well as executives from AIG's New York headquarters. Theceremony marked the official start of construction on the new 125,000square-foot AIG Travel Guard world headquarters building, located in theNortheast corner of Interstate 39 and County Highway HH intersection.
The new building will house over 750 current and future AIG Travel Guardemployees from Stevens Point and surrounding areas. 'We are very, very proudto be part of this wonderful organization,' said John Noel, CEO of AIG TravelGuard. 'And we are very proud that AIG is investing in our company and ourcommunity. AIG appreciates the quality, professionalism and enthusiasm of theAIG Travel Guard employees we have here. That's why we are breaking groundfor a new headquarters right here in Stevens Point, Wisconsin.'
Steve Gold, President and Chief Executive Officer, AIG Accident & Health,said that AIG Travel Guard, 'has built an impressive reputation for customerservice.' He added that the new building, 'will support not only the growingbusiness of AIG Travel Guard, but will also provide critical support for otherAIG operations throughout the world.'
In addition to the traditional groundbreaking with shovels, a time capsulecontaining historic Travel Guard mementos was presented for the building'scornerstone.
Construction on AIG Travel Guard's world headquarters is scheduled forcompletion in June 2009. The building is being designed to be anenvironmentally responsible and healthy place to work.
'The building will incorporate many sustainable elements designed tominimize environmental impact, and reduce the depletion of resources includingenergy, water and raw materials,' explained Jeff Rutledge, President, AIGTravel, Inc. 'We will be good stewards of the environment and follow strictguidelines to ensure that our new building receives LEED certification.' TheLEED(R) (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building RatingSystem is the U.S. Green Building Council's national standard for developinghigh-performance, sustainable buildings.
TOLD Development, a Midwest firm that developed the Crossroads CommonsRetail Center, located at the southeast quadrant of I39 and CTH HH in Ploverwill construct and own the facility. Local company, Ellis Stone Construction,will provide design, construction management and general construction servicesfor the project.
AIG Travel Guard is one of America's leading providers of travel insuranceplans for more than 6 million travelers each year. Travel insurance plansthrough AIG Travel Guard are distributed by more than 12,000 travel agentsacross the United States.
AIG Travel Guard is a wholly owned subsidiary of AIG Travel, Inc., amember company of American International Group, Inc. (AIG). AmericanInternational Group, Inc. (AIG), a world leader in insurance and financialservices, is the leading international insurance organization with operationsin more than 130 countries and jurisdictions. AIG companies serve commercial,institutional and individual customers through the most extensive worldwideproperty-casualty and life insurance networks of any insurer. In addition,AIG companies are leading providers of retirement services, financial servicesand asset management around the world. AIG's common stock is listed on theNew York Stock Exchange, as well as the stock exchanges in Paris and Tokyo.
Contact: Dan McGinnity/Carol Mueller AIG Travel Guard dan.mcginnity@aig.com carol.mueller@aig.com 715.345.1041 ext 14850/13050
SOURCE AIG Travel Guard
