AMI System Tracks Down Stolen Mini Excavator

One of AMI’s innovative asset tracking solutions has been used to recover a stolen Kubota Mini Excavator which had been concealed in the outbuilding of a concrete plant in Briton Ferry, South Wales.

The Kubota machine had actually been fitted with two anti-theft devices – AMI’s battery-operated GSM/RF tracking device, as well as a hard-wired system supplied by a competitor. The thieves had managed to effectively remove the hard-wired device and it was AMI’s system which led to the recovery of the stolen plant.

AMI’s monitoring station received a call reporting the theft of the Kubota Mini Excavator. AMI’s web-based, real-time software platform AMI Nexis was used to track the machine within seconds to a remote site in Briton Ferry. AMI’s finder network was immediately despatched to the site and the tracker’s RF signal led the finder to the A48 crossing the River Neath, eventually leading to a remote outbuilding on the site of a concrete plant in Briton Ferry.

Although the outbuilding was surrounded by a metal fence and the thieves had boarded the entrance up with screwed wooden panels, the finder gained access to the building and found the stolen Kubota machine. The customer met AMI on-site and the machine was recovered, all within a matter of hours of the Mini Excavator being reported stolen. AMI is providing support for ongoing police enquiries.

AMI’s Operations Director Peter Stockton said: “Thieves are getting smarter and in this case, they had managed to remove the competitor’s hard-wired system. Due to the compact nature of our tracking device and the fact that it has no external connections, it had been effectively concealed on the asset and the thieves hadn’t managed to find it. Even though the stolen machine was very well hidden in a remote building, we were able to pick up a RF signal and the customer was able to recover their machine on the same day as reporting it stolen.”

AMI offers a number of state-of-the-art tracking solutions and fleet management systems for applications including plant and vehicle tracking. One of the company’s latest innovations is the AMI Nexis AT5, a self-contained, battery operated tracking device which utilises state-of-the-art GPS, GSM and RF technology. Reporting to and visible via the AMI Nexis Software Platform 24/7, the AT5 is lightweight, small sized (21 x 55 x 52mm) and can be concealed almost anywhere on any asset. Via its advanced battery management software, the unit has the capacity to last up to 15 years and it is backed by IP68 waterproof rating, ensuring it is robust and heavily protected. The device has the ability to be traced both outdoors and indoors even in very remote locations. In situations where GPS is unavailable, the device relays GSM cell site positions and the internal RF beacon can be activated to assist in locating stolen assets.