Recovery of stolen mini excavator within an hour
State-of-the-art tracking devices are enabling plant hire companies and construction companies to recover stolen machinery quicker than ever before. This morning (Tuesday 19th April 2016) a customer of plant tracking specialist AMI Group reported that a Takeuchi Mini Excavator had been stolen overnight from their depot yard in Hull.
Fortunately the Mini Excavator had been fitted with an AMI Nexis GPS (Global Positioning System) tracking system and AMI’s monitoring station was able to utilise the company’s web-based Nexis software portal to establish the exact time of theft, the route taken by the thieves and its current destination.
Using the latest Google mapping and GPS positional information, AMI’s monitoring station advised that the Mini Excavator had been taken just outside the customer’s yard and loaded onto a vehicle before being transported 20 minutes away to Hessle just outside Hull. The Police were immediately notified and attended the site with the customer’s Foreman, leading to the rapid recovery of the Mini Excavator where it was found on some wasteland.
Peter Stockton, Operations Director at AMI Group said: “This recovery really does show the speed with which plant machinery can be returned to its rightful owner if it is fitted with a high performance tracking device. In this case, the Mini Excavator was returned to the customer within an hour of them having reported it as stolen, saving them thousands of pounds and avoiding the inconvenience associated with stolen plant.”
AMI Group 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.