The recovery began when AMI Group’s customer reported the theft of a 3 Ton Caterpillar Digger. It had been stolen, along with a Terex Dumper and a JCB 2CX Airmaster Backhoe Loader, collectively worth £75,000. The Caterpillar machine was the only item protected with a tracking device, in this case a battery operated system which utilised both GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) and RF (Radio Frequency) technology.
AMI’s monitoring station immediately logged onto the company’s web-based Nexis software portal and established a cell site location on a remote country road in Oulton, Leeds. The customer was notified and AMI Group dispatched a finder to the area in question to try and help retrieve the stolen equipment. Due to the remote nature of the location, it proved difficult for the finder to gain a RF signal when they arrived at the location identified, but the monitoring station kept in contact and advised a new cell site location around 1.5 miles away. When the finder arrived at the second location, the RF frequency identified that the machine was at a residential address. The Caterpillar machine had been moved from one location to another whilst the finder was driving to the first area identified.
The finder arrived at the residential address in question and found the 3 Ton Caterpillar Digger on the back of a trailer in the driveway, along with the Terex Dumper and the JCB 2CX. It transpired that the person who owned the property worked for the company that leased the Digger. All three machines had been taken without their knowledge and were successfully recovered the same day.
Peter Stockton, Operations Director of AMI Group said: “Not only did this recovery lead to the customer getting back the equipment which was tracked, it also led to the recovery of two other machines which didn’t have any tracking devices installed. It saved the customer tens of thousands of pounds and avoided the inconvenience associated with stolen plant as the machines could go back out on hire the following day.
“At AMI Group, we utilise a private APN system which detects the strongest network signal available and sends its data using the best available network. This ensures optimal coverage and helps to eliminate black spots and loss of coverage. This recovery showed the huge benefit of our tracking devices incorporating an inbuilt RF beacon as it was activated to emit a radio signal which was detected by the finder,” he continued.