The cross-country recovery operation was triggered when an A-Plant engineer received an out-of-hours call from contractor Houseman and Falshaw reporting the theft of a 12m telehandler from a site in Oldbury, West Midlands.
The engineer clicked the A-Trak system into action and plugged the machine’s location co-ordinates into the company’s internet system to snap an aerial picture of the transport yard where the thieves had hidden the telehandler.
But as the police were put on alert, the crooks hit the road again and from the speed the telehandler was travelling it became clear it had been mounted on a lorry.
The engineer watched as it hurtled down the M6 before the lorry stopped at Watford Gap Services.
At this point the vehicle had not been identified, so the police were unable to use the live information to find the thieves.
Then an A-Plant service centre manager, who by chance was not far from lorry, joined the chase.
Thanks to close communication between A-Plant and Enigma, the third party company running the A-Trak system, the manager located the vehicle carrying the covered machine by being tracked as he drove past it several times.
Enigma could check traffic cameras along the route and deliver real time data from the A-Trak system.
Police finally pulled over the surprised driver and immediately discovered the stolen telehandler.
Asif Latief, A-Plant’s Marketing Director said: “This is a remarkable recovery operation which was only possible due to the power of the A-Trak system and fantastic collaboration between the customer, A-Plant, Enigma and the Police.
“Over 98% of stolen A-Plant equipment protected with A-Trak is recovered, compared to an industry average of just 5-10%. It is just one of the many added value elements we can offer.”
Stuart Falshaw, Managing Director of Houseman and Falshaw said: “In the current economic climate it is reassuring to hire plant we can recover when stolen.
“We have all read about or been targeted by this organised crime and it is pleasing to know the system works.”
