New CESAR website helps tackle plant theft

CESAR – the Construction Equipment Security and Registration initiative – has further strengthened its profile with the launch of a dedicated website that provides a unique information resource for CESAR dealers and both current owners and future buyers of construction plant.

Already, the Home Office-backed industry-wide initiative by the Plant Theft Action Group (PTAG) has generated considerable interest in its UK-wide campaign to stamp out construction plant theft, estimated to be running at an annual total of £100 million, with minimal recovery.

The new website has been designed to be search engine and user-friendly and easy to navigate, linking directly to CESAR, which is promoted by the Construction Equipment Association and operated by Datatag, a European market leader in security identity systems.

The site incorporates regular news updates and downloads and a Links/Support page to partner websites, including JCB, Terex and Pirtek. A special feature is the Stolen Equipment Register, with a ‘hot-button’ link for posting details of stolen equipment direct to the 24h call centre. The CESAR range of fitments/products is also detailed on the site.

CESAR can be easily applied to any item of plant to provide secure and permanent identification. After each installation is completed, a prominent CESAR registration plate is affixed to deter theft or vandalism.

Ken Bainbridge, chairman of the CEA Approvals Committee and a director of JCB, said: ‘As an OEM, JCB have every confidence in CESAR and we fit it as standard in every item of plant and construction machinery we manufacture. We believe that the introduction of the CESAR scheme has enhanced plant security and materially reduced the incidence of theft and it has our full support.’

Datatag director Kevin Howells added: ‘The tremendous response to the CESAR initiative will be further enhanced with the launch of the website. Companies whose plant is CESAR registered are far less likely to get their equipment stolen, but if the worst happens, recovery is far more likely. This is another significant advance in the campaign to combat UK plant theft.’

CESAR domains include: www.cesarscheme.org; cesarscheme.com; and cesarscheme.co.uk. There is also a dedicated hotline phone number: 08450 700 440.