Tracking device prevents backhoe theft
JCB Livelink telematic system allows backhoe loader to be recovered
Thieves were thwarted in their attempt to steal a top-of-the-range JCB backhoe loader thanks to the machine being fitted with the JCB LiveLink satellite-tracking device as standard.
The JCB 4CX backhoe loader was stolen from Greenshields JCB’s depot in Hemel Hempstead but was recovered just hours later and due to its JCB LiveLink telematic system, which gives real-time location information.
When Greenshields JCB staff discovered the theft, they logged into JCB LiveLink, which revealed the machine had been driven and parked up four miles away in Abbots Langley, where they promptly recovered the machine.
JCB’s insurance director and general manager Michael Gregory said: ‘Claiming for the theft of a valuable machine like a JCB 4CX would have had a profound effect of any business' insurance renewal premium, so the financial advantages of fitting LiveLink speak for themselves.’
JCB LiveLink provides a telematic link to JCB’s machines which gives customers real-time location information, with curfew and geofence alerts. In addition, it can monitor the health of the machine as well as machine hours and performance.
JCB have taken a very strong stance on machine theft in the UK and Ireland, where every week more than £1 million worth of construction and agricultural machines are stolen, with just eight per cent ever recovered.
During 2011, and under the name JCB Guardian, JCB’s 3CX and 4CX backhoe loaders, side-engine telescopic handlers, and tracked and wheeled excavators will be fitted with both an immobilizer and the LiveLink system.
