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Over £1m worth of plant stolen is every week across the UK and Ireland, according to the company, and just 5% is ever recovered. It said that the move will protect thousands more machines against theft and reduce insurance premiums on them by up to 45%.
The 801 mini excavators were the first to be fitted with the immobilisers in 2010 and the security devices have gradually been rolled out to the rest of the range, culminating now in the final three models, the 8025, 8030 and 8035ZTS machines.
This means all of JCB’s 16-machine mini and midi excavator line-up - from the 1.5-tonne 8014CTS model up to the 8-tonne 8085ZTS - now have the new immobiliser. It is available as either a key transponder immobiliser or a key pad punch button pin system, depending on customer preference.
“This latest announcement is another clear signal of our commitment in the on-going fight against plant theft in the UK,” said JCB’s UK & Ireland sales director Yvette Henshall-Bell. “JCB’s development of a 3-star Thatcham approved immobiliser and decision to fit it as standard across our mini and midi excavator range sends a clear message to our customers. We will continue to invest in measures to help protect their businesses and reduce the cost of owning JCB equipment.”
Thatcham - the motor insurance repair research centre - is a non-profit organisation created and funded by the UK motor insurance companies to develop nationally recognised standards for security equipment. Its endorsement of a product has a significant impact on insurance rates for equipment. To obtain approval, machines fitted with this immobiliser system have been subjected to a 15 minute attack test as well as demonstrating compliance with a number of other stringent requirements, such as limiting the number of attempts to enter a code and the duration of the ‘restart window’ after a machine is stopped.
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