Thieves broke into the premises of a plant dealer in Italy and made off with a brand new JCB midi excavator.
The culprits struck at 2.13am at the depot of dealer MCO in Montacosaro, near Ancona, just hours after the new generation 85Z-1 had been delivered. They jemmied the door of the machine, started its engine, knocked down a section of fence around the dealership and loaded the excavator on to a waiting truck.
The JCB LiveLink telematics system tracked the machine for a short distance until the GPS signal was lost after the machine was loaded into a container. However, the dealer programmed LiveLink to send him an email and text alert when the machine’s engine was next started or the GPS signal returned.
When the engine was started in evening after it was stolen, JCB LiveLink picked up a signal and emailed the dealer, leading to the recovery of the machine 300km away in a barn in the middle of the countryside between Rome and Frosinone.
JCB group telematics manager David Midgley said: “The police were called again and the dealer literally guided them to the exact location of the machine using satellite images collected by JCB LiveLink. This technology is of major benefit to JCB’s customers and has helped recover millions of pounds worth of stolen JCB machinery around the world and helps secure discounts on insurance premiums.”
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