LoJack Signals Recover Bobcat Skid-steer Loader and Premier Water Pump

LoJack reported that its most recent recoveries include a Bobcat skid-steer loader stolen out of Colorado and returned undamaged twice, as well as a Premier Water Pump worth $60,000 recovered in Miami.

Michael Roth

July 1, 2016

2 min read

LoJack signals go beyond telematics because the machine doesn39t have to be running to activate the signal LoJack says — LoJack signals go beyond telematics because the machine doesn't have to be running to activate the signal, LoJack says.

When the owners of a Bobcat skid-steer loader reported the theft of the unit, they were not sure of the date of the incident. However, once the LoJack signal was activated, the Broomfield Police Department in Colorado recovered it quickly, marking the second time the same machine had been stolen and recovered in working order.

When the 2015 Premier Water Pump was reported stolen, the Miami-Dade police tracked the silent LoJack signal via helicopter. Police requested backup from colleagues in the area and multiple K-9 units that were training nearby responded quickly and were able to assist. The LoJack tracker led police to private farm land, where they discovered both the stolen water pump and a John Deere “Gator” unit that had previously been reported stolen. The suspect was taken into custody and the machines were recovered.

This particular equipment recovery highlights the value of installing advanced tracking devices beyond GPS-telematics systems. The water pump had a GPS device installed, but police were not able to track the GPS signal because the pumps was not in operation, and therefore not providing power to the GPS. The added layer of tracking technology was the key in the case.

The most recent construction theft report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau and the National Equipment Register suggests the total value of heavy equipment stole in 2014 was close to $300 million.

About the Author

Michael Roth

Editor

Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.