US Fleet Tracking Devices Recover Stolen Vehicle and Equipment Worth $280,000

OKLAHOMA CITY (Dec. 30, 2009) – Businesses search for ways to manage their assets more closely and decrease costs in a downed economy. This is exactly what Kirby-Smith Machinery, Inc. did when its owners installed GPS tracking devices on it trucks, allowing the company to recover more than $280,000 of stolen equipment.

The GPS tracking devices and the software to track them were developed by industry leader US Fleet Tracking Corp. The devices communicate their location every second up to every 10 seconds based on the client’s needs, and also provide the ability to play back the travels of a vehicle up to 90 days after-the-fact.

“I originally placed these trackers on all my vehicles as a business productivity tool, to help keep company costs down by making sure my employees were always where they were supposed to be,” said David Baker, vice president of product support for Kirby-Smith. “But the 10-second updates and recorded playback has saved us a lot more money than I ever thought possible.”

According to police reports, Kirby-Smith recovered two of its commercial trucks valued at over $100,000 each. One was stolen from the company’s lot in the Dallas suburb of Seagoville early in the morning of Oct. 19, and driven to a shed where the truck was stripped of nearly $80,000 worth of equipment including welders and air compressors. After the suspects separated the equipment from the vehicle, they drove the truck towards a different location, but were met by law enforcement because Kirby-Smith was able to pinpoint its exact location.

“We’re still amazed at the way our GPS devices and technology impact our clients’ businesses,” said Jerry Hunter, CEO of US Fleet Tracking. “Cases like this serve as a constant reminder of the value we deliver.”

According to Baker, the playback feature of the GPS tracking device allowed them to see not only where the vehicle was, but also that it had spent some time in a different location. Baker recalls the steps he took that morning of the theft.

“When we realized the truck was missing, I immediately logged in to my US Fleet Tracking account to locate the vehicle. We played back the recording from early that morning and noticed that at 6:30 a.m. the truck drove off our lot,” said Baker. “We saw that it stopped for awhile at a barn before it continued to another location. Because we had tracking updates coming every 10 seconds, we phoned the police and gave the exact whereabouts of the truck with its direction and speed and let the authorities take it from there.”

After the apprehension, Baker noticed that the $80,000 in equipment was missing, but thanks to the playback recording a warrant was issued for the barn and the equipment removed from the truck was recovered. It was there that law enforcement discovered equipment from numerous other stolen vehicles, as well.

This is not the only time Kirby-Smith has recovered a stolen 26,000 lbs GV Crane Welder truck using a US Fleet Tracking device. A separate recovery happened in San Antonio, Texas just two months before.

US Fleet Tracking, located in Oklahoma City, is a 20-employee small business nearing its fifth year in existence. The company provides tracking for Super Bowl XLIV, Pro Bowl, 2010 Winter Olympics and the 2010 World Equestrian Games. For more information on US Fleet Tracking, please visit their Web site at https://www.usfleettracking.com for access to a live demonstration with actual moving vehicles.

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