Datatag Latest News
CESAR's ITALIAN CONQUEST, CAT DEALER CGT ADOPTS CESAR IN ITALY
CESAR, the world’s leading equipment security scheme, has made a major step forward in its plans for international expansion with the announcement that CGT (COMPAGNIA GENERALE TRATTORI S.p.a.), the exclusive Caterpillar dealer in Italy, will fit CESAR to Cat machines sold in Italy from January 2014.
Equipment theft is a huge problem across Europe with organised criminals preying on the ill-prepared and the unwary. Insurance industry estimates put the total cost of equipment theft at over €7 billon p.a.
Commenting on the announcement Datatag ID Limited Managing Director Kevin Howells said, “We’re delighted that at the end of a long process CGT has adopted CESAR in Italy. To have 2 such prestigious brands as CGT and Cat using CESAR is a real coup. This announcement is the result of a real team effort that includes our Italian representatives Mechanical Line Solutions, the CEA and our own team.”
Since its launch in 2007 a succession of leading manufacturers, including John Deere, Massey Fergusson, JCB, Merlo and Manitou, have adopted CESAR. Finning, the UK’s Cat dealer, announced the fitment of CESAR to Cat machines in February 2010. Commenting at the time UK Sales Support Manager Tim Ballard said: “Finning has recognised that deterring plant theft is an important consideration for the industry as a whole and therefore we have acted on recent advice from a number of sources to implement this step.”
CESAR is acknowledged, by the police, to have had a significant impact on equipment theft and recovery in the UK. Not only has CESAR reduced the rate of theft it has also increased the rate of recovery. According to Metropolitan Police statistics CESAR registered machines are 4 times less likely to be stolen and 6 times more likely to be recovered than unregistered machines. Less than 1% of CESAR registered machines have been stolen and nearly 30% have been recovered, compared to less than 5% before CESAR was introduced. CESAR has also helped the police and other official bodies reduce the overall rate of equipment theft in the UK, which is reported by the police to be 47% down in 2013 compared to 2010. The adoption of CESAR by CGT is a very positive step to reduce equipment theft in Italy.
The agreement between CESAR and CGT was negotiated by Datatag’s representatives in Italy, Milan based Mechanical Line Solutions. The announcement is the result of long campaign mounted by Datatag to expand the use of CESAR outside the UK. Datatag has exhibited at Bauma in Munich and Intermat in Paris as a part the CEA’s ‘British Pavillion’ in the past and will be in Las Vegas for Conexpo 2014 as part of an on-going drive.
This news comes hot on the heels of the announcement of a new CESAR construction and agricultural provenance check service. The new service is simple and quick and provides an instant on-screen report about a machine’s potential ‘hidden history’ helping users of the service avoid buying stolen or cloned machines or one under one or more finance agreements.
For more information go www.cesarscheme.org
