AGC Forms Partnership for Equipment Theft Prevention

At the annual meeting of the International Association of Auto Theft Investigators (IAATI), the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) announced that it has entered into an agreement with the National Equipment Register (NER) for NER to provide its theft prevention and recovery services to AGC’s 33,000 members.

The high value of heavy equipment and the difficulty of securing machines and worksites reportedly make equipment an attractive target for thieves. The cost of replacing stolen equipment, short-term rentals and business interruption directly affect productivity and profitability. Even if insured, the payment of deductibles, uninsured costs and higher premiums can reportedly be significant.

NER provides training and database services to coordinate the efforts of the insurance industry, equipment owners and law enforcement in the fight against heavy equipment theft. NER’s HELPtechSM (Heavy Equipment Loss Prevention Technology) allows equipment owners to quickly, securely and confidentially register equipment with NER.

Through a 24-hour hotline, NER then helps law enforcement identify the owner of any registered equipment – in some cases, even before the owner knows the equipment is missing. To deter theft, a 4″ by 5″ warning decal is affixed to each registered machine that warns a potential thief of the increased likelihood of detection while transporting, storing or selling stolen equipment.

AGC CEO Stephen Sandherr noted, “the problem of theft for our members is a growing concern, particularly with recent increases in the cost of insurance. AGC has worked for years to bring about a coordinated approach by contractors, the equipment industry, insurers and law enforcement and NER provides the technology to take this to the next level.”

For more information about NER and HELPtech, visit www.NERusa.com .