FOILING SCRAP METAL THIEVES WITH SECURETRAC
23 March 2011
An innovative logistics security company has developed a unique long-life monitoring system to combat the problem of scrap metal thefts from unpowered road containers - which could significantly reduce insurance costs for transport companies and act as a major deterrent to thieves.
Award-winning SecureSeal Systems Ltd, part of the OEM Group and a leader in sealing and location tracking for road transport, is piloting a unique access control monitoring system with Eric Mattheeuws Transport as a solution for preventing thefts from unpowered trailer containers.
Integrated with a SecureTrac GPS tracking device, the wireless system is self-powered for over three years of continuous use and sends an immediate alert via low earth orbit satellite of any security breach to the Mattheeuws’ containers.
With a pre-collected and packaged load of this valuable commodity, scrap metal containers are an easy target and hauliers are desperate for a secure, reliable system of tracking vehicles and monitoring any indication that a theft may be underway such as deviation from an expected activity.
SecureSeal managing director, Cameron Grant, said: “We’ve been working very closely with Eric Mattheeuws over several months to produce the ultimate solution for the difficult challenge that scrap metal theft from containers presents to haulage companies. What we have developed is the most advanced self-powered monitoring system available in the world.”
Around 80 percent of Eric Mattheeuws’ business is transporting scrap metal with load values ranging from £5,000 up to £150,000 for a container full of copper. Fitting SecureSeal’s RF access sensors in the firm’s 130 trailers reassures Matheeuws’ customers by monitoring the company’s cargo from pick-up to drop off points. The additional security this provides will also give the company a competitive edge over its rivals and lead to lower insurance premiums.
Theft of valuable metals such as copper is a worldwide problem, frequently undertaken by organised criminal gangs rather than opportunists, and SecureSeal believes its new tracking device can help in the fight against this crime, and thereby save road haulage, and insurance, companies millions of pounds.
Innovation is the name of the game for SecureSeal, who won the Enfield Innovator’s Award for 2010 for ground-breaking development work on a global satellite-based tracking and tamper alert security device for the protection of worldwide shipping containers.
This accolade followed a previous DTI Innovation Award for SecureSeal Systems’ flagship product SecureSeal, and recognises the company’s commitment to making the transportation of goods on the highways and sea lanes safer through continued product development in the field of logistics security.