Police have recovered a stolen 7-tonne Scania truck in less than an hour – helped by Quartix vehicle tracking technology.

The valuable HIAB-equipped lorry, operated by Mid-Kent Electrical Engineering of Sittingbourne, was spotted on the A2 near Cobham. Aided by the tracking system, pursuing police were quickly able to intercept it and arrest the driver.

Shaun Stickings, MKE operations manager, said: “This incident just goes to show the value of having such a system in place. The large HIAB lorry is the crown jewel in the fleet of MKE vehicles and represents a significant investment of capital.

“We estimate we would have potentially lost around £30,000 in revenue waiting while a replacement vehicle was fitted to our specifications. So the Quartix vehicle tracking system was invaluable in ensuring that the only party to lose out in the end was the thief himself.”

The weekend theft was discovered by an MKE supervisor, who noticed the security gate’s padlock had been forcibly removed and the lorry was missing. After finding its keys still in the security box he called the company’s site supervisor - who, on his arrival a few minutes’ later, immediately called the police and used the Quartix vehicle tracking system to locate the lorry.

MKE has equipped all its vehicles with Quartix vehicle tracking, including HIAB lorries, low-loaders, and Transit and Connect vans.

Established in 1955, MKE is the South East’s largest independent electrical engineering company.

More about Quartix
Founded in 2001, Quartix (www.quartix.net) has grown to become one of the UK’s most successful vehicle tracking system providers.

Today, more than 3,500 customers across a wide range of sectors – including government organisations, housing associations, construction firms, hospital trusts, the emergency services, SMEs and large British brands – use the online service, while the company’s unique, own-design tracking unit has been installed in more than 55,000 vehicles.

The Quartix system provides users with a fast, efficient, 'point-and-click' source of real-time information, together with tailored e-mail reports. The highly-flexible service has scope to meet the needs of large corporations and owner-managed businesses alike.

For further information contact Andy Kirk on 0870 013 6663, email andy.kirk@quartix.net