Komatsu's Komtrax satellite tracking system has once again foiled the best efforts of thieves by tracking down a missing excavator within thirty minutes of it being reported stolen
A Komatsu PC30MR-3 excavatorbelonging to Sydney-based civilconstruction firm GMW was stolenfrom a work site in the Sydneysuburb of North Strathfield, NSWon November 18, 2011.The machine's operator reportedthe theft at 10am to GMWconstruction manager MartyHunter, who then contactedKomatsu and local police.
Thirty minutes later KomatsuKOMTRAX administrators indicated to Marty Hunter the preciselocation of the excavator, andkept him up-to-date of its trackingprogress via email.
The excavator was found in asmall car park in Homebush, NSW,only a short distance from whereit was stolen.
Marty said that although thieveshad already partly stripped theexcavator, without KOMTRAX hewould not have had a machine toinspect at all.
"They had removed all thecompany logos, and removed thebuckets, but with KOMTRAX wewere able to locate the machinevery quickly and before the thieveshad a chance to return," he said.
"In the end, The main thing wasthat the excavator was foundquickly and we didn't have toreplace it.
"I am extremely impressed withhow KOMTRAX worked so fastwand efficiently."
KOMTRAX uses a network ofglobal positioning satellitesto indicate where an enabledmachine is located.
It also keeps track of themachinery's operational informationand determines its productivity on a
daily basis.
In addition, the KOMTRAX systemcan be tailored to provide instantnotifications, including area position,security, fuel levels, abnormalities,cautions and maintenance.KOMTRAX hardware is standardon all new Komatsu machines,
with the satellite-tracking functionavailable as a subscription serviceto customers.