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Washington D.C.—The American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) announced it has entered into a partnership with National Equipment Register (NER) to help ARTBA members combat the growing problem of heavy equipment theft.
NER maintains a national database of stolen heavy equipment. NER is staffed by equipment specialists, who assist the insurance industry, equipment owners and law enforcement agencies in the fight against heavy equipment theft.
Heavy equipment theft costs owners and insurers as much as $1 billion each year. Only 10 percent of stolen equipment is ever recovered. Equipment owners can help protect their assets by registering their equipment with NER.
At the March 2002 CONEXPO-CON/AGG, NER will launch HELPtechSM (Heavy Equipment Loss Prevention Technology) which will provide a cost-effective way for owners to securely and confidentially register an item with NER online at www.NERusa.com.
Once an item is registered, owners are sent high quality 4" x 5" decals that signal to potential thieves that the item is registered in a national database and they are likely to be caught when storing or selling the item.
Using NER, owners can amend fleet details online to maintain a cost-effective inventory management system. Fleet owners can also download and update fleet schedules electronically.
Police and customs officers investigating suspicious equipment have 24-hour access to NER’s Police hotline to identify the true owner. In January 2002 NER recovered a Case 450D dozer before the owner even knew that the item was missing.
"Equipment theft is a serious problem to our member companies and agencies, " ARTBA President and CEO, Pete Ruane said. "A coordinated approach that includes the owner, insurers and law enforcement is long overdue."
NER also allows owners to securely report thefts via the internet, significantly increasing the chance of recovery.
In the second quarter of 2002, equipment buyers and distributors will be able to match used equipment against the NER database prior to purchase to ensure the item has not been stolen. This reduces the risk of subsequent title disputes, will help recover stolen equipment, and will make it harder for thieves to sell stolen equipment.
Through the partnership, ARTBA members will receive substantial discounts off the subscription fee for this service, a real savings!. To receive your special ARTBA-only discount code, members should contact the ARTBA office at 202/289-4434, ext. 181 or via email at btilahun@artba.org.
For more information about these services, contact NER at 212-297-1805 or go to www.NERusa.com.
ARTBA, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, represents the U.S. transportation construction industry in the Nation’s Capital.
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