Los Angeles, CA - 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 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 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 HELPtech^SM (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.”

Since 1985 AGC has sponsored a charitable award with the International Association of Auto Theft Investigators (IAATI) to recognize a law enforcement official for outstanding achievement in the recovery of stolen construction equipment. AGC congratulates each of the worthy nominees and all of the officers who work so hard to help combat equipment theft nationwide. This year's recipient is Lt. Charles Prokupek of the City of Omaha Police Department.  Lt. Prokupek was in charge of an operation which recovered between 2.5 and 3 million dollars worth of equipment in Nebraska and Iowa.  Lt. Prokupek was nominated by the Nebraska Building Chapter of AGC and chose the Children's Hospital Foundation as the recipient of a charitable contribution of $1,500 in his name.

For more information about NER and HELPtech, contact NER at 212-297-1805 or visit www.NERusa.com.

The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) is the largest and oldest national construction trade association in the United States.  AGC represents more than 35,000 firms, including 7,500 of America’s leading general contractors, and over 12,000 specialty-contracting firms.  Over 14,000 service providers and suppliers are associated with AGC through a nationwide network of chapters.  Visit the AGC web site at www.agc.org.  AGC members are "Building Your Quality of Life."