RECORD ATTENDANCE AND TWO IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS AT 5th ANNUAL CITS CONFERENCE

CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY UNITES TO TACKLE CRIME

A record number of delegates attended the fifth annual Construction Industry Theft Solutions (CITS) conference which was held on Tuesday November 3rd at the JCB world headquarters in Staffordshire. 160 delegates attended the conference along with 16 exhibitors from some of the leading suppliers of plant security products, plant hire and service providers. The conference, which was sponsored by Datatag ID Limited the power behind the CESAR scheme, had wide support from The Home Office, the police service, the Construction Plant-hire Association and leading insurance providers. 14 presentations were made to the delegates including a specially recorded ‘video’ from Alan Campbell the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at The Home Office and the Crime Reduction Minister. 

Reflecting its status, as the premier event in the construction security world, two major announcements were made at the conference by JCB and the Construction Equipment Association. 

Yvette Henshall-Bell, UK & Ireland Sales Director, announced that JCB has become the first excavator manufacturer to achieve a three star Thatcham security rating. The company has taken a lead in the fight against plant crime, achieving the three star rating on all its wheeled and tracked excavators and on its popular 801 and 8020 mini excavators. Throughout the first six months of 2010, JCB will expand this market leading security initiative to include all of its mini and midi excavators above one tonne operating weight. Yvette was presented with the official Thatcham certificates by Dave Rasmussen of The Home Office. 

The Construction Equipment Association, owners of the CESAR® trademark, announced that it had concluded an agreement with the Agricultural Engineers Association whereby the AEA will adopt the CESAR scheme as their official equipment security and registration scheme. Yvette Henshall-Bell, on behalf of the CEA, and Roger Lane-Nott, Chief Executive of the AEA, signed the agreement during the conference. 

Roger Lane-Nott had this to say after the agreement was signed: I’m delighted to be putting our weight behind the official CESAR® scheme which gives the agricultural industry and the police the upper hand in fighting organised criminals that target agricultural equipment. CESAR® is a powerful deterrent against machinery theft and it gives farmers, contractors and the police ‘state of the art’ identification technology that significantly increases the chances of identification and recovery in the event of theft. Organised and opportunistic equipment theft is a real issue in the agricultural market and it’s not acceptable, in this day and age, to have criminals targeting hard working farmers and their families. CESAR® has proved to be both a deterrent and a powerful aid in recovery in construction and it’ll work in agriculture too. Pressure from insurers and the police will drive adoption very quickly”. 

The CITS conference is widely regarded as an excellent example of an industry working together to tackle a problem which is estimated to cost the construction industry up to £900m per annum. Leading insurance providers are pushing for further action from manufacturers, hire companies and contractors. 

ENDS

Image(s) © 2009 Dark Arts Marketing Limited. Permission for reproduction in connection with this press release is granted.

Issued by Dark Arts Marketing Limited on behalf of the CITS Board.

Contact, John Bradley. [email protected]  01332 856323 or 07872 600 868

Or Faye Coton. [email protected] 01332 856999 or 07855 053081

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