Firm tracked stolen van with innovative app
A business owner was able to track his stolen van throughout a 167km drive, watching it hit top speeds of 150kph, before alerting gardaí who found the culprit using a Cork firm's innovative GPS technology.Founders of unique tracking device for farm and business equipment Traxsit, Cork entrepreneurs Luke O'Mahony and Conor Walsh, said the business owner's experience had been a real-time demonstration of how effective it was.
Hayes Cabin and Caravan Services in Owenahincha, West Cork, had just weeks before signed a deal with Traxsit to fit tracking devices to several of their fixed and mobile assets, including the van that would be stolen.
Able to log in to the Traxsit app on the phone, the business owners could see exactly where the van was and alert gardaí, who then intercepted the stolen vehicle and returned it.
Traxsit co-founder Conor Walsh said: "While we never want to see our clients having their assets stolen like this, it does highlight the effectiveness of our solution and the pace at which assets can be recovered and criminals prosecuted."
He said Traxsit was able to see from the tracker data, the exact route the thief took – travelling all over Cork, hitting "incredible speeds" at times.
"We can even see that they stopped 11 times in total – one of which was to buy diesel," Mr Walsh said.
161Km Route
Traxsit was setup in 2019 by the two entrepreneurs, who participated in the UCC Ignite programme, which nurtures business ideas to commercial reality.
The idea for Traxsit came from research that showed more than €21,500 worth of machinery stolen from construction sites in Ireland each day.
Some 21 farm thefts are reported to the gardaí each week and 92% of stolen machinery goes unrecovered in Ireland, according to the firm.
Traxsit's tracking and management systems are designed to fully cover both powered and non-powered assets, with installation possible regardless of power source.
Irish Examiner, Wednesday, June 10, 2020 - 03:29 PM
https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/firm-tracked-stolen-van-with-innovative-app-1004470.html