When Oldham based plant hire company Mech Plant had their Terex roller stolen they were surprised to watch it make its way to Newcastle docks and onto a ferry bound for Rotterdam.

The Terex roller was stolen from Bolton, but fortunately for its owners, it was fitted with the Satrak plant security system.

Using the Satrak system Bill Kilner, MD of Mech Plant alerted the local police to the rollers location, who swooped just as the ferry was about to sail.

The ferry was loaded and ready to sail when the police arrived at the port, and prevented the ship from sailing. A police team removed the low loader carrying the stolen item and 8 other pieces of plant, and arrested the shocked Dutch driver, who had instructions to head for Poland.

The accuracy of the Satrak system enabled police to know exactly which of the 3 waiting ferries the machine was in.

"Even if the ferry had sailed, Satrak would have been able to keep track of the machine all the way across Europe on street level maps. We have links with Interpol and have recovered several machines on the continent in the last year", commented Alex Ryan of Satrak.

Satrak say they are recovering more items of plant bound for, or already in Europe. "There is a huge demand for cheap machinery in eastern Europe as they experience dramatic growth in construction. It appears that the UK is being targeted to meet this supply", said Alex Ryan of Satrak.