CESAR equipment security and registration scheme marks its 15-year anniversary

For 15 years the CESAR scheme has been protecting construction plant equipment from theft and is the UK’s official construction and agricultural equipment security and registration scheme of the CEA (Construction Equipment Association), promoted by the AEA (Agricultural Engineers Association and powered by Datatag Id Ltd.

Established in 2007, it is the only scheme of its kind which incorporates a database of ownership, allowing stolen machinery to be identified and returned to its rightful owner.

May 2006 saw a major initiative in the campaign to stamp out crime in the construction industry when more than 20 companies were invited to tender to the Plant Theft Action Group to implement a unique security and registration scheme – a first for the sector.

Datatag – the European market leader in security identity systems within the Motorcycle, ATV, Scooter, Trailers, Boats, IT, Cycle, Jet Ski and Construction and Plant sectors – underwent a rigorous tendering and selection process before a final submission to the Construction Equipment Association and was announced as the winning company in November 2006.

CESAR was first launched at the Combined Industries Theft Solutions (CITS) conference held at JCB's Rocester HQ in 2007, with the agricultural sector coming on board in 2009. Since its launch CESAR has been adopted by a 'who's who' of leading equipment manufacturers including Caterpillar, Hitachi, John Deere, New Holland, Massey Ferguson, Volvo, Komatsu, Hyundai, Takeuchi, JCB, SANY, Manitou and Merlo.

To date, 550 thousand items of equipment have been marked with the unique multi-layered technology to give each machine a unique identity. The universally recognised triangular CESAR registration plate has become the industry standard identification mark. CESAR marking of construction and agricultural machinery has contributed significantly to a decline in thefts since the scheme was first launched.

Recovery rates of CESAR-registered equipment are significantly higher than non-registered machines and official statistics confirm that a machine protected and registered by the CESAR Scheme is approximately four times less likely to be stolen than a non-registered machine and approximately six times more likely to be recovered.

The scheme is also recognised by Police, Law Enforcement, Border and Port Authorities as a result of the accurate machinery data recorded by Datatag and the CESAR Scheme.

Kevin Howells, Managing Director, Datatag, said “The last 15 years has been one of the most difficult and challenging periods ever recorded, particularly the last five years. During this time I have constantly been impressed and grateful for the support of the CEA, the AEA and the fantastic dedicated team at Datatag, who have helped make the Official CESAR Scheme a World leading Security initiative. Now, with the development of Emissions Compliance Verification, it’s helped to gain the support of virtually all of the major OEMs protecting and registering equipment for their valued customers, which now surpasses half a million machines. So thank you to all of the participating customer focussed manufacturers and here’s to the next 15 years.”

Ruth Bailey, Director General/CEO, AEA (Agricultural Engineers Association) said “Theft of agricultural machinery is in nobody’s interest, except for the criminals, who are often part of organised criminal networks. As well as the financial costs involved, it is also incredibly disruptive to farmers and other users of machinery, who rely on it to look after livestock and grow crops. The AEA supports any initiative which reduces theft. CESAR has proved itself over the last 15 years to be a very effective deterrent and we see it going from strength to strength as it reaches this milestone.”

Suneeta Johal, Chief Executive, CEA (Construction Equipment Association) commented on CESAR reaching its 15-year anniversary, “Unfortunately we will never entirely stamp out plant theft, it’s a sad fact of life, particularly in the current economic climate. The CESAR scheme is amongst the few proven plant theft deterrents and has excellent recovery rates. Reaching this 15-year milestone and 550 thousand registrations is a testament to its success. We look forward to the next milestone of 1 million machines displaying the familiar CESAR triangle.”

In 2013 Datatag launched Micro CESAR – a theft system for small tools and equipment. Insurers, manufacturers and industry bodies had raised the issue of small tool theft, and Micro CESAR was the response from Datatag and the CEA.

Featured News

Introducing the upgraded Toro Reelmaster 5010-H

New for this year, the industry's first and only fairway mower...
...Read More

John Deere introduces new 5M tractor

Available with new transmissions and integrated AutoTrac...
...Read More



Directory

Latest Products

Aspen 4 -

By Aspen


Aspen 4 is alkylate petrol without oil –...

Aspen 2 -

By Aspen


Aspen 2 is alkylate petrol premixed at 50:1 with a...

Arborist 150 -

By GreenMech


The popular Arborist 150 is a simple-to-use and...

VIDEOS

WRT Video Winton FTS -

By Farm Tech Supplies Ltd


Introducing the Foamstream L12 -

By Weeding Technologies


Movember x Turf Tank - 2022 -

By Turf Tank