CAT Product Link technology recovers stolen machine in hours
How long does it take to find a stolen machine? Thanks to Cat® Connect LINK technology, Cat dealer RIMCO needed only a few hours to recover a customer’s missing backhoe—avoiding costly and time-consuming insurance claims and preventing significant downtime.
Employees at Desarrolladora JA, Inc., a heavy civil and building construction company based in Isabela, Puerto Rico, arrived at work one morning to discover a rented Cat 416E backhoe missing from their facility. Suspecting theft, they immediately contacted RIMCO, where the dealer service team put Product Link’s fleet management and remote monitoring capabilities to the test.
Knowing the machine was likely still transmitting hours and location data, dealer employees used VisionLinkTM, the web-based user interface, to determine the time it was stolen and identify its last known position. Then, with a printed screenshot of the backhoe’s location in hand, they headed to the site to conduct a thorough search—ultimately finding the machine in a heavily forested area.
“We were able to recover the machine, undamaged, very quickly,” says Emilio Morales, RIMCO service manager. “No real downtime and no insurance costs.”
In fact, Desarrolladora JA, Inc. lost only minimal production time and gained something far more important—peace of mind. The experience convinced the company to install Product Link on its most recent machine purchase from RIMCO.
