LIMA COMPANY

Challenge

After receiving an unexpected speeding alert one night from NexTraq®—a MICHELIN® group company, Lima Company personnel discovered a service vehicle was stolen from their business after hours.

Philadelphia-based Lima Company had set a NexTraq alert on all its service trucks, which notifies management and supervisors if a vehicle is going faster than 80 mph.

Law enforcement made an arrest and recovered the vehicle with the help from vehicle tracking from NexTraq. Lima Company soon discovered that when the truck was serviced earlier in the day, someone had taken the keys, then returned that night to steal the vehicle.

Solution

With a growing business and a 60-vehicle fleet, Lima Company invested in NexTraq for its affordable and reliable vehicle and asset tracking capabilities. But when a thief stole a company vehicle from its headquarters, company personnel discovered another huge benefit when they were able to log into NexTraq® Web Portal to identify and track the vehicle.

While on the phone with 911, Jenna Collier, Lima Company Executive Assistant and Human Resources Director, was able to provide a location of where the truck was going in real time. She gave turn-by-turn directions to the dispatcher, including when and where the truck was stopped, when it was idling, and in which direction it was headed.

“They [911 dispatchers, highway and K9 units] were really excited about it because they had never had a situation where someone was able to give them second-by-second directions on where a stolen vehicle was going,” Collier explained.

Results

Thanks to Collier and law enforcement’s swift action, Lima Company was able to retrieve the truck later that same night. Each Lima Company service truck contains thousands of dollars of equipment on board. While some equipment inside the stolen vehicle was already gone, the truck itself was undamaged.

More good news was that the company’s cogeneration machine was safe in the back when the truck was recovered.

“That would have been serious, because we would have had to order a new one, which takes months to get,” Collier said. “And we would have lost that business because we couldn’t service our customers.”

After the truck was retrieved and an arrest made, the Lima Company aided the district attorney with the investigation by providing comprehensive NexTraq reports. Because of the step-by-step details provided in those reports, the district attorney could work with the narcotics investigators to determine where the thief had stopped to sell stolen equipment for drugs, helping law enforcement shut down the drug activity in those locations.

“They knew we had video footage,” Collier said. “When I told the detective that I had NexTraq and could give them a second-by-second report on where the thief was the whole time, he looked at me like, ‘you just made my job so much easier.’”

During the call with 911, Collier was on her laptop, but she has since added the NexTraq® View™ mobile appon her phone. As a result, Collier and other Lima Company personnel now have real-time access to their fleet and mobile workforce data in the field, no matter where they are. That benefits the company every day, in addition to an emergency like this one.

“In a situation like this vehicle theft, I don’t know what I would have done if I didn’t have NexTraq,” Collier said. “In the stress of the moment, I couldn’t even remember the vehicle’s license plate number. To be able to log on and just have it right there in the portal made everything so much easier.”

Lima Company plans to expand its workforce soon, adding NexTraq to 10 new trucks. Even after attempts from telematics competitors to woo Lima Company’s business away, the company stayed with NexTraq because of these benefits:

• • Alerts for speeding
  • Cost effectiveness
  • Ability to dispatch closest person to job sites
  • Reporting functions
  • Customer service
  • Responsiveness of account manager

“We’re growing our business and growing our fleets, and we will be putting NexTraq in our new trucks,” Collier said. “While NexTraq has the features we need, it’s also about customer service. I can call our NexTraq account manager at any time, even after hours, and get the help I need. It makes my job easier. Particularly when you have this many people and this many vehicles that you need to track.”

To learn additional information about NexTraq vehicle tracking solutions and how they can benefit your business, contact us online.

ABOUT LIMA COMPANY:

Lima Company has been providing quality, dependable commercial plumbing, HVAC and refrigeration services to businesses and institutions throughout Philadelphia and the Northeast corridor for over 40 years. Starting as a one-man shop in 1976, Lima Company has grown to become one of the most highly respected companies in the commercial plumbing, HVAC and refrigeration markets. The company provides services to food industry, medical facilities, educational institutions, religious organizations as well as building owners and operators. Lima Company’s fully stocked fleet of vans and trucks are available for emergency service 24 hours a day, seven days a week.