Newton, Wales -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/16/2012 -- Thieves' violent attempt to hijack a security-equipment company's van has been foiled by Quartix vehicle tracking.

Driver Roger Hirsch was in slow-moving traffic in Hoe Street, Walthamstow, when he a felt a sudden bump from behind. Leaping from his cab, he was shoved roughly to the ground by one thief while a second slipped behind the wheel and sped off.

Shocked but otherwise unhurt, Hirsch quickly called his boss at Delta Security, urging him to check the company's vehicle tracking system.

Dave Mundy, the London firm's operations manager, said: "I ran to my laptop, logged on to our Quartix vehicle tracking system and entered the registration number of Roger's van. A few seconds later I could see a map with the van clearly marked and showing it was travelling along the North Circular from Walthamstow towards Edmonton.

"I dialled 999 on the landline and asked for the police."

Mundy explained the situation to them and said he was tracking the Ford Transit online and could explain exactly where the vehicle was.

Mundy was able to tell them when the van left the North Circular and entered High Road, Tottenham and the precise time it turned into a yard.

"The Quartix tracking system showed the van to be stationery with the ignition off. The time was 9.59pm. At 10.01 the first police car arrived on the scene with a second car arriving a minute later," he said.

The police told him the vehicle was found locked, unoccupied and undamaged, although the hijackers – including, possibly, a third man who had earlier driven the thieves' get-away car – appeared to have fled after hearing the police cars' sirens.

Now, following forensic analysis, the van is back with Delta Security: and the only thing missing – Roger Hirsch's personal phone.

Mundy added: "If it hadn't been for the Quartix vehicle tracking system and the quick actions of the police I've no doubt the story would have ended quite differently, with a stripped-out van being torched in an alley.

"As it is, after replacing the van's locks Roger is providing a normal service. Quartix is a great vehicle tracking system and assists with efficiency, fuel consumption, congestion charges and vehicle recovery."

Delta Security, which is celebrating 50 years in business this year, has equipped its entire service fleet of 14 vehicles, including Transits, VW Transporters and Toyota Hiaces, with Quartix vehicle tracking.

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Some vehicle tracking suppliers are asking customers to raise credit finance to bolster their own cash-flow, believes Andy Walters, managing director of Quartix Ltd

Newton, Wales -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/13/2012 -- The use of asset finance for vehicle tracking systems dates from the nineties, when the tracking systems could cost £1000 or more to buy. Leasing made sense to both customers and suppliers alike, as the cost could be spread over anything up to 5 years and the tax benefits of taking it as an operating cost instead of depreciation were significant. But during the credit boom some tracking companies took this financing model a step further and included the service charges for the contract in the amount to be financed. This had the potential to double the pay-out to the tracking company – to anything up to £2000 per unit.

At Quartix http://www.quartix.co.uk we also used asset finance in the early days, but only for the value of the tracking system: we collected service charges either directly from the client, by direct debit, or through the lease company. These service charges would typically be £11 per month per vehicle, and would cover the costs of the SIM card and data transfer, reports, software services and warranty. Payment for these was only invoiced and taken as it fell due, during the course of the contract.

Vehicle tracking systems are now very affordable.

For those suppliers who "bundled" the value of services into the total amount to be financed (presumably by putting a higher value on the asset), the temptation to use the cash received up-front to fund business expansion, rather than for the support of the contract itself, was too great and the consequence was that many went under when the credit crunch hit. As the flow of cash from new deals dried up they couldn't support their customers, who were left with hefty finance commitments. In some cases the ink on the lease contract was still drying when the supplier went bust, and one company I am personally aware of was left with a £75,000 liability on a vehicle tracking contract that had only just been signed.

This should all be old news, but it's not because it is happening again. Some vehicle tracking companies are committing customers to anything up to £1500 of payments per system on lease agreement. This represents at least six times the market value of the asset being financed, as tracking systems are now sold for £250 including installation and warranty, even by some of the companies who are promoting these lease deals.

It pays to carry out due-diligence on the vehicle tracking supplier.

Many customers sign these contracts without doing any due diligence on the chosen supplier, and in most cases they don't even read the terms of the agreement. They are often unaware of the fact that the supplier gets paid out on day one, and that they would be unable to cancel the arrangement if the supplier went bust. One could argue that they should have read the contract, but how many of us read right the way through the terms and conditions for everything we buy?

We can see all the signs of strain in the market that were evident before the first wave of failures in the industry: companies who have taken pre-payment of service charges in the way described now need fresh cash to support their existing obligations. In some cases their operating cash flows are significantly in the red and their revenues are declining. Their sales staff are under intense pressure to bring in new deals, but customers are increasingly reluctant to sign up to them. I am as convinced that there will be more failures in our industry as I was when I predicted the first wave, at the end of 2008.

Asset finance played a significant part in the development of the vehicle tracking system market, but hardware costs have dropped dramatically in the past decade and finance is no longer needed for the equipment itself. Any supplier with a solid balance sheet and confidence in its system and support should be prepared to offer vehicle tracking as a service with flexible contract terms, in exactly the same way as broadband internet and other communications service providers operate.

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Tracking installations jump 125%: 1300 new fleet customers choose company’s flexible rental option

Newton, Wales -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/29/2012 -- Quartix, one of the UK's leading vehicle tracking specialists, reports record sales and new installations for 2011, with exceptionally strong growth forecast for 2012.

Andy Walters, the company's managing director, said: "Telematics is entering its most exciting phase yet, as the technology becomes more widely deployed in the commercial market and as it gains rapid acceptance in the private insurance sector.

"Only those companies having complete design ownership and control, together with the cash flow to invest in its technology, will prosper in this dynamic environment. We are uniquely placed to take advantage of these opportunities, as we have both the technical and financial strength to take a leading position."

Quartix operates a competitive direct rental model: customers signing up to a 12-month contract are offered free installation and only need to make initial payments of just £10 a month. Despite this revenue model, sales leapt by 46% to £7m in the year.

Quartix supplied just under 20,000 vehicle tracking systems in 2011. This represented an increase of 125% over 2010 and brought the total number of systems installed to more than 50,000.

No fewer than 1300 new fleet customers chose the company's flexible rental option.

Five leading insurance companies use Quartix

In addition, substantial investments were made in research and development for the company's insurance sector business and in the development of its French market, where it won 180 new fleet customers in its first full year of trading.

Despite allocating large sums for investment, pre-tax profit increased by 10% to £1.8m, while sales growth is currently expected to be at least 50% in 2012 as benefits from the investments materialise.

During the first half of this year, Quartix expects to launch new supply agreements with at least five leading insurance customers - in both the private and commercial sectors - providing a significant endorsement of its technology.

Mr Walters commented: "The requirements of the insurance and fleet sectors are converging as the need to monitor driving behaviour is driven by the cost of fuel and insurance. These costs have sky-rocketed in the past twelve to eighteen months, and our technology can save customers money on both counts.

"By reviewing harsh acceleration and braking, and controlling speeding, customers can reduce fuel usage and insurance premiums. We can monitor each driver's performance using the accelerometer and firmware in our system without needing a separate connection into the vehicle CAN bus – this is a major competitive advantage for us."

Lease-finance worries

The only cloud on the horizon for the industry, according to Mr Walters, is the resurgence of lease-finance contracts.

He said: "Under this model, customers are asked to commit to payments of £1000 or more per unit - over an extended period - to a bank or finance house, despite the fact that the tracking system has a value of £300 or less.

"The supplier gets all his payment on day one and is free to spend it as he sees fit, without necessarily providing for the proper support of the client over the term of the contract.

"If the supplier goes under - as happened extensively in the last recession - customers are still left with the payments to make, which comes as a major shock to them. Several significant suppliers are resorting to this type of contract again, and I can only believe this is driven by cash-flow issues again. This practice must stop before it gives the industry a bad name."

Quartix strongly advises prospective customers to check the credit rating and financial health of its tracking system supplier before entering into any third-party finance arrangement.

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