Take Control of Securing and Locating Portable Assets

Nicholas Griner | Staff
‘It works like a charm,’ says Joe Herbert of a DEWALT anti-theft system he bought for a job site.

When Herbert Electric was hired to install electrical wiring for a new Wal-Mart Supercenter in Arbutus, owner Joe Herbert knew his company could get the job done -- but worried he might go bankrupt doing it.

The small Baltimore company, with about $5 million in sales annually, couldn't risk having its estimated $70,000 worth of electrical equipment stolen from the construction site, a growing threat to contractors.

Herbert's prior efforts to deter construction site theft had been fruitless. So this time he decided to try something new.

In April, he purchased a MobileLock GPS locator and anti-theft alarm, a product launched about a year ago by industrial power tool manufacturer DEWALT. The dual-action system works by signaling an alarm during attempted thefts and tracking the whereabouts of stolen goods.

Elizabeth Heubeck is a contributing writer based in Baltimore.