With over 10,000 of its revolutionary anti-fuel theft devices sold in its first year of production, South Wales-based TruckProtect says it could not have hoped for a better start in its campaign to stamp out a problem that is currently costing transport operators tens of millions of pounds each year.

The company, the only one in Europe dedicated to developing and producing fuel theft deterrent devices for commercial vehicles, launched the first in its range of InstantFit NECK-IT units this time last year. Eleven others for different makes of vehicle have been added ever since and within 12 months TruckProtect has developed units that fit all commercial vehicles used in the UK and on the Continent. 

“We are delighted with the unprecedented success of the Instant Fit NECK-IT.  No other anti-siphon product has had such excellent first year sales, which only goes to prove that if you have a good product and market it properly and realistically it is possible to quickly carve out a large niche in the market,” says the company’s Managing Director Russell Fowler.

“We knew we had a good idea and that we could make it work where others could not. We consulted at length with the sector.  But that is a long way from getting transport operators to try it and then fit their fleets with our units,” he adds.

However, he is quick to acknowledge the part the growing problem of fuel theft played in the company’s first year success, together with the transport industry’s increasing recognition that it needed to find a workable solution to it, and fast.

“There is no doubt in my mind that the cost of fuel theft coupled with already tight margins in the transport industry and rising fuel prices have made hauliers, in particular, more willing to look at new products,” says Fowler.

“But that has still not made them an easy sell. Traditionally hauliers are unwilling to spend money until they have tested them thoroughly and satisfied themselves they can do the job.  Typically companies buy a couple, test them for a few weeks, then embark on covering their fleet.

As a result, many more hauliers have been able to reduce or eradicate the often unspoken problem of fuel theft from their vehicles by using a product that works, is cost effective and does not interfere with their day-to-day operations, which is not something that can be said about most other anti-fuel theft products currently on the market.

NECK-IT units are easy to fit, cheap to operate and capable of withstanding regular and prolonged use. The stop siphoning even in upper tank levels, can be easily transferred between vehicles and enable fast tank filling with no splashback or leakage.