Jobs boost as firm fights back against car ‘cat’ thefts

The Leeds-based company launched British-made Procatt last month and its first production run of 300 has already sold out, with another 1,000 on order.

Stephen Burrows, managing director, said he is expecting “exceptional growth” over the next year for the firm, which was spun out of Impex Parts last year.

Ten extra jobs look set to be created at Secure Micro Solutions, which currently employs five people, and the five-year plan is for a business employing more than 100 people.

“By the end of the year, we hope to have six to eight brand new products which we’ve designed from scratch, effectively. They are unique to the market place”, said Mr Burrows.

He expects the company to turn over £1m in the first year and break even, becoming profitable in the second year.

Mr Burrows’s business partner, John Hicken, became aware of “the sharp increase” in catalytic converter thefts nationally through insurers.

Mr Burrows said: “The worrying trend has increased year on year at a significant cost to both owners and insurers.

“Commercial, light commercial and camper vans are predominantly the targets for thieves, as there is sufficient ground clearance to access the converter without having to jack the vehicle.”

Thieves are attracted to the precious metals within the converter like rhodium and platinum. The typical resale value of a converter in the UK would be between £100 and £300, said Mr Burrows.

A thief trying to remove a catalytic converter from a vehicle with Procatt installed will be met with the sounding of the horn and flashing lights.

The Procatt is also designed to trigger a number of additional security devices including the vehicle’s existing alarm and pager or text alerts for example.

The device has two sensors, explained Mr Burrows, that pick up motion and vibration and harmonics.

The theft of catalytic converters is also on the rise in the United States, and Secure Micro Solutions is planning to export to the country.

“The USA is experiencing the same problem but on a far greater scale”, said Mr Burrows.

The business is seeking Government support to market Procatt internationally.

Mr Burrows said: “With Government assistance, we will have the capability to exhibit our product or products at every major component and vehicle exhibition over the next three years, particularly in America.

“Government assistance with Secure Micro Solutions now will not only propel export growth, it will create more employment opportunities and secure a global foothold in protecting theft of precious metals.”

The inconvenience and cost of catalytic converter theft to the motorist is “significant”, said Mr Burrows, especially for small businesses, with a replacement converter costing between £700 and £4,000 depending on its size and precious metal content.

He said that the average downtime of a targeted vehicle would be about two weeks, and with insurance companies not providing replacement vehicles in many cases, this places “additional burden” on the victim.

“Targeted specialist vehicles such as disability minibuses, taxis and emergency services would suffer an immediate social, financial and security consequence.

“This relatively new epidemic will yet again increase the costs of [insurance] policies throughout 2012. The overall effect of this simple, heinous crime is costing the country millions of pounds in lost income.”

Secure Micro Solutions designs, manufactures and assembles Procatt, using subcontractors to manufacture certain components.

And the firm aims to source all its products from within the UK, said Mr Burrows, who added: “Even if we can get it cheaper elsewhere, we try and rely on British products which are quality products.”

Secure Micro Solutions is a subsidiary of Impex Parts, which is also based in Leeds.

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