The starting point
A car dealership in Roermond approached us at the end of last year. They had an outdoor forecourt full of used cars, a workshop and a showroom. Several other dealerships in the region had been broken into, and specific cars had been targeted and stolen. Understandably, they did not want to wait until it was their turn.
What did they have? Four old cameras at the workshop, only two of which still worked. No alarm, no access logging and no idea who might still be walking around the site in the evening.
The site walk-round
We visited on a weekday afternoon. The site turned out to be larger than we expected, with four access routes and a rear entrance opening onto a quiet road on the industrial estate. Exactly the kind of spot where you can get in unseen at night.
In the showroom itself, the existing lighting was fine, but the cameras were pointing the wrong way: they were aimed at the counter instead of the exits. The workshop housed expensive diagnostic equipment, and at night it was simply in plain view of anyone looking in.
What we proposed
Twelve cameras, split between outdoors and indoors. For the outdoor area, we recommended six 4K bullet cameras with IR night vision up to 60 metres and wide coverage. At the entrances and exits we planned two ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) cameras: number plates are read and stored automatically. Useful for checking afterwards who drove onto the site and when, and you can set up whitelists for your own staff.
In the showroom, two discreet dome cameras aimed at the exits and the car key displays. In the workshop, two more cameras covering the tool cabinet and the roller shutter door.
We also enabled smart detection: person detection and line-crossing detection on all outdoor cameras. At night, the owner receives an instant notification on his phone as soon as someone walks onto the site. No more false alerts caused by passing cats or birds flying over.
The installation
Three days of work, scheduled outside opening hours so that sales could carry on as normal. On day one we ran the cabling (partly through existing cable trays, which saved half a day of drilling). On day two all the cameras were mounted and aligned. On day three we connected the NVR (network video recorder), configured the ANPR software, set up the whitelist for the dealership's own staff and tested everything.
We trained the owner and the workshop manager to use the app: watching live, searching recordings by number plate and exporting clips for the police, should that ever be necessary.
What it delivers
A few weeks after the installation, the owner received an alert at around half past ten in the evening. Someone was standing at the rear entrance. He watched live via the app, saw that the person was behaving suspiciously and called the police. They arrived quickly, and the person was taken away for questioning. We do not know exactly what he was doing there, but the fact that he has not come back speaks volumes.
On top of that, the staff find the ANPR convenient. The barrier opens automatically: no hunting for a card, no entering a PIN. And the owner can see who was on site and when. That is valuable for insurance purposes, too.
"I had my doubts about whether it was worth the investment. After that one alert in the evening, I knew for sure. We sleep more soundly now."
Owner, car dealership (translated from Dutch)
Is this right for your business too?
A car dealership is not the same as a logistics company or an office. That is why we always draw up a tailored plan. We visit with no obligation, assess the site together with you and propose what genuinely suits your situation. No off-the-shelf packages.
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