Winner: Identitek Systems Pty Ltd. for their work in developing the first secure compliance label that meets the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council’s (NMVTRC) tough technical specifications.

Accepted by: Mr. David Padula, Director, Identitek Systems

Improving the standard of vehicle identification at the point of manufacture is a central element of the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council’s  integrated theft reduction strategy.  The traditionally poor standard of vehicle identification has:

• greatly contributed to the ease with which criminals have been able to convert stolen vehicle into cash; and
• a significant “downstream” impact on the ability of transport agencies and police to detect suspect vehicles.

The NMVTRC estimates that the cloning or re-identification of stolen vehicles returns criminals tens of millions of dollars annually.

Identitek System’s secure compliance label represents a major breakthrough in establishing a new baseline in improved vehicle identification technology in Australia. 

The label’s unique security features ensure that it—

• cannot be transferred between vehicles (or the information on it altered) without easy detection;
• cannot be copied, and is easy to authenticate in the field by non-scientific, non-destructive and practicable means; and
• is long lasting and damage resistant under typical in-vehicle environmental conditions.

Most importantly is had been independently tested and certified as meeting the NMVTRC’s exacting technical specification—the only label to have passed this hurdle.

It has been a long journey for Mr. David Padula and his staff at Identitek, one  which first commenced the conceptual development of a truly secure label in 2002.  Finally, after successfully meeting a wide range of significant technical and commercial challenges, Identitek Systems secured contracts with select importers in late 2007 that will see the label progressively introduced to their vehicles sold in Australia from mid-2008.

The Australasian branch commends David and his team at Identitek Systems on its innovation and persistence a believes they are a very worthy winner of the 2008 award.